Trump EPA officials are trying to "manage" reports of contaminated water near 126 millitary bases

[Anonymous]

https://www.cnbc.com/2018/05/14/trump-officials-worried-about-pr-nightmare-over-chemicals-pollution.html

Emails among U.S. government officials show the Trump administration trying to manage a potentially damaging report on a class of chemicals found to have polluted water supplies near U.S. military installations.

The exchanges, sent in January, reveal officials from the Environmental Protection Agency and Office of Management and Budget worrying over a yet-to-be-released study from the Department of Health and Human Services. The draft report from HHS indicated that exposure to the chemicals in question is unsafe in far lower amounts than EPA previously determined.

One OMB official warned of a "public relations nightmare" when the report is released. The emails were unearthed through a Freedom of Information Act request by the Union of Concerned Scientists. Three and a half months later, the report has yet to be made public.

The chemicals, widely known as PFOS and PFOA, were found in drinking water or groundwater in quantities that exceeded amounts deemed safe by EPA near 126 military facilities, the Department of Defense said in a study in May. The perflourinated compounds, present in a firefighting foam used by the military, have been linked in some studies to prostate, kidney and testicular cancer, as well as to fertility problems and developmental delays in fetuses and children, according to the Defense Department report.

So EPA is trying to suppress reports of water contamination near military bases. So much love for our military! Why would a FOIA needed for this kind of report from EPA when these things should be public?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:https://www.cnbc.com/2018/05/14/trump-officials-worried-about-pr-nightmare-over-chemicals-pollution.html

Emails among U.S. government officials show the Trump administration trying to manage a potentially damaging report on a class of chemicals found to have polluted water supplies near U.S. military installations.

The exchanges, sent in January, reveal officials from the Environmental Protection Agency and Office of Management and Budget worrying over a yet-to-be-released study from the Department of Health and Human Services. The draft report from HHS indicated that exposure to the chemicals in question is unsafe in far lower amounts than EPA previously determined.

One OMB official warned of a "public relations nightmare" when the report is released. The emails were unearthed through a Freedom of Information Act request by the Union of Concerned Scientists. Three and a half months later, the report has yet to be made public.

The chemicals, widely known as PFOS and PFOA, were found in drinking water or groundwater in quantities that exceeded amounts deemed safe by EPA near 126 military facilities, the Department of Defense said in a study in May. The perflourinated compounds, present in a firefighting foam used by the military, have been linked in some studies to prostate, kidney and testicular cancer, as well as to fertility problems and developmental delays in fetuses and children, according to the Defense Department report.

So EPA is trying to suppress reports of water contamination near military bases. So much love for our military! Why would a FOIA needed for this kind of report from EPA when these things should be public?

"developmental delays in fetuses and children" -- you'd think the party devoted to outlawing abortion would care about preventing harm to fetuses. Obviously not if it means regulating manufacturers. $$ Trumps everything.

Truly disgusting. Expect more such reports to be squelched during Trump's reign. He and his cronies don't care about human beings. They care about business profits. That's the only thing.

[Anonymous]

In another administration this would be scandal of the whole presidency - here there is not even a whimper! How can we normalize everything wrong and corrupt?

[Anonymous]

Don't they know this sh*t will be reported as soon as they are out of office?

[Anonymous]

Don't they know this has been going on for decades and the news is already out there for many bases?

[Anonymous]

MAGA!

[Anonymous]

When did the contaminants start showing up in water near the military bases? Was it since January 2017 or before? When did the levels first exceed what was thought to be safe upper limit? Of course, I don't condone keeping the report hidden from the public.

[Anonymous]

Since forever-- I would never drink the water on a military base. Ever. Or in a nearby town.
-military spouse

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Don't they know this has been going on for decades and the news is already out there for many bases?

Then why try to bury it? Address and correct it.

[Anonymous]

Just google Lee Forsgren, the lobbyist now in charge of clean water. He is the “swamp”, literally.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:When did the contaminants start showing up in water near the military bases? Was it since January 2017 or before? When did the levels first exceed what was thought to be safe upper limit? Of course, I don't condone keeping the report hidden from the public.

That's the issue, right? Why hide the report? If the issue exists for years, educating people about it and trying to fix is what responsible people do. Not hide it so that uninformed citizens can drink water and face the consequences by error. I drink tap water all the time and would not think twice if I am not told it is contaminated. Is it okay for administration to hide public information.

In addition, who trust this administration that they would try to hide an issue that existed before their term? They would drum it up for political expediency - so I do not think this is an old issue.

[Anonymous]

I really don't think all these instances of contamination are from the last 19 months.

It takes years for ground water to be contaminated from surface pollution and subsequently detected. So whatever contamination happened didn't happen since January of 2017.


Funny how you libs like to blame Trump now for pollution that happened years ago, but still give Obama credit for a record low unemployment level from last month.


How's that work?

[Anonymous]

The issue for military families isn’t when it started. It’s when it gets fixed. It’s called having some humanity, which this administration is bereft of. When you put lobbyists in charge , you don’t get humanity. You get people who are used to pay to play business models. Some of our government agencies should have people’s best interests at heart. The EPA is one of them.