EPA Called Upon to Respond to Drugs-in-Water
WASHINGTON
— Sen. Frank Lautenberg, D-NJ, who chaired an April 15 US Senate
hearing on pharmaceutical compounds in US drinking water supplies, said
that the US Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) response to the
situation was insufficient, according to an April 15 Associated Press (AP) report.
After the hearing, he told the AP, “To me, it represents a sleight of hand that we are familiar with here.”
Lautenberg, who called the hearing after the AP reported in March that at least 41 million Americans receive drinking water containing an array of pharmaceuticals, was referring to the testimony provided during the hearing by EPA Assistant Administrator for Water Benjamin H. Grumbles.
According
to the AP report, Grumbles faced criticism during the hearing from
Lautenberg and Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-CA, when he testified that the EPA
is “very concerned. … We’re taking this very seriously,” yet did not
offer specifics.
Lautenberg
and Boxer, who chairs the Senate Committee on Environment and Public
Works, pressed Grumbles for specifics, and noted that the American
public should not have learned about trace levels of pharmaceuticals in
their drinking water from an investigative news report.
Lautenberg
told Grumbles the EPA must write regulations to monitor the increasing
levels of pharmaceuticals getting into drinking water supplies across
the United States, according to an April 19 Gannett News Service report
in the Asbury Park Press.
According
to the AP, Boxer also called on Grumbles to release records from a
White House task force that is supposed to be developing a federal plan
to research pharmaceuticals in the environment. AP requested the
records earlier this year in a Freedom of Information Act request, as WaterTech Online™ reported.
To read the full AP report, click here.
