Mark Ruffalo Praises EPA Labeling Two “Forever Chemicals” as Hazardous Substances

Mark Ruffalo is amongst these praising the Environmental Protection Agency for its transfer, announced Friday, to designate two “forever chemicals,” which have been linked to most cancers and different well being points, as hazardous substances below the Superfund legislation.

The EPA’s proposed rule would require that releases of perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl compounds into soil or water be reported to federal, state or tribal officers in the event that they meet or exceed sure ranges, which might facilitate cleanup efforts.

While the 2 compounds, PFOA and PFOS, half of a bigger class of PFAS “forever chemicals,” have been voluntarily phased out by U.S. producers, the substances don’t degrade within the atmosphere and as a substitute accumulate in people and animals over time, and are believed to be within the blood of 99 p.c of Americans. 

PFAS have been linked to a number of ailments, together with sorts of most cancers. The man-made synthetics have been used in consumer products and industry since the 1940s, together with in stain- and water resistant materials and carpeting, cleansing merchandise and even non-stick cookware.

“We have all paid for decades — in the forms of higher health care costs and higher drinking water bills — for one of the greatest environmental crimes in history,” Ruffalo stated, according to a statement obtained by the New York Times, which Ruffalo additionally tweeted. According to The Times, Ruffalo stated the transfer would maintain chemical polluters accountable.

Ruffalo helped to highlight the difficulty of PFAS by means of his position as real-life legal professional Rob Bilott within the 2019 environmental authorized thriller Dark Waters, directed by Todd Haynes. Following the discharge of the movie, Ruffalo and different advocates joined forces on Dark Waters manufacturing firm Participant Media’s Fight Forever Chemicals marketing campaign, urging firms to take away without end chemical compounds from their merchandise and customers to not help these merchandise. The marketing campaign additionally supported labeling such chemical compounds as hazardous substances and setting an enforceable ingesting water customary.

Speaking to The Hollywood Reporter forward of Dark Waters‘ launch, Bilott was hopeful the movie would carry the general public well being challenge to a wider viewers.

Bilott told the Associated Press Friday that the EPA’s proposal “sends a loud and clear message to the entire world that the United States is finally acknowledging and accepting the now overwhelming evidence that these man-made poisons present substantial danger to the public health and the environment.”