February 03, 2020

Kilmer, Murray, Cantwell Call on Navy to Address Contamination

This week, U.S. Representative Derek Kilmer (WA-06), U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), and U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell (D-WA) wrote to the Acting Secretary of the United States Navy to express serious concern regarding potential health risks to residents of Kitsap County. The letter comes in the wake of the Navy’s request to sample water from designated areas adjacent to the installation boundary of Naval Base Kitsap (NBK) Bangor for certain per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, commonly known as PFAS. The Members asked the Navy to provide responses to ten written questions and formally requested the Navy to commit to providing bottled water to all households within the potentially affected areas until tests confirm that no PFAS contamination has occurred.

“While we appreciate the proactive steps taken by the Navy to determine if PFAS contamination has occurred, we have serious concerns about the potential health risks posed to our constituents and are requesting additional information,” the lawmakers wrote in the letter.

They added, “As you continue your mitigation efforts, we formally request that the Navy commit to providing bottled water to all households who receive this notification until the test results confirm that their water is safe to drink.”


Source: Mason Web TV