Story Produced by NH Public Radio, a Member of New Hampshire’s congressional delegation is asking the U.S. Department of Defense
I’ve come to share my concern about PFAS pollution at the Manchester Wastewater Treatment Plant. The cause is both personal and on behalf of the greater good. You see, I feel an obligation as perhaps any of you have who has been diagnosed with cancer as I was in 2022. Advanced thyroid cancer. Just one of the many documented health effects related to PFAS exposure.
In the greater Merrimack area, where toxic forever chemicals are concentrated throughout the soil and a long-term cleanup plan is yet to materialize, keeping the contamination local is the best many feel they can do for now. But how well that’s working isn’t clear and guidance is scarce, creating headaches for developers and concern for activists.
Unless you’ve been living in a bomb shelter like Adam Webber in the 1999 cult favorite, Blast from the Past, you know that PFAS are bad. Bad for you, bad for the environment, bad at any level and cumulative in effect. Forever chemicals. Lingering in humans for years. And causing havoc.
Analyzing countless peer-reviewed scientific papers, including many interviews with experts on the impacts of chemical toxicity on humans and environment, as well as investors, the study shows PFAS in humans globally and in almost everyone tested.
Conservation Law Foundation (CLF) is appealing New Hampshire’s approval of a permit that allows the Manchester Wastewater Treatment Facility to discharge toxic PFAS chemicals – also known as “forever chemicals” – into the Merrimack River. CLF’s appeal highlights that state regulators overlooked important safeguards meant to protect water and human health from toxic chemicals.
If you’ve ever biked or driven through neighborhoods near Brown Avenue, you’ve likely passed South Jr. Deb baseball and softball fields, Highland-Goffe’s Falls Elementary School, and homes filled with families. This is a vibrant, close-knit part of our city. But just down the road, the City of Manchester is burning sewage sludge – releasing harmful “forever chemicals” into our air and the Merrimack River.
PEMBROKE, NH — Approximately 71 to 95 million people in the Lower 48 states – more than 20% of the
“New Hampshire has led the charge against these emerging health threats and we will continue to hold those responsible accountable,” said Attorney General John Formella
On Rep. Wendy Thomas’ Merrimack street, there are four private wells contaminated with PFAS, and four homes struck by cancer.