Mike Simpson (R-ID) Wants Exemption To Arsenic Standards In Drinking Water - Too Expensive, You See
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This week, Simpson was in the spotlight after a Center for Public Integrity report concluded he was the representative who stalled a scientific review of arsenic at the EPA. The review was necessary for the EPA to ban herbicides containing arsenic. ”All evidence from the Center’s investigation pointed to one congressman: Mike Simpson of Idaho,” the report said. Simpson’s office told The Daily Beast they were short-staffed this week, and could not confirm or deny that the congressman worked to stall the arsenic review.
Simpson’s explanations don’t fly with water quality advocates, who note the deleterious public health effects that could come from not removing enough arsenic from water. Arsenic cause cancer, nervous system damage, and diabetes. “There is no safe level of exposure to a genotoxic chemical—any exposure may incur some risk because genetic errors introduced in a single cell following arsenic exposure can cascade into cancer, birth defects and developmental damage,” said Dr. Kathleen Burns, director of Sciencecorps, a network of health professionals focused on environmental and occupational health.
Burns also argues that removing arsenic is an issue of racial justice. Arsenic can also cause cardiovascular disease, which African-Americans have greater genetic susceptibility for, she said. The question should be how to pay for water treatment in rural areas, advocates say, not to allow more toxic chemicals there due to budget restraints.
“We never, ever question that cost is an issue. But we could never concede that cost is a reason to [lower] drinking water standards,” said Lynn Thorp, a senior policy specialist at Clean Water Action.
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http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2014/07/07/the-congressman-fighting-for-more-arsenic-in-drinking-water.html
= new reply since forum marked as read
