Birth defects? Kidney damage? Breast cancer? The article about forever chemicals in last week’s newspaper was shocking, and a wake-up call for all of us to Save Lick Creek.
I did more digging, and learned that this year, the Environmental Protection Agency released new guidelines on “forever chemicals,” known as PFAs, mentioned on page B7 of the Hickman County Times.
The EPA said that there is no safe level of PFAs in water. In fact, any level of PFAs is dangerous to our health. For years, the EPA allowed these toxins to exist in drinking water in small amounts, but now we know that even small amounts can have damaging impacts.
The scary truth is that these chemicals exist everywhere! They exist in dirt that has been fertilized by sewer sludge, in firefighting foam, and in those oh-so-convenient non-stick pans. These chemicals can infiltrate our bodies and stay there for years.
I encourage all Hickman County residents to heed this wake-up call and do their own research on the dangers of PFAs and other harmful forever-chemicals. If the WADC proposal succeeds, we are opening the doors for forever chemicals in our water.
As the country and Hickman County learn more about these chemicals, we must ask ourselves an important question: How can we protect ourselves and our families from dangerous toxins being dumped in our county against our will?
SHANNON GYGI
Bon Aqua
