The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is warning that two nonstick and stain-resistant compounds found in drinking water are more dangerous than previously thought, posing health risks even at levels so low that they cannot currently be detected.
The two compounds, known as PFOA and PFOS, have been voluntarily phased out by manufacturers in the United States, but there are a few remaining uses, and the chemicals remain in the environment because they do not degrade over time. The compounds are part of a larger group of “forever chemicals” known as PFAS, which have been used in consumer and industrial products since the 1940s.
The EPA issued nonbinding health advisories on Wednesday that set PFOA and PFOS health risk thresholds near zero, replacing 2016 guidelines that set them at 70 parts per trillion. The chemicals can be found in items such as cardboard packaging, carpets, and firefighting foam.
Simultaneously, the agency is inviting states and territories to apply for $1 billion in funding under a new bipartisan infrastructure bill to address PFAS and other contaminants in drinking water. According to officials, the funds can be used for technical assistance, water quality testing, contractor training, and the installation of centralized treatment.
Several states have imposed PFAS contamination limits on drinking water that are far stricter than the federal guidance. Toxic industrial compounds have been linked to serious health problems such as cancer and low birth weight.
“For far too long, people on the front lines of PFAS contamination have suffered,” EPA Administrator Michael Regan said in a statement. “That is why, as part of a whole-of-government approach, EPA is taking aggressive action to prevent these chemicals from entering the environment and to help protect concerned families from this pervasive challenge.”
The actions were announced by Radhika Fox, the EPA’s assistant administrator for water, at a national PFAS Conference in Wilmington, North Carolina, where PFAS contamination was discovered in the Cape Fear River watershed.
PFAS is an abbreviation for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, which are found in nonstick frying pans, water-repellent sports gear, stain-resistant rugs, cosmetics, and a wide range of other consumer products. Because the chemical bonds are so strong, they do not degrade or only degrade slowly in the environment and remain in a person’s bloodstream indefinitely.
According to the EPA, the revised health guidelines are based on new science and take into account lifetime exposure to the chemicals. Officials are no longer confident that the PFAS levels permitted under the 2016 guidelines “do not have adverse health effects,” according to an EPA spokesman.
While the new guidelines set acceptable risk below levels that can currently be measured, a senior administration official told reporters Tuesday night that the EPA recommends that utilities take action against the chemicals when they reach levels that can be measured — currently around four parts per trillion.
The EPA stated that it expects to propose national PFOA and PFOS drinking water regulations later this year, with a final rule expected in 2023.
In a related development, the EPA announced that it is issuing final health advisories for two chemicals that are considered replacements for PFOA and PFOS for the first time. The first is known as GenX chemicals, and the second as PFBS. Health advisories were set at 10 parts per trillion for GenX chemicals and 2,000 parts per trillion for PFBS.
The advisories, according to the agency, provide technical information that federal, state, and local agencies can use to address PFAS in drinking water, such as water quality monitoring, the use of filters and other PFAS-reducing technologies, and strategies to reduce exposure to the substances.
Environmental and public health organizations praised the announcement as a positive first step. After thousands of communities discovered PFAS chemicals in their water, advocates have long urged action on the issue. According to the Environmental Working Group, a research and advocacy organization, PFAS chemicals have been confirmed at nearly 400 military installations, and at least 200 million people in the United States are drinking water contaminated with PFAS.
“The EPA had the fortitude to follow the science.” This is a positive step,′′ said Stel Bailey, co-facilitator of the National PFAS Contamination Coalition.
“The science is clear: These chemicals are shockingly toxic at extremely low doses,” said Erik Olson, senior strategic director for health and food at the Natural Resources Defense Council. He urged the EPA to regulate all PFAS chemicals “as a single class of chemicals with enforceable standards.”
The Environmental Working Group’s legislative attorney, Melanie Benesh, said the EPA’s announcement “should set off alarm bells for consumers and regulators alike.”
According to the American Chemistry Council, which represents major chemical companies, the EPA’s announcement “reflects the agency’s failure to follow its accepted practice for ensuring the scientific integrity of its process.”
While the advisories are not legally binding, the group claims that “they will have far-reaching implications for policies at the state and federal levels.” “These new levels are not achievable with current treatment technology and, in fact, are below levels that can be reliably detected using current EPA methods.”
The Chemours Co., a DuPont spinoff that uses GenX chemicals to make fluoropolymers used in semiconductors, mobile phones, hospital ventilators, and other products, described the EPA’s announcement as “fundamentally flawed.” It claimed that the agency “ignored relevant data and issued a health advisory in violation of the agency’s own standards and this administration’s commitment to scientific integrity.”
The company stated that it is weighing its options, including “potential legal action,” in response to the EPA’s “scientifically unsound action.”
Chemours had been discharging GenX from its Fayetteville Works plant into the Cape Fear River for years, according to a state of North Carolina investigation. When the investigation began, EPA chief Regan was the state’s top environmental official, and he led the negotiations that resulted in the river’s cleanup. Gov. Roy Cooper and his current environmental chief unveiled a three-pronged strategy last week to address additional efforts to reduce PFAS chemicals in water sources.
The House passed legislation that would establish a national PFAS drinking water standard and direct the EPA to develop discharge limits for a variety of industries suspected of releasing PFAS into the water. The bill has come to a halt in the Senate.