Virginia

Virginia Dept. of Health plans to test small, disadvantaged communities for PFAS • Virginia Mercury

Published

1 year ago

June 21, 2024

Virginia Dept. of Health plans to test small, disadvantaged communities for PFAS • Virginia Mercury

The Virginia Department of Health is continuing its forever hunt to find the amount of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, known as PFAS, present in the state by testing for them in water systems serving small and disadvantaged communities.

“We suspect they haven’t done PFAS monitoring yet, and so they don’t know what they’re up against,” said Robert Edlemen, director of technical services at the office of drinking water at VDH, in an interview. “And certainly we don’t either.”

PFAS are the thousands of different chemicals used in several household products ranging from winter jackets to cookware to firefighting foam because of the tight chemical bond they possess to repel water and heat.

Because of that tight bond, the chemicals are nearly impossible to break down, meaning they end up in landfills, can leak into groundwater, and then get soaked up by clouds that send them back into the environment and food sources through rainfall.

The new testing comes as part of the federal government passing final PFAS rules in April to enforce a 4 or 10 parts per trillion maximum contaminant levels, or MCL, for a limited number of types of PFAS. One part per trillion is the equivalent of 1 drop of water in 20 Olympic-sized swimming pools.

The new standards will reduce PFAS exposure for roughly 100 million people, prevent thousands of deaths, EPA Administrator Michael Regan said when announcing the new rules this spring.

The chemicals have been linked to serious health problems including cancers and reproductive and fetal development issues.

When issuing the rules, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency created a grace-period for public water systems to monitor levels of PFAS chemicals until 2027 before needing to treat any exceedances of the MCLs in drinking water starting in 2029.

Types of systems

Nationwide and in Virginia, public water systems, or waterworks, are defined as those serving 25 people or more a day for 60 days or more a year.

In Virginia, there are 1,072 community systems that serve towns, cities and counties and about 500 non-transient, non-community systems that serve schools or an office building where people return day-after-day but don’t live.

There’s also 1,245 transient non-community systems, which serve restaurants, a campground or a highway rest-stop that sees groups of people coming and going rather than live in or repeatedly return to the same area.

The community systems and non-transient, non-community systems are subject to the new rules. The transient, non-community systems do not need to follow the rules, with the thinking that the same people aren’t exposed to the potential contaminants from the same system over and over again.

Private wells, which are unregulated in Virginia and primarily serve individuals’ homes in rural, mountainous areas, are not subject to the rules either.

Previous testing

In addition to some sampling the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality has done, the Virginia Department of Health conducted two phases of testing across Virginia’s publicly regulated water systems.

The first of those happened in 2021 with 45 of 50 systems that VDH reached out to agreeing to participate. The effort targeted larger systems serving about 5.25 million of the state’s about 7 million population, Elemen said.

Phase II, in 2022 and 2023, sampled 274 systems which were smaller community systems, and a handful of non-transient, non-community systems that were near areas that included known sources of PFAS, such as large airports that may use firefighting foam with the chemicals, and unlined landfills.

As a result of that sampling, PFAS was found to be present in the Roanoke, Newport News and Potomac River areas.

A screenshot of sites sampled for PFAS by the Virginia Department of Health (Courtesy of Virginia Department of Health)

New testing

Now, in Phase III, VDH is sampling small and disadvantaged communities, which include the “vast majority” of systems in Virginia, Edelman said. These systems include those serving populations of less than 10,000 and are deemed burdened under the EPA’s Environmental Justice screening tool.

The effort is expected to collect about 400 samples in all areas of the state over the next two or three months, Edelman said.

“If you consider that we have over a thousand community water systems, 400 samples isn’t enough to get the job done,” said Edlemen. “But it’s the next step in making progress identifying the PFAS levels across the state…it’s a doable step.”

Some of the about $27 million the state received from the federal government for 2022 and 2023, and $13.5 million this year can be tapped into to offset the costs of testing, Edelman said at a recent waterworks advisory committee meeting.

