WASHINGTON — U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, D-New York, and U.S. Senator Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.V., members of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, are sponsoring legislation that would require the Environmental Protection Agency to establish an enforceable standard under the Safe Drinking Water Act for per- and polyfluoralkyl substances (PFAS) in drinking water after years of inaction.

The senators said PFAS are a group of thousands of manufactured chemicals that can seep into drinking water supplies and have contaminated communities in New York, West Virginia and communities across the country.

The chemicals have been linked to cancers and other health and developmental effects. A new report shows potentially 19 million Americans are using public water systems exposed to PFAS contamination.

Specifically, Gillibrand and Capito’s legislation would require the EPA to set a Maximum Contaminant Level and Primary National Drinking Water Regulation for PFAS within two years of the bill becoming law.