Commentary: Erin Brockovich says we must work together to keep people safe from contaminants.
“We are in trouble,” said Erin Brockovich. She leaned forward, emphasizing every word. “This is the biggest water crisis our nation has ever faced.”
The list of places contaminated by PFAS is growing so rapidly that many experts think the only reason they have been undetected in many water supplies is that they haven’t yet been tested. Even states like Maine, which is largely rural, has significant PFAS contamination in private wells due to wastewater treatment plant sludge applied to agricultural fields for fertilizer.
Yet, despite what is known about the dangers of PFAS and their prevalence in the environment, the EPA has not yet issued a regulatory standard. To date, only a handful of states have established their own maximum contaminant levels for PFAS.Brockovich has been an advocate for communities afflicted by groundwater contamination since 1991, when she first stepped foot in Hinckley, California. “I knew there was something wrong there,” she recalled. “I could feel it.
But that is not enough. Water is not a private good; it is a common good. It is our shared ethical responsibility to ensure that the water supply we collectively contribute to and draw from is safe for all. When facing an overwhelming and complex problem like PFAS contamination, it is important to know what to do. But that is what human beings are really good at. We find solutions to problems. We investigate, we negotiate, we collaborate, and we commit.Brockovich confesses that a few years ago she felt burned out. There were too many communities asking for help, too many contaminants, too much need. And then her first grandchild was born.
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