More testing

The testing is all seen as a way to get a handle on understanding where PFAS are in Virginia before beginning to figure out where the substances are coming from.

Chris Pomeory, attorney for the Virginia Municipal Drinking Water Association that represents waterworks that serve about 3 in every 4 Virginians, said in a statement that the “VMDWA is pleased to know that VDH intends to assist small disadvantaged communities with PFAS testing, which will be helpful for determining where PFAS testing is needed.”

The testing of the smaller systems “absolutely needs to be done,” added Betsy Nichols, vice president of the Potomac Riverkeeper Network, a local environmental group, since those might be in rural areas that are more likely to use biosolids from wastewater treatment plants as fertilizer.

The level of exposure in private wells also needs to be understood, Nichols added. She suggested the state could set up a grant program to help users of those systems conduct the testing.

It costs her group about $90 to $100 to conduct small tests, which require strict protocols for handling and storage because of the ease of outside particles contaminating the test subjects, Nichols said.

“Maybe [the wells] are all fine, but you don’t really know until you test,” Nichols said.

Also of importance is knowing where PFAS is coming from, such as carpet manufacturers, metal finishers and pesticides that use them, in order to “shut off the tap” and begin using alternatives, Nichols said.

“If we don’t start moving more quickly, we won’t have made all the changes that are needed to be implemented when that deadline hits,” Nichols said.

This past session Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin signed a bill setting up a process for the Department of Environmental Quality to identify “significant” sources of PFAS. The bill passed despite some advocates initially wanting a more direct report from those using the chemicals to identify how they were introduced into the environment in the first place.

VDH will also be embarking on a $500,000 study, due to the General Assembly by Dec. 1, to determine how much it may cost to have waterworks make upgrades to treat PFAS, which could cost millions.

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Virginia mosque attacked, Muslim advocates call for hate crime charges

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4 hours ago

December 12, 2025

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Virginia mosque attacked, Muslim advocates call for hate crime charges

Worshippers assaulted outside of Virginia mosque

A Virginia doctor has been arrested and charged with attacking a Fairfax County mosque as worshipers were leaving prayer. The mosque says it’s the second time the man has attacked the same mosque.

FAIRFAX, Va. – Community members are calling for the man accused of attacking a Muslim community center in Virginia to be charged with hate crimes after he was recently arrested. The mosque says the man has attacked its members multiple times.

Virginia mosque attack

What we know:

The latest attack happened on Nov. 28, at the Dar Al Nur Community Center in Fairfax County. In security footage shared by the mosque, a man can be seen berating a group of women leaving prayer. When they see the man, they run back through the door and threaten to call the police.

The man is then seen swatting at the camera, while shouting, “F—ing Muslims! Get the f— out of here!”

Police arrested Dr. Tony Hsiao shortly after the incident, charging him with assault, trespassing and destruction of property. Hsiao was arrested last year on similar charges.

What they’re saying:

Hsiao has not been charged with a hate crime, and advocates say that’s unacceptable.

The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) called pubically Friday for state and federal officials to charge Hsiao with a hate crime.

“[F]ederal authorities must hold him fully accountable by filing hate crime charges,” CAIR attorney Ahmad Kaki said in a statement. “no one should be able to get away with repeatedly attacking the same house of worship. We must send a message that all faiths are welcome and safe in Fairfax County and throughout our nation.”

The Source: Information in this story is from the Council on American-Islamic Relations and the Fairfax County Police Department.

Crime and Public SafetyReligionFairfax

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Virginia Sports Hall of Fame announces Class of 2026

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17 hours ago

December 12, 2025

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Virginia Sports Hall of Fame announces Class of 2026

HENRICO, Va. (WWBT) – The Virginia Sports Hall of Fame announced its Class of 2026 on Wednesday.

This year’s group of athletes, coaches, administrators, and contributors whose influence spans generations, levels of competitions across the state. This includes one man from Richmond, who has also been named the 2026 Distinguished Virginian.

