PITTSBURGH (KDKA) — The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency designated two common forever chemicals as hazardous substances, which experts say is a critical step to protect your health.

Perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS) are the most widely used per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS). The EPA has listed both as hazardous substances under the federal toxic waste clean-up law, known as the Superfund law.

“We call them forever chemicals for a reason, which is that they stay in the environment and in our bodies. They don’t tend to break down,” said Stephanie Wein, a clean water and conservation advocate with PennEnvironment Research and Policy Center.

The new action will let the EPA address contaminated sites, speed up cleaning efforts and hold polluters accountable by forcing them to pay for cleanups. It’ll also require them to report any leaks or spills of the two chemicals.

Wein and others with PennEnvironment have been fighting for this.

“This is a huge step forward for Pennsylvania, especially because here in the Commonwealth, we’ve been dealing with this for years. We were sort of the canary in the coal mine for how widespread the problem of PFAS is. So, this is a really good day and a long time coming,” Wein said.

According to the EPA, PFAS have contaminated 180 superfund sites, and 16 are in Pennsylvania. The biggest one in the state is the Willow Grove Naval Air and Air Reserve station in Montgomery County.

PFOA and PFOS are the most common PFAS and can be found in nonstick products like cooking pans, food wrappers, waterproof clothes. They are also found in firefighting foam.

“Which is how they often wind up polluting big areas near military bases or firefighting training centers,” Wein said.

The new rule comes on the heels of the EPA issuing a federal regulation to turn off the tap of certain PFAS in drinking water.

PennEnvironment’s next mission is phasing PFAs out of firefighting foam and consumer products entirely.

“While those things are in the works, getting the ball rolling on cleaning up the waste that’s already in the environment is a huge step forward,” Wein said.

Here’s a look at what to expect on Tuesday:

Primary day

The Pennsylvania presidential and state primaries will be held on Tuesday. Polls close at 8 p.m. ET.

What’s on the ballot

The Associated Press will provide coverage for the Democratic and Republican presidential primaries, as well as 48 additional races down the ballot. Biden and Dean Phillips will appear on the Democratic presidential ballot, while Trump and Nikki Haley will appear on the Republican ballot. Voters in both primaries are also given the option to write in a candidate. The AP will also provide coverage for contested primaries for attorney general, auditor, treasurer, U.S. House, state Senate and state House.

Who gets to vote

Pennsylvania has a closed primary system, which means that only voters registered with a political party may participate in that party’s primary. Democrats may not vote in the Republican primary or vice versa. Independent or unaffiliated voters may not participate in either primary.

Delegate allocation rules

Pennsylvania’s 159 pledged Democratic delegates are allocated according to the national party’s standard rules. Thirty-five at-large delegates are allocated in proportion to the statewide vote, as are 19 PLEO delegates, or “party leaders and elected officials.” The state’s 17 congressional districts have a combined 105 delegates at stake, which are allocated in proportion to the vote results in each district. Candidates must receive at least 15% of the statewide vote to qualify for any statewide delegates, and 15% of the vote in a congressional district to qualify for delegates in that district.

Pennsylvania has 67 Republican delegates. The winner of the statewide vote will receive all 16 at-large delegates. The state’s 17 congressional districts each have an additional three delegates, for a total of 51 district-level delegates, but they are not awarded to candidates based on the primary vote. Instead, people running to be a convention delegate appear on the ballot and are elected directly by voters. They are elected as unbound delegates, meaning they are not obligated to vote for any particular candidate at the convention. The AP will not report vote totals for delegate candidates.

Decision notes

In the presidential race, Biden and Trump are the favorites in their primaries as neither candidate faces a credible challenge. The first indications that they are winning statewide on a level consistent with the overwhelming margins seen in most other contests held this year may be sufficient to determine the statewide winners.

For other statewide primaries, the key jurisdictions to watch are the vote-rich counties of Philadelphia, Allegheny, Montgomery, Bucks, Delaware, Lancaster and Chester.

The AP does not make projections and will declare a winner only when it’s determined there is no scenario that would allow the trailing candidates to close the gap. If a race has not been called, the AP will continue to cover any newsworthy developments, such as candidate concessions or declarations of victory. In doing so, the AP will make clear that it has not yet declared a winner and explain why.

