Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations
Make a sustaining gift today to support local journalism!
0000017a-15d9-d736-a57f-17ff8d530000

N.H. Senators Want PFAS Chemicals Listed As Official Superfund Contaminant

Annie Ropeik / NHPR

New Hampshire's U.S. Senators want toxic PFAS chemicals to be officially designated as hazardous substances at Superfund sites.

Senators Jeanne Shaheen and Maggie Hassan are backing a bill in Congress that says sites with PFAS contamination should qualify for federally managed Superfund cleanup.

Regulators are already finding and addressing PFAS at Superfunds nationwide, including at least two in New Hampshire.

This change would let the government get money for cleanup from the polluters responsible for the PFAS. And it would require more disclosure of any dangerous release of PFAS, even in states that don't regulate it on their own.

The Environmental Protection Agency said last month it's already working on listing PFAS as a Superfund toxin, but gave no timeline for finalizing the change.

The new bill would require the change to go through within a year of passage. It's sponsored by a bipartisan group of 20 senators total.

Annie has covered the environment, energy, climate change and the Seacoast region for NHPR since 2017. She leads the newsroom's climate reporting project, By Degrees.
Related Content

You make NHPR possible.

NHPR is nonprofit and independent. We rely on readers like you to support the local, national, and international coverage on this website. Your support makes this news available to everyone.

Give today. A monthly donation of $5 makes a real difference.