Presidential candidate Seth Moulton echoed the sentiments of local leaders gathered at Merrimack Town Hall: Increase access to PFAS testing and strengthen enforcement on the federal level.
Officials from Merrimack invited Moulton, as well as all the presidential hopefuls, to participate in a community discussion Monday to learn more about PFAS contamination in New Hampshire.
State Rep. Nancy Murphy, D-Merrimack, says the major obstacles to tackling this problem is the lack of awareness and resistance to change.
“We have a resistance to acknowledgement,” said Murphy. “Our goal is to educate as many people as we can. Having the presidential candidates come here helps do that.”
Moulton supported holding companies that make or use PFAS accountable for public health issues caused by these chemicals. He said it's important to go after companies strategically -- in a way that obtains corporate-conducted research that could be used to solve contamination problems.
“Why should the government be spending a whole bunch of money to be studying this and take years to do so,” said Moulton. “We need to make sure they’re sharing that information with the community.”
His preferred approach is to pass bipartisan legislation, which he claims is less likely to be overturned under future administrations.
“Get me a list of some other communities in America that are affected by this, especially ones that are represented by Republicans in Congress,” said Moulton. “Because then I can go to [them] and say ‘this affects your constituents too and that’s why you should sign on’.”
He says that if a bipartisan approach won’t suffice, he would take executive action as president to hold corporations accountable.
