the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Ridgewood NJ, EPA establishes national limits for ‘Forever Chemicals’ in drinking water for the first time.
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has taken a significant step by setting national limits for ‘forever chemicals’ in drinking water, marking the first time such restrictions have been implemented at the federal level.
These chemicals, commonly known as PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances), have infiltrated a substantial portion of the country’s water sources due to their use in producing waterproof and nonstick products. They have been associated with various health risks, including heightened chances of prostate, kidney, and testicular cancer, compromised immune systems, developmental delays in children, reduced fertility, and elevated blood pressure in pregnant individuals.
Termed “forever chemicals” due to their persistent nature in the environment, PFAS compounds do not readily degrade over time.
Although some states had previously established their own limits for PFAS levels permissible in drinking water, there was previously no unified nationwide regulation in place.
Presently, Ridgewood Water exceeds state thresholds for PFAS and PFOAS, a related class of chemicals.
The EPA’s new rule is projected to decrease exposure to these harmful substances for approximately 100 million individuals, potentially preventing 9,600 deaths and nearly 30,000 illnesses over the coming decades.
Recent studies suggest that athletes participating in sports on artificial turf may encounter elevated levels of toxic PFAS “forever chemicals” compared to before engaging in such activities, raising concerns about the safety of this widely used material.
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Its about time these “****” people do something good
I guess you would rather go back to rivers that burn and air you cannot breath. Maybe a little history lesson on environmental protection since would benefit you. Clearly you know nothing.
Collect your thoughts
PFAS come from I wonder how they plan on limiting them? They can’t even limit Tide Pods, how are they going to limit PFAS. Or will they just build expensive facilities that attempt to remove some from the drinking water?
Ridgewood Water got an exemption.
They can continue to keep poison in our water.
They are also allowed to charge us extra for poisoning us.
Yeah, yeah, yeah, the same federal authorities that have been looking the other way while their corporate doppelgangers have been dumping their waste in your water will now tell you plebs what the acceptable threshold for drinking poison is. Cool beans.
…and charge YOU to replace the water main that THEY laid on your property.
What happened to the lawsuit regarding Wyckoff, Midlandpark, Glenrock, against the village Ridgewood. How much did the village have to pay or swept under the carpet?
Some states have no standards for PFAS. The residents do not get notifications of high levels because the water dept is not required to send them out. Ignorance is bliss.
With relation to PFAS in Ridgewood water and PFAS that will leach out from turf fields, this information was sent to Ridgewood’s Mayor and council last week:
You might not realize it , the land use choices that you make as Ridgewood Town Council members impact all inhabitants of Planet Earth, regardless of zip code.
Your plan to blanket Schedler Park with a plastic grass athletic field will not only poison Ridgewood’s children, but children throughout our state, country and world. If you find this idea shocking or offensive, then you are likely unaware of the negative impact of plastics on human and planetary health. You owe it to current and future generations to become educated about plastics, by watching Plastics’ Impact on Human Health: with Dr. Philip Landrigan. This webinar can be viewed on Youtube and the Beyond Plastics. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=utUFl4gqiYc
The website for reference is beyondplastics.org. The health concerns raised by Dr. Landrigan apply to each of Ridgewood’s existing artificial turf athletic fields, as well as the new plastic grass athletic field planned for the Schedler property.
A plastic carpet makes up the top or visible layer of ALL artificial turf fields. Each plastic carpet contains millions of blades of plastic grass, which break apart into microplastics, pieces of plastic less than 5 mm in length, due to the wear and tear of sports activities and exposure to the elements. The microplastics and the toxic chemicals they contain, including PFAS, migrate off the field and into the air, soil, groundwater, storm drains and eventually into the food chain and our bodies.
Communities in Massachusetts and Maryland provide a model for creating natural grass athletic fields that are rain-out resistant and designed to withstand sports activities. These communities have a reverence for soil health and the determination to create natural grass athletic fields that grow stronger and more resilient over time with the use of organic and regenerative maintenance practices.
Please bolster your knowledge about how land use choices can either exacerbate or mitigate climate change. The Soil Story, a short video, produced by Kiss the Ground https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nvAoZ14cP7Q
The video illustrates why healthy soil is crucial to having a habitable planet. Another short video, Organic Management of Natural Grass, demonstrates a proven method for creating strong, healthy, natural grass athletic fields.
As elected officials your actions have a greater impact than those of individuals. Please act to stop the destruction of our planet by taking to heart this message from Dr.Seuss’s environmental fable, The Lorax, “UNLESS someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better. It is not.”
Later is too late to protect people and our shared Planet.