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Standards To Limit Forever Chemicals; Stamp Prices Are Set To Increase. Aired 4-4:10a ET

Aired April 11, 2024 - 04:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

COY WIRE, CNN 10 ANCHOR: Hello, sunshine. Welcome back to CNN 10. It`s April 11th, and a random thought Thursday.

Heat, pressure and time, the three things that make a diamond are also the three things that make a waffle.

I`m Coy Wire. Let`s eat.

The Biden administration has set the first ever national standard to limit forever chemicals in our drinking water. These chemicals are officially

known as PFAS, spelled out PFAS. A government study found they`re present in nearly half of the United States drinking water.

These forever chemicals can stick around in our environment and in our bodies. They are linked to a variety of health problems that include

cancer, thyroid disease, reproductive problems, and heart and liver damage.

The CDC says these chemicals can be found in the blood of nearly 97 percent of Americans. This regulation is designed to reduce exposure to these

chemicals for about 100 million people across the United States. The plan targets five specific types of chemicals and sets strict limits for them.

Water treatment facilities have three years to start testing, and another two years to implement technology to filter out these chemicals. The

federal government has set aside a billion dollars to do it. So what does this all mean for you and me?

CNN`s Dr. Sanjay Gupta has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: You may have never heard of PFAS, but you`re likely to have these potentially dangerous chemicals

inside your body. Perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl are substances that are known as forever chemicals.

These synthetic chemicals were developed in the 1940s that are used to repel oil and water. They make consumer items non-stick and waterproof,

stain resistant, and they`re found in many products you likely use. It`s not obvious, non-stick cookware, waterproof clothing, but also in things

you may not necessarily realize, dental floss, pizza boxes, microwave popcorn bags, even makeup and sunscreen.

Now over the last several decades, these chemicals have been developed at this breakneck pace with now more than a 9,000 PFAS related chemicals to

date. And again, they`re called forever chemicals because they don`t break down completely, meaning the same properties that make these chemicals so

durable also make them extremely hard to get rid of, meaning they accumulate in the environment, in animals, and yes, they accumulate in us,

humans.

Thousands of communities across the United States have drinking water that is contaminated with PFAS and as a result, more than 200 million Americans

could have toxic PFAS in their drinking water, according to the Environmental Working Group.

And here`s the thing: nearly all people have measurable level of PFAS in their bodies. In fact, it`s estimated that 98 percent of the U.S.

population has some level of PFAS contamination and individuals exposed on a regular basis to chemicals build up cumulatively.

I want to be clear. These are relatively early days, and we still don`t fully understand the extent of the threat posed by these chemicals. PFAS

have been linked to cancer and kidney and liver damage and other serious health problems and people with prolonged exposure.

As for reversing, the damage that has already been done, large treatment is expensive at scale. It`s even harder, if not impossible, to remove PFAS

from soil or the environment.

But here`s what you can do until a cheaper, more effective solution is found. You can avoid stain and water resistant products and sprays. If you

order delivery or take out the restaurants, remove your food for takeout containers before reheating. In cooking at home, steer clear of non-stick

cookware and filter your drinking water with activated carbon or reverse osmosis, if possible.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WIRE: Who`s going to get it? Which Founding Fathers appeared on the first U.S. postage stamps?

Washington and Jefferson, Washington and Franklin, Adams and Franklin, or Washington and Adams?

If you said George Washington and Benjamin Franklin, go ahead and put your hands up. The 5 cents stamp depicting Franklin and 10 cent depicting

Washington became valid for use in the U.S. in the year 1847.

We`ve got news in the world of snail mail. Stamp prices are set to rise, again. The U.S. Postal Service is bumping up the price of the first class

forever stamp by a nickel. The cost is increasing from 68 cents to 73. If you`re thinking that`s a lot, you`re right. Since 2019, the cost has shot

up by 36 percent. So if you paid a dollar to send something five years ago, you`d be paying $1.36 today.

The Postal Service says this price hike is designed to get the post office on better financial footing. They added that the prices though remain among

the most affordable in the world. The 5 cent increase doesn`t kick in until July and still requires regulatory approval.

With today`s story getting a 10 out of 10, we`re shining some light on all the animals that were suddenly in the dark during Monday`s eclipse. They

didn`t know what was going on.

Our Ed Lavandera reports from the Dallas Zoo.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It was like momentarily walking into the classic comedy "Night at the Museum," a glimpse into the

secret lives of animals at the Dallas Zoo when humans aren`t around to watch.

Zebra started chasing him and then the ostriches got into the mix as well.

Just as the zoo slipped into total darkness, a jolt of, well, animal energy seemed to shoot through the grounds.

The moment mesmerized Lisa Van Slett, a curator of mammals at the Dallas Zoo.

So did the total eclipse today meet your expectations?

LISA VAN SLETT, ASSOCIATE CURATOR, DALLAS ZOO: It exceeded my expectations today. There was a lot more activity than I expected to see out of the

animals.

Just before total darkness, an ostrich laid an egg and hovered over it for a time, protecting it. Zoo officials say it`s not clear if the moment was

caused by the eclipse, but that the timing was certainly curious, they said.

Guinea fowl suddenly crowed wildly.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I can hear the - I hear the birds are starting, yes.

LAVANDERA: The birds are getting louder.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yeah.

LAVANDERA: Just before the moon covered the sun for almost four minutes, a young giraffe and its mother galloped around the enclosure. The zebras

joined in the chase as well.

Here and around the country, elephants grouped together and appeared to head back to the area where they sleep. Flamingos packed together in the

middle of a pond in their habitat. Primates apparently also thought it was bedtime.

Animal experts say the sudden darkness triggered a natural reaction among many of the animals.

VAN SLETT: At nighttime, predators go out a lot more, and so they have to kind of huddle together to be safety in numbers and in case something`s

coming, so they went into that instinct pretty quickly.

LAVANDERA: At this doggy daycare in the Dallas area, this group of dogs seemed to stop, confused by the sudden darkness. When the sun returned, the

dogs started playing around again.

Another video captured a cat wanting to come inside its home when darkness struck. At the Toledo Zoo, a polar bear didn`t seem to care about all the

fuss, nonchalantly dove into the water before the sun disappeared.

Texas Parks and Wildlife officials teamed up with NASA to set up these acoustic recording devices to monitor the sounds of animals in the wild.

But not all animals were flustered or impressed by the total eclipse. Tobogo (ph) the giraffe mostly walked around, unfazed, ready to start

chewing on the lettuce the humans feed him when the sun came back.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LAVANDERA (on camera): Because a total eclipse is so rare, there`s very little documentation, very few studies that have been done on animal

behavior during a total eclipse. Because of that, zoo officials say they plan on sharing their observations and the data they gather, not just with

other zoos that were in the path of this eclipse, but as well as with other zoos across the country.

Ed Lavandera, CNN, Dallas.

WIRE: Apparently, the eclipse didn`t meet Tobogo`s nextpectations. He spotted the sun`s leaf of absence, but he`s used to long stretches of

darkness. So he was unfazed because he knew it`d come back lunar than later.

Today`s shout-out is going to Mililani Middle School in Mililani, Hawaii. Aloha, Blazers, and thank you for watching the show.

Rise up. Happy Friday eve, everyone. Shine bright today and going out and make someone smile. I dare you.

I`m Coy Wire. And we are CNN 10.

END