Toxic soup

NEW MEXICANS AT RISK FROM ‘FOREVER’ CHEMICALS

The companies that produce per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) insist they’re harmless in small doses, but environmental activists and the state of New Mexico disagree — especially since these synthetic chemicals exist in drinking water and hundreds of common products, and they don’t just pass harmlessly through the body after being consumed or absorbed.

PFAS are called “forever chemicals” because they leach into groundwater, resist decomposition in the environment and bioaccumulate in the body. They are linked to cancers, liver damage, low birth weight and congenital abnormalities.

Since being synthesized in the 1940s, PFAS have been used in firefighting foams, nonstick cookware, stain and water repellents, food wrappers, clothing, packaging, furniture, carpets, medical devices, pharmaceuticals, laboratory supplies and snack bags. In short, they are everywhere.

While some manufacturers fight ongoing efforts by the U.S. House of Representatives and environmental groups to regulate and conduct more research into these substances, individual states, including New Mexico, are suing to force the cleanup of contaminated areas.

And, judging by the growing numbers of products being marketed as PFAS-free, health-conscious consumers are demanding PFAS-free products and otherwise acting to reduce their exposure.

Hidden history

Synthetical chemicals such as perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS) and the ammonium salt of hexafluoropropylene oxide dimer acid fluoride (GenX) belong to the PSAS family.

PFAS manufacturers, including 3M and DuPont, have known for nearly 70 years that these chemical compounds build up in the blood and damage the livers of laboratory animals. That historical information emerged from lawsuits against 3M in West Virginia and Minnesota, as did evidence that pregnant employees at both companies were once barred from working with the chemicals because of potential risk to a fetus.

Only DuPont, the maker of Teflon, has publicly admitted that the chemicals are problematic and that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) should label at least two of them — PFOA and PFOS — as hazardous substances and establish a drinking water standard for them. “DuPont does not make PFOA, PFOS or GenX,” Daniel Turner, head of corporate media relations, told the New Mexican. But in 2015, DuPont created a new company, Chemours, to manufacture products containing these chemicals.

Representatives of 3M, DuPont and Chemours testified in September 2019 before the Environment Subcommittee of the U.S. House Committee on Oversight and Reform following release of the PFAS-themed documentary The

Devil We Know.

“We agree that further action needs to be taken,” Turner told the New Mexican. “That’s why we are leading

the industry by supporting federal legislation and sciencebased regulatory efforts to address these chemicals.

Across our portfolio, DuPont’s use of other PFAS is a small fraction of the total PFAS used in the world. . . . We’re actively pursuing alternatives to PFAS where possible in our manufacturing processes.”

Nowhere to hide

In 2018 the EPA released a study estimating that the drinking water of 10 million Americans contained PFAS. In mid-January of this year, the Washington, D.C.based nonprofit Environmental Working Group (EWG) reported that contamination is far more widespread than that. Senior scientists at EWG say contamination is so prevalent that few water systems are PFAS-free.

Groundwater contamination near industrial facilities, airports and military installations — including Cannon

Air Force Base in Clovis and Holloman Air Force Base in Alamogordo — is especially high. EWG also identified elevated PFAS levels in drinking water in Hobbs.

In early January, the New Mexico Environment Department (NMED) fined the Air Force nearly $1.7 million for violating state groundwater safety rules by releasing PFAS-tainted wastewater after its discharge permit expired in March 2019. In April 2019 the state sued the Air Force, demanding the cleanup of toxic chemicals at both bases.

State regulation of PFAS began in 2018, according to NMED public information officer Maddy Hayden. Private and public organizations with groundwater discharge permits now must monitor for these chemicals and disclose their findings. “Since learning of this contamination in late 2018, NMED has made addressing this emerging contaminant a priority,” Hayden said.

In 2019 NMED worked with the New Mexico Department of Health to test public drinking water systems and dozens of private domestic wells on and around the two bases and to help owners of contaminated wells explore treatment options, Hayden said. The state agencies also advised people against recreating in and near Lake Holloman because of its extreme PFAS levels.

“We are seeking every avenue of possible funding to secure resources to address this emerging contaminant issue, including requesting a $1.2 million appropriation from the New Mexico Legislature this session,” Hayden said.

The EPA approved NMED’s request for a federal grant to collaborate with state, local and federal stakeholders on a statewide strategy to identify and address PFAS contamination of public drinking water systems. “Throughout 2020, we expect to use up to $150,000 of our current grant for this work,” she said. “The next step will be to convene a work group to develop an action plan, which will likely include sampling, monitoring and mapping of potential sources of PFAS contamination in other areas of the state. We are working closely with New Mexico’s congressional delegation and others to require the Department of Defense [DOD] to address the problem and compensate affected businesses and landowners, [including] dairies.”

The state is investigating its own use of PFAS compounds and has broadened its review of PFAS use in the oil and natural gas sectors and other industries. New Mexico might develop its own PFAS drinking water standard, as other states have done, Hayden said.

According to a November 2019 article in Military Times, the DOD has found PFAS contamination at 401 active and inactive military bases and an undisclosed number of National Guard facilities. Nine percent of these bases and 22 percent of off-base locations reported PFAS contamination at levels above the EPA drinking water threshold of 70 parts per trillion (PPT) — a level at which remediation is required.

The EPA proposes a standard of 40 PPT as a trigger point for further investigation. But EWG has argued that 1 PPT is the maximum safe level given the tendency of these compounds to bioaccumulate.

Consumer initiative

While government and industry leaders wrestle with their responsibilities for protecting consumer and public health, New Mexicans can educate themselves about the risks and make adjustments to minimize exposure.

“PFAS chemicals are everywhere, and they aren’t going away anytime soon,” said Sydney Evans, a science analyst at EWG and co-author of EWG’s new PFAS testing report. “Manufacturers continue to produce thousands of these compounds, and the EPA and U.S. Food and Drug Administration continue to allow them. Taking action today can reduce your exposure to PFAS and limit the effect these chemicals have on your health.”

Evans urged consumers to use EWG’s Guide to Avoiding

PFAS Chemicals, accessible at ewg.org/avoidpfas, to avoid household exposure to PFAS. In addition, consumers can: • Use certified water filters to reduce levels of some PFAS compounds in drinking water.

• Use stainless-steel or cast-iron cookware and avoid nonstick products.

• Check for PFAS compounds in personal care products. • Eat from traditional dishware.

• Cook on the stove top.

• Avoid microwaveable foods in containers coated with waterproof or greaseproof agents.

• Wet-mop floors and use vacuums with high-efficiency particulate air filters to avoid breathing household dust that might contain PFAS.

• Avoid clothing, shoes, or fabrics treated with nonstick or water-resistant chemicals (such as Teflon, Scotchgard and Gore-Tex).

In 2019 Participant Media released the movie Dark

Waters, a dramatic retelling of corporate attorney Robert Bilott’s battle against DuPont over its responsibility for PFAS contamination in the Parkersburg, West Virginia, watershed. Participant Media offers additional tips for avoiding PFAS contamination at https://darkwaters.participant.com/tipsheets/DARK_WATERS_TIP_SHEET.pdf.