A top Environmental Protection Agency official says her office will soon release new information about a potential cancer-causing chemical that has been found in drinking water in two New Hampshire towns.
The state has been testing wells in Merrimack and Litchfield near the Saint-Gobain Performance Plastics plant, which once used PFOA, a chemical in Teflon coating. About two dozen wells have been found to have PFOA levels at or above 100 parts per trillion. Some have exceeded 400 parts per trillion, the Environmental Protection Agency's advisory level for short-term exposure.
U.S. Sen. Jeanne Shaheen says EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy assured her Tuesday that the agency's long-term health advisory standard for the chemical will be released soon as part of a broader initiative to study the health implications of PFOA.