The Class of 2026 inductees are as follows:

Bobby Ukrop (Richmond): Robert S. “Bobby” Ukrop has been named the “2026 Distinguished Virginian” presented to an individual with a sports background who is a distinguished citizen of the Commonwealth based on outstanding life accomplishment”. A former basketball player at the University of Richmond, Ukrop has been a transformative community leader, leading initiatives throughout Central Virginia including the founding of Richmond Sports Backers, construction of the Diamond baseball stadium, efforts to “Drown-proof Virginia” learn to swim initiative.
Grant Hill (Reston): ACC Player of the Year; two-time consensus All American; two-time NCAA Champion; one of the ACC’s 50 Greatest Players; 19-year NBA career – 17,137 points -7-time NBA All-Star- 3-time NBA Sportsmanship Award; Olympic Gold Medalist; member of the College and Naismith Memorial Basketball Halls of Fame. National broadcaster for both NCAA and NBA games. Co-owner of the Atlanta Hawks (NBA) Orlando City SC (MLS), Orlando Pride (NWSL) and the Baltimore Orioles (MLB).
Marcellus “Boo” Williams (Hampton): Widely regarded as one of the most successful and influential youth basketball coaches in the nation, Williams has helped shape the careers of countless young men’s and women’s players. Walt Disney Wide World of Sports named Williams its 2001 Volunteer of the Year; The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame presented him with its 2013 Human Spirit Award. Williams currently operates his youth basketball programs from the 135,000 sq. ft. Boo Williams Sportsplex in Hampton.
Michael Vick (Newport News): The former Virginia Tech standout and NFL quarterback, Vick became one of the most dynamic players of his generation. At Virginia Tech, Vick led the Hokies to the 1999 National Championship game and was a 1st team All-American and a member of the College Football Hall of Fame. The #1 overall pick in the 2001 NFL draft, Vick played in the NFL for 13 seasons, earning 4 Pro Bowl selections and the 2010 NFL Comeback Player of the Year. After his retirement, Vick was a commentator for Fox NFL Sunday. He is currently the head coach of the Norfolk State University Spartans.
Wally Walker (Charlottesville): Often credited with starting the prominence of UVA basketball, Walker led the Cavaliers to their first NCAA tournament berth in 1976 when he was the MVP of the ACC Tournament. Walker was the #5 overall pick of the 1976 NBA draft and played for 8 NBA seasons winning two NBA Championships. Following his playing career, Walker moved to the front office, to become the President of Seattle SuperSonics.
Kristi Toliver (Harrisonburg): One of the most accomplished basketball players in Virginia history. Toliver was the 2009 ACC Player of the Year, a 2-time All-American, NCAA National Champion, 1st round WNBA selection, 2-time WNBA Champion and a 3-time WNBA AllStar. Toliver is currently the associate head coach of the Phoenix Mercury in the WNBA.
Terry Driscoll (Williamsburg): A visionary leader in collegiate athletics, Driscoll served with distinction as the Director of Athletics at William & Mary for 22 years, during which the Tribe won 114 Conference Championships, had 118 teams with 100% graduation rates and oversaw a dramatic increase in funding for new facilities and the College’s endowment. A true “Scholar-Athlete” himself, Driscoll was an Athletic and Academic All-American, the #4 overall pick in the 1969 NBA draft, and a championship professional coach in Europe.
Roland Lazenby (Wytheville): A former reporter with the Roanoke Times, Lazenby is best known for his award-winning author of over 60 sports books that has vaulted him to the top of his profession. Widely regarded as an “expert or authority” on NBA basketball, several of his most prominent books are “go to” references on Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant.
Tony Bennett: Former University of Virginia basketball coach, two-time Naismith Coach of the Year, and national championship coach as long stood among college basketball’s most respected leaders. Over an 18-season head coaching career, including stops at Washington State and the University of Virginia, he compiled a remarkable 433-and-169 overall record. He took over Virginia in 2009 and transformed the Cavaliers into a powerhouse, amassing a 364- 136 record while becoming the programs all-time wins leader. His crowning achievement came in 2019, when his team captured the NCAA national championship- a milestone that delivered Virginia its first ever national title in men’s basketball. Under Bennett’s stewardship, Virginia won six regular season conference titles, two conference championships, and made 10 NCAA Tournament appearances.

