Lawmaker Launches Petition of Federal Government On Horsham Water Issue

A local lawmaker has launched a petition of the federal government on the Horsham water issue and is urging the public to sign.

The petition, started by State Rep. Todd Stephens, is posted on his website.

Stephens directs blame for the contamination of Horsham's water wells to the federal government, citing the dangers of the chemicals from firefighting foam which may have leaked into the soil from the Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base Willow Grove.

"I believe the federal government must take responsibility for their contamination of Horsham’s water supply by paying for carbon filters on all of Horsham’s public wells, paying for biomonitoring for all Horsham residents who wish to be tested, and a health study," Stephens states in the petition.

Stephens claims the EPA allowed water which they had deemed unsafe for infants to drink to continue to flow for more than a year.

The chemicals found on the base were perfluorinated compounds, including perfluorooctane sulfonoate (PFOS) and perfluoroctanoic acid (PFOA).

Chronic PFOA exposure has been linked to a number of different cancers and other health issues, which is partly why the EPA last month revised its guidelines for the acceptable amount of PFOA and PFOS in a water supply from 400 parts per trillion to 70 ppt, officials have said.

The announcement came the same day that the law firm associated with famed consumer advocate Erin Brockovich, Weitz & Luxenberg, said they would be investigating the issue.