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Today Among Our Benevolent Local Overlords

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According to the EPA, the drinking water in Hoosick Falls (a town in Rensselaer County, NY near the Vermont border) is not merely unsafe to drink but unsafe to cook with, because of pollution from a local factory:

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency issued a statement Thursday warning residents in Hoosick Falls not to drink or cook with village water because of elevated levels of a toxic chemical found in the public water system last year.

In response, the village’s mayor has reversed his position, and adopted the EPA’s recommendation.

The man-made chemical, perfluorooctanoic acid, or “PFOA,” was used since the 1940s to manufacture industrial and household products such as non-stick coatings and heat-resistant wiring, including at a factory near the village water treatment plant. The chemical was discovered in the village water system last year by a private citizen, Michael Hickey, whose father, John, died of kidney cancer in 2013. PFOA has been linked to kidney and testicular cancer, as well as thyroid diseases and other serious health problems.

The mayor reversed his position? From what?

The EPA’s public statement was issued four days after a Times Union story reported that the state Health Department and village leaders, including Mayor David B. Borge, downplayed the health risks of PFOA in the water supply, and declined to warn people not to drink it. The story reported that many village residents, including a longtime family physician in Hoosick Falls, Dr. Marcus E. Martinez, suspected that high cancer rates and other extraordinary health problems in the village’s population may be the result of the contaminated water.

“While the EPA continues to gather information and assess the Hoosick Falls water contamination, it recommends that people not drink the water from the Hoosick Falls public water supply or use it for cooking,” the EPA’s statement said. The agency’s statement said it does not believe that showering or bathing in the water poses a risk for unsafe exposure to PFOA.

The mayor had said it was a “personal choice” whether to drink the water, a position that was supported by the village board. The state Health Department recently issued a “fact sheet” to village residents stating: “Health effects are not expected to occur from normal use of the water.” But the mayor and the state agency abruptly changed their stances this week.

Damn federal bureaucrats, trying to bully well-meaning local officials into interfering with the right of their local citizens to choose to drink carcinogenic water! Hopefully Larry Tribe can save us from this federal overreaching. Free Roscoe Filburn!

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