EPA Proposes First Federal Limits On Forever Chemicals In Drinking Water
The Environmental Protection Agency said limits on toxic PFAS products would save thousands of lives and prevent serious illnesses, including cancer. Public water systems will be required to monitor supplies for six PFAS chemicals and alert the public if levels pass proposed standards.
AP:
EPA To Limit Toxic 'Forever Chemicals' In Drinking Water
The Environmental Protection Agency on Tuesday proposed the first federal limits on harmful “forever chemicals” in drinking water, a long-awaited protection the agency said will save thousands of lives and prevent serious illnesses, including cancer. The plan would limit toxic PFAS chemicals to the lowest level that tests can detect. PFAS, or per- and polyfluorinated substances, are a group of compounds that are widespread, dangerous and expensive to remove from water. They don’t degrade in the environment and are linked to a broad range of health issues, including low birthweight and kidney cancer. (Phillis and Daly, 3/14)
Reuters:
U.S. Proposes Limits For Cancer-Causing Chemicals In Drinking Water
Under the new standard, the agency will require public water systems to monitor for six PFAS chemicals, inform the public if PFAS levels exceed proposed standards in the drinking water supply, and take action to reduce PFAS levels. Chemical companies sell PFAS for use in products ranging from paper to pans, enabling them to be stain-resistant, water-repellent and grease-proof. They are also used in industrial processes and discharged into waterways. (Volcovici, 3/14)
The Washington Post:
EPA Cracks Down On PFAS 'Forever' Chemicals In Drinking Water
The proposal would require water utilities to detect and reduce PFAS contamination at 4 parts per trillion. The agency had warned in June that the compounds pose a greater danger to human health than regulators previously thought, compromising people’s immune and cardiovascular systems at a lifetime exposure of between just 0.004 to 0.02 parts per trillion, depending on the type of compound. (Puko, 3/14)
Stat:
EPA Proposes Limits For ‘Forever Chemicals’ In Drinking Water
The uncertainty around how much PFAS should be allowed in drinking water due to economic and technological constraints will likely make the 60-day comment period fraught, as STAT reported late last year. “I worry about the political and cost pressures of setting something that is actually health protective,” Anna Reade, a senior scientist at the Natural Resources Defense Council, told STAT at the time. “I do think that the MCLG should be zero and the question is what the MCLs will be set at.” She hoped the MCLs would be set at 2 to 4 nanograms per liter, ranges that would be fairly protective of health but feasible for labs to measure. (Trang, 3/14)
In related news about drinking water —
Capital & Main:
Health Officials Delayed Report Linking Fluoride To Brain Harm
Last May, the National Toxicology Program (NTP), a federal research agency, was set to release its eagerly awaited report into the cognitive and neurodevelopmental impacts on humans from fluoride exposure. The report was anticipated for several reasons, including its review of studies linking fluoridated water to cognitive harm in children. Water fluoridation is the long-established public policy of adding fluoride to drinking water to fight tooth decay. The report was also set to play a key role in an ongoing lawsuit, filed by government accountability nonprofit Food & Water Watch, to get the Environmental Protection Agency to regulate water fluoridation because of fluoride’s possible neurotoxic harm. More than two years ago, the judge put the case on hold in expectation of the NTP report’s public release. (Ross, 3/14)
