When the news broke last month that a carcinogenic chemical had been found in private wells in North Bennington, it was Vermont Governor Peter Shumlin who broke the news to the public.
A half dozen private wells tested positive for perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) which is thought to have come from a former ChemFab facility which closed over a decade ago. The plant treated industrial fabrics with chemicals to create nonstick and other surfaces.
PFOA has been linked to low birth weight, certain types of cancer, high blood pressure and thyroid disease.
In sharp contrast to the city of Flint, Michigan, and in even sharper contrast to Michigan Governor Rick Snyder, Vermont leadership immediately made this a priority, testing wells, providing drinking water, seeking out the sources of the contamination and setting up a hotline for community residents and others to get information.
And that’s not all. Vermont’s leaders and its state agencies have been completely transparent about the issue and are working publicly to resolve the issue. Over 135 private wells have been tested and people whose wells have tested positive can have blood tests to determine the level of PFOA in their blood. Saint Gobain, the company that ran the ChemFab plant, is paying for the water and blood testing.
This is what responsive government looks like.
Activist Erin Brockovich was the guest on Vermont Public Radio’s Vermont Edition this week. She detailed her previous work with PFOA and communities where people could not trust their drinking water.
Vermont Edition host Jane Lindholm questioned Brockovich about other communities and whether citizens could trust their leaders, ultimately asking the activist whether she considers herself as an adversary of the state.
“Absolutely not,” Brockovich said, noting that the state had offered “a good swift response.”