The 53rd induction events are set for Saturday, April 25, 2026, at the Hilton Richmond Hotel and Spa/Short Pump.

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Feds want graduate nursing programs to reduce costs. This Virginia nurse worries changes will increase debt.

Published

1 day ago

December 11, 2025

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Feds want graduate nursing programs to reduce costs. This Virginia nurse worries changes will increase debt.

RICHMOND, Va. — University of Virginia graduate nursing student Nelly Sekyere worries that proposed federal loan cuts could prevent future students like herself from pursuing advanced nursing degrees that are helpful in filling shortages in underserved communities.

Sekyere’s parents moved to the United States from Ghana to pursue the American Dream. They worked hourly wage jobs to support their two kids and ultimately became licensed practical nurses, but they never had much money.

Nelly Sekyere

“My dad’s credit score was to the point where it was just awful. He had to file for bankruptcy. He was in so much debt,” Sekyere said.

Still, their children had big dreams and understood the value of hard work. Sekyere, who currently works as a nurse for a local health department, is now a student at UVA pursuing her doctorate to become a family nurse practitioner and to teach others who want to be nurses.

“I do plan to work in underserved communities and rural regions because that is something I am used to, and I feel that is where my expertise are needed the most,” Sekyere said.

She is able to pursue the doctorate because she qualifies for $200,000 in federal graduate degree loans. She said that without the loans, she couldn’t afford the degree.

“I would not. I physically could not afford it,” Sekyere said.

But future nursing graduate students like her may not be able to access as much federal loan money under graduate loan program changes within the One Big Beautiful Bill. Those changes would mean students enrolling in post-baccalaureate nursing programs would be eligible for half the amount of money in federal graduate loans they are currently allowed to take out.

Currently, they can take out $200,000 in federal graduate loans. That number would drop to $100,000 if the changes take effect.

“This impacts those that are pursuing a master’s in nursing, a doctorate of nursing practice or a PhD in nursing,” said Cindy Rubenstein, Director of Nursing and a professor at Randolph Macon College. “Those graduate programs actually prepare nurses to be advanced practice nurses whether that is a Nurse Practioner in primary care, midwives specialists, and also as educators and nurse scientists.”

On its website, the U.S. Department of Education states “95% of nursing students borrow below the annual loan limit and are therefore not affected by the new caps. Further, placing a cap on loans will push the remaining graduate nursing programs to reduce costs, ensuring that nurses will not be saddled with unmanageable student loan debt.”

Rubenstein said she understands the administration’s desire to control tuition costs and limit borrowing amounts. But she says the reality is that the proposal does not take into account the cost of key professional programs that we have shortages in.

“Health care training at the graduate level is more expensive than other training programs and other graduate degrees and that is because of the requirements for clinical practice,” Rubenstein said.

Both Rubenstein and Sekyere worry that reducing the amount of federal loan money a person can take out to pursue those higher nursing degrees will stop people from entering the programs because they either don’t qualify for a private loan or the interest rate is too high.

“I likely foresee in the future that graduate students are going to get themselves into private loan debt and with these programs there is no student loan forgiveness, there is no leniency, there is no income driven plans for you to be able to pay that back,” Sekyere said.

The federal loan changes are slated to take effect July 1 of next year. The Education Department is still working to define exactly which professional programs will no longer be eligible for the higher loan amounts and may make changes based on public comments.

CBS 6 asked Congressman Rob Wittman (R-1st District), who voted for the One Big Beautiful Bill, about the changes to the graduate nursing loans, and he sent us the following statement:

“Our healthcare professionals, especially our nurses, work tirelessly to serve our communities and ensuring pathways to training and education is essential. This proposed rule from the Department of Education has not yet been finalized, and there will be another opportunity for public comment. I will continue to monitor this situation as it develops and I remain committed to addressing the affordability of higher education.”

CBS 6 is committed to sharing community voices on this important topic. Email your thoughts to the CBS 6 Newsroom.

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