In Pennsylvania, races with a vote margin of 0.5 percentage points or less are subject to an automatic recount. The AP may declare a winner in a race that is eligible for a recount if it can determine the lead is too large for a recount or legal challenge to change the outcome.

What do turnout and advance vote look like

As of April 15, there were more than 8.7 million registered voters in Pennsylvania, about 45% Democrats and 40% Republicans.

In the 2022 midterm primaries, turnout was about 15% of registered voters in both the Democratic and Republican primaries. About 42% of votes in the Democratic primary that year were cast before Election Day, compared with about 11% in the Republican primary.

As of Thursday, a total of 413,952 ballots had been cast before Election Day, about 73% from Democrats and about 26% from Republicans.

How long does vote counting usually take?

In the 2022 midterm primaries, the AP first reported results at 8:04 p.m. ET, or four minutes after polls closed. The election night tabulation ended at 2:45 a.m. ET with about 91% of total votes counted.

Are we there yet?

As of Tuesday, there will be 83 days until the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, 118 days until the Democratic National Convention in Chicago and 196 until the November general election.

LGBTQ people live, work and raise families in every U.S. state, including swing states like Pennsylvania, which holds its primary on April 23.

Campaign coverage should inform voters about relevant candidates and their stances on LGBTQ issues. Reporters must take extra care to be accurate and inclusive when reporting on conversations or proposals that can harm marginalized people.

The safety of LGBTQ Americans and their ability to live free from discrimination are at stake.  

LGBTQ Pennsylvanians: Context to Know and Report

• 4.1% of adult Pennsylvanians are LGBTQ, with 27% of them raising children.
  
• Under the new PA Fairness Act, LGBTQ Pennsylvanians now have statewide nondiscrimination protections. The law, which passed with bipartisan support in May 2023, reflects the pro-equality views of most Pennsylvanians across party lines. In 2023, state lawmakers introduced numerous pro-equality proposals, including a legislative package that would safeguard transgender students’ rights and require LGBTQ-inclusive curricula in schools. Presently, pro-equality legislators hold a razor-thin majority in the Pennsylvania State House. The results of this election cycle could change that.
• Also in 2023, Pennsylvania state lawmakers proposed three anti-LGBTQ bills. In the style of Florida’s “Don’t Say Gay/Trans” law, PA HB 319 seeks to ban LGBTQ-inclusive classroom discussion and curricula in grades K-5. PA House Bills 138 and 216 take aim at medical care for trans people and trans inclusion in school sports, respectively. All three proposals are active in the state legislature.
• Moms for Liberty, which was identified as an anti-LGBTQ extremist group by the Southern Poverty Law Center in June 2023, has at least one local chapter in each of Pennsylvania’s 17 congressional districts. Despite this, Pennsylvania voters largely rejected Moms for Liberty-aligned candidates in last November’s local school board elections.
• Incumbent U.S. Sen. Bob Casey Jr., who has represented Pennsylvania in Congress since 2007, will likely be challenged by Dave McCormick. During his failed 2022 Senate campaign, McCormick expressed support for policy changes that would harm transgender Americans, including the elimination of federal funding for best-practice medical care. Sen. Casey has a complicated record on abortion rights; however, amid the reversal of Roe v. Wade in 2022, he shifted stances and said he would support legislation to codify abortion access into federal law. During his tenure in the Senate, Casey has consistently backed pro-equality policies, including the LGBTQ Equality Act, which he co-sponsored.
• Pennsylvania state Rep. Malcolm Kenyatta is running for PA Auditor General. If Kenyatta wins, he will become the first Black out LGBTQ statewide official in Pennsylvania history.
• In 2020, President Joe Biden won Pennsylvania with just 50.01% of the vote—a fair electoral victory that former President Donald Trump baselessly contested. As a swing or “purple” state, Pennsylvania will be pivotal in the outcome of the 2024 presidential election, and election officials are already bracing for an influx of national scrutiny. 
• The LGBTQ records of Republican presidential candidates Nikki Haley and Donald Trump are documented on the GLAAD Accountability Project. Trump has amassed more than 200 attacks in policy and rhetoric against LGBTQ Americans throughout his one-term presidency and 2024 campaign.
• The Biden-Harris administration’s LGBTQ record includes more than 320 appointments, nominations, statements and policies of support, as documented via GLAAD’s Biden Accountability Tracker.

