A report from the Department of Health and Human Services shows that toxic nonstick chemicals in community drinking water is dangerous to humans at levels that the Environmental Protection Agency previously reported to be safe, Politico reported.
The Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry posted the 852-page scientific draft Wednesday. It details how people are exposed to the chemicals, and the risks they pose to groups including infants, breastfeeding mothers, and adult males, the report said.
The chemicals are risky at lower levels than what the EPA had reported was safe in a 2016 health advisory, the report said.
The chemicals in the study are contaminating water systems around the U.S. and have been tied to thyroid defects, pregnancy problems, and certain cancers, even at low exposure levels, the report said.
White House officials feared that the report would create a "public relations nightmare" if it was released, Politico reported in May.
EPA administration Scott Pruitt and the White House sought to block the publication of the study, Politico’s report said.
Former California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger took aim at Pruitt in the wake of the Politico report in May. "If you don’t have a problem with Americans drinking contaminated drinking water, drink it yourself until you tap out or resign," Schwarzenegger tweeted.
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