By MICHAEL PHILLIS and HELEN WIEFFERING Associated Press
The roughly 40 million Americans who get drinking water from wells are at particular risk when harmful forever chemicals contaminate the supply. Odorless and colorless, the chemicals known collectively as PFAS are linked to increased risk of certain cancers. While water from a utility will be forced to meet federal PFAS limits, those limits won't apply to private wells. And well owners are often the last to learn about contamination. At least 20 states don't test private wells beyond areas where PFAS problems are suspected. When a well is tainted, it can take homeowners years to find a new source of clean water.
By DAVID RISING and ANIRUDDHA GHOSAL Associated Press
A multiyear cleanup at a former U.S. air base in Vietnam was abruptly halted when the Trump administration cut funding, leaving tons of dioxin-contaminated soil exposed. The freeze also affected efforts to clear unexploded munitions, assist victims of Agent Orange, and and other war legacy remediation efforts. Although funding was partially restored, uncertainty and confusion over the goodwill projects' future threatens to harm the trust built over decades between the former foes. It comes at a time when Vietnam is of growing strategic importance to the U.S. as Washington pushes back at increasing Chinese influence in the Indo-Pacific.
