EPA unveils plan to regulate PFAS
‘Forever chemicals’ are associated with serious medical conditions.
WASHINGTON — The Biden administration is launching a broad strategy to regulate toxic industrial compounds associated with serious health conditions that are used in products ranging from cookware to carpets and firefighting foams.
Michael Regan, the head of the Environmental Protection Agency, said it is taking a series of actions to limit pollution from a cluster of long-lasting chemicals known as PFAS that are increasingly turning up in public drinking water systems, private wells and even food.
The plan is intended to restrict PFAS from being released into the environment, accelerate cleanup of PFAS-contaminated sites such as military bases and increase investments in research to learn more about where PFAS are found and how their spread can be prevented.
“This is a bold strategy that starts with immediate action” and includes additional steps “that will carry through this first term” of President Joe Biden, Regan said in an interview with The Associated Press. “We’re going to use every tool in our toolbox to restrict human exposure to these toxic chemicals.’’
PFAS, called “forever chemicals” because they last so long in the environment, have been associated with serious health conditions, including cancer and reduced birth weight.
PFAS is short for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances that are used in nonstick frying pans, water-repellent sports gear, stain-resistant rugs and countless other consumer products. The chemical bonds are so strong that they don’t degrade or do so only slowly in the environment and remain in a person’s bloodstream indefinitely.
Several Miami Valley
communities, including Dayton, have grappled with PFAS contamination in recent years. Low levels of the contaminants were detected in 24 Southwest Ohio public water systems in counties such as Greene, Montgomery, Clark and Warren, according to the Ohio EPA. They made those discoveries while testing the more than 1,550 public drinking water systems across the state to determine if PFAS were present.
The testing, which wrapped up in late December, is part of Ohio’s action plan that’s aimed at addressing potential threats to both public and private drinking water systems.
Montgomery County plans to test its water for PFAS annually moving forward. They are obligated to ensure that water customers have quality drinking water, so the testing gives officials “current, scientific data we need to — not just meet — but exceed the standards outlined by the Ohio EPA,” said Matt Hilliard, Montgomery County director of environmental services.
In July, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base sampled 22 private drinking water wells in nearby neighborhoods to determine the levels of a group of contaminants known as forever chemicals.
The testing, officials said, is part of the Air Force’s ongoing efforts to ensure that the toxins remain below the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s recommended levels for PFAS.
Wright-Patt’s well sampling process started in late April, when the Air Force Civil Engineer Center surveyed 405 properties in two areas near the base and identified the wells that would be sampled. Twenty were in the area near where a Harrier aircraft crashed in 1997 shortly after taking off from the base. The crash site is at the Interstate 70 and Interstate 675 intersection in Fairborn.
The remaining two wells sampled were in an area between Wright-Patt, the Mad River and the city of Dayton Fire Training Center, located at 200 McFadden Ave.
All samples collected were below the EPA recommended action level of 70 parts per trillion, said David Iacovone, the Air Force Civil Engineering Center’s project manager.
In addition to sampling private wells, the Air Force Civil Engineer Center is conducting an investigation that will help officials determine the nature and extent of PFAS flowing from the base, he added. The investigation is part of the federal Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act, which is not required for forever chemicals. CERCLA, also known as Superfund, was created to set aside money for cleaning up abandoned or uncontrolled hazardous waste sites.
The information collected will provide data to determine if base officials and the U.S. Department of Defense need to take action, and the best courses of action, Iacovone said. In the meantime, WPAFB and the Air Force have implemented several measures to ensure their mission activities are not a source of PFAS exposure, he said. Some of those measures include using firefighter foam that does not contain PFAS, restricting use of the foam to emergency use and controlled exercises in appropriate facilities and promptly removing foam when discharged in emergency response.
Under the strategy announced Monday, the EPA will move to set aggressive drinking water limits for PFAS under the Safe Drinking Water Act and will require PFAS manufacturers to report on how toxic their products are. The agency also is moving to designate PFAS as hazardous substances under the so-called Superfund law that allows the EPA to force companies responsible for the contamination to pay for the cleanup work or do it themselves.
The actions will make it easier for the EPA to ensure that cleanups are conducted safely and that “the polluter pays for that,’ Regan said.
Environmental and public health groups welcomed the announcement. Advocates have long urged action on PFAS by the EPA, the Food and Drug Administration, the Defense Department and other agencies.
Thousands of communities nationwide have detected PFAS chemicals in their water, and PFAS have been confirmed at nearly 400 military installations, according to the Environmental Working Group, a research and advocacy organization.
“No one should have to worry about toxic forever chemicals in their tap water,” said Scott Faber, the group’s senior vice president. “We’re grateful that Administrator Regan will fulfill President Biden’s pledge to address (PFAS) ... and will begin to turn off the tap of industrial PFAS pollution.”
The American Chemistry Council, which represents major chemical companies, said it supports “strong, science-based regulation of chemicals, including PFAS substances.’’ But the group added: “All PFAS are not the same, and they should not all be regulated the same way. EPA’s Roadmap reinforces the differences between these chemistries and that they should not all be grouped together. We hope and expect any federal actions will be consistent with sound science.”
The regulatory strategy comes as Congress considers wide-ranging legislation to set a national drinking water standard for certain PFAS chemicals and clean up contaminated sites across the country, including military bases where high rates of PFAS have been discovered.