Best Practices

• Stories about or that mention LGBTQ people should include LGBTQ voices. 
• In stories specifically about transgender people, seek and include a transgender person. GLAAD can connect you.
• Prioritize facts, expertise, and LGBTQ lived experience over candidate and campaign opinion in your reporting. If a candidate comments on LGBTQ people, always include facts and context. For example, any discussion of transgender healthcare must note this care is supported by every major medical association (30+ statements here). Additional resources linked below. 
• Review and report a candidate’s LGBTQ record and support from anti-LGBTQ groups. Ongoing documentation is available on candidates, other public figures, and anti-LGBTQ groups via the GLAAD Accountability Project.
• Avoid shorthand descriptions of political conversations about LGBTQ people as a “culture war debate.” This dehumanizes marginalized people as a “side” and allows oppressive policies and politicians to escape accountability for creating and fueling the “war.” Furthermore, this language adds to voter apathy by alienating viewers and readers who find vaguely defined “culture wars” irrelevant to their lives. Focus your reporting on the policies, consequences to all taxpayers and the people directly harmed, and the candidates proposing them and their LGBTQ records.
  
• Be factual and clear with your language: “[Candidate name] has proposed policies restricting healthcare for transgender people, despite the fact this care is supported by every major medical association.”
  
• Do not repeat “groomer” rhetoric, or clearly label it as false. Experts in child abuse prevention have raised alarms that this rhetoric undermines understanding of actual child abuse and endangers innocent people and children.
• Include broader context: In 2023, 500+ anti-LGBTQ bills were proposed in state legislatures. This is a broad-scale, coordinated attack against LGBTQ Americans’ growing visibility and acceptance, via targeting healthcare, and banning LGBTQ-inclusive books and school curricula, participation in school sports, and bathroom access. Inform your readers and viewers about this larger pattern of LGBTQ animus as you report on individual topics and bills and candidates supporting them. Note also how healthcare and drag ban bills have been blocked in court as unconstitutional and discriminatory.
  
• Report connections between anti-LGBTQ rhetoric and policies to violent and extremist incidents: The ADL Center on Extremism has documented at least 700 attacks against LGBTQ people through 2023, including murders, assault, harassment, and vandalism. The report notes increasing connections of anti-LGBTQ violence by people from extremist groups like Oath Keepers and Proud Boys. Anti-LGBTQ posts on extremist media, further amplified on extremist cable programs, have been followed by bomb threats against children’s hospitals, libraries, and schools, endangering and inconveniencing all students, families, and residents in these communities.
  
• Report connections between anti-LGBTQ extremism and other attacks on freedoms: States proposing bills targeting LGBTQ people have also banned abortion, enabled extremist hate groups, and denied and denigrated fair elections. In March 2023, Pennsylvania’s neighboring state, West Virginia, enacted a law that allows religious beliefs to be used as an excuse for anti-LGBTQ discrimination. The state has also outlawed abortion. As recently as January 10, 2024, lawmakers in nearby Ohio voted to override the governor’s veto of a law banning healthcare for trans youth.

Additional resources:

GALLUP: 7.2% of U.S. adults are out as LGBTQ, including 20% of Gen Z, the most out generation in history; a projected 14% of voters will be out as LGBTQ by 2030.

GALLUP: Record high 71% support for marriage equality. Pennsylvania legalized marriage equality in 2014, when a federal judge struck down the state’s statutory  ban on same-sex marriages.

GLAAD: 84% support equal rights for LGBTQ people.

GLAAD Media Reference Guide: Terminology and 20+ topic areas to learn about and accurately report on LGBTQ people.

Medical Association Statements Transgender Health Care: 30+ statements from every major medical association and world health authority, across specialities and patient lifespan, supporting healthcare for transgender people. Healthcare for transgender people is mainstream care with widely held consensus of both the medical and scientific communities.

Factsheet for Reporters Covering Transgender Health Care: What to know about transgender healthcare and how to responsibly include trans voices in your coverage.

About GLAAD:

GLAAD rewrites the script for LGBTQ acceptance. As a dynamic media force, GLAAD tackles tough issues to shape the narrative and provoke dialogue that leads to cultural change. GLAAD protects all that has been accomplished and creates a world where everyone can live the life they love.