The Final Rule to Test and Control for PFAS in Public Water Under the EPA and its Implication for Public Health and Public Well Ownership
There is evidence of their negative effects on human health. The EPA says that long-term exposure to certain types of PFAS has been linked to serious illnesses.
Under the EPA’s new rules, public water systems will be required to test drinking water and make sure levels of of the five kinds of regulated PFAS stay below mandated thresholds. The agency estimates that up to 10 percent of the nation’s 66,000 public drinking water systems may have to treat water or find new water supplies in order to fall in line with the new standards. Public water systems will have three years to sample their water and notify the public about PFAS levels and five years to implement plans to lower the amount of forever chemicals if they run afoul of the new regulations.
The study found that Black and Latino residents in communities with larger proportions were exposed to higher levels of harmful PFAS in water.
“There’s no doubt that these chemicals have been important for certain industries and consumer uses, but there’s also no doubt that many of these chemicals can be harmful to our health and our environment,” said EPA administrator Michael Regan in a call with reporters.
The group of chemicals called perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances or PFCs have been used in a variety of products since the 1940’s from clothing, makeup and furniture to firefighting foam and semiconductors.
Senior government officials told reporters that public water systems would have five years to address their problems, which include three years to sample the systems and establish the existing levels of PFAS, and an additional two years to install water treatment technologies.
She says seeing the EPA set limits is “validating.” Six years ago she and her group were told that the water met state and federal guidelines. “And that’s because there weren’t any,” she says. It really shattered public trust in our community.
The final rule is a breakthrough for public health, according to a senior director with the NRDC. “We think it’s going to save thousands of lives thanks to reduced exposure of millions of people to these toxic chemicals in the tap water.”
If the benefits are not more than the cost, the EPA is pretty sure the benefits will be equal.
The announcement comes with $1 billion in grants to help water systems and private well owners conduct initial testing and treatment. It’s part of a $9 billion funding package for PFAS removal in the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. Companies that made these chemicals are also on the hook for more than $10 billion from a class action lawsuit – money which will go to public water systems to remove PFAS.
If water systems can’t access those funds, or if the funds run out, some of those costs may eventually get passed on to consumers, says the NRDC’s Olson.