The Post Editorial Limits for PFC toxins in water
No one knows how long humans can be exposed to industrial strains of nonstick chemicals known as PFCs before the adverse health effects seen in lab animals — development issues, low birth weights, tumors — start developing.
“It’s scary here now,” Jan King, 77, told The Denver Post’s Bruce Finley for a story this week about Colorado communities that have been exposed to untold amounts of PFCs or perfluorinated chemicals over the past decades. “You can’t go back and undo what’s already been done, but we need to fix what we can now … Let’s find out what PFCs are doing to our bodies.”
It is scary.
King is one of thousands of Coloradans exposed to PFCs in drinking water including areas in Fountain, Boulder and Adams County. While cleanup is underway in some places and drinking water is being treated in others, the scope of the PFC problem across the nation only now is being explored.
It’s been a top priority for the Environmental Protection Agency, which held a national summit on the problem in May and launched an informational tour that will come to Colorado Springs next week.
But still there are no limits set for a safe level of PFCs in drinking water, and a study out of the University of Colorado indicates the current EPA guidelines are much too permissive of the chemical than they should be.
We are glad the EPA is working on setting new standards for how much PFCs can be in drinking water, but it’s likely to be a slow trudge for the federal agency that will first develop a national management plan and then consider opening an official rule-making process.
The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment could step in and set its own limits for PFCs in the meantime, a move we voiced our support for in September.
But there’s only so much CDPHE can do with its limited resources. That’s why it’s good news the EPA is making this a top priority — federal funding should be allocated for more blood sampling, the documentation of potential adverse health outcomes in areas with long-term exposure, and cleanup efforts like those available under the Superfund law.
The EPA also would be on the front lines of ensuring future contamination doesn’t occur.
Already the EPA has restricted the use of some of the worst PFCs in certain products, those known as long-chain PFAS. But more likely needs to be done given that replacement chemicals were rapidly developed and even less is known about those chemicals.
The EPA has begun a four-step action plan: establish maximum levels of contamination under the Safe Drinking Water Act; have the Office of Emergency Management investigate available remedies for clean up; set groundwater recommendations, and investigate risks of PFC replacement chemicals like Gen X.
The EPA and CDPHE need to quickly determine safe levels for drinking water and ensure that adequate funds are available to make sure Coloradans aren’t exposed above that level.