The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on Friday designated a pair of widely used industrial chemicals as hazardous substances under the country’s Superfund program, accelerating a crackdown on toxic compounds known as “forever chemicals.”

The rule will require companies to report leaks of two of the most commonly used per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS, and help pay to clean up existing contamination.

The EPA separately last week announced its first-ever drinking water standards to guard against PFAS pollution.

The new rule targets contamination from two PFAS known as PFOA and PFOS.

  • girlfreddyOP
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    3 months ago

    We’re now hazardous waste sites, so are the companies that produced these compounds going to pay to clean us up?

    something something … but that’s not how unfettered capitalism works!

    • Eheran@lemmy.world
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      3 months ago

      Has absolutely nothing to do with capitalism. Just look at what the absolute fuck the USSR did. Or China now.

      • jmanes@lemmy.world
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        3 months ago

        China of today is capitalist in the same way the USA is, with minor differences. Major corporations owning almost everything with government backing and influence.

        • girlfreddyOP
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          3 months ago

          Same with Russia. How else would Putin’s oligarchs survive if he didn’t allow them to continue to buy up every formerly state-owned business?