EPA Issues New Drinking Water Health Advisories: See PA Impacts

PENNSYLVANIA — A new study is warning the public that "forever chemicals," found in drinking water in numerous parts of Pennsylvania as well as around the country, are even more dangerous than previously believed. Local utilties are being encouraged to install filters to remove the chemicals and to tell their customers how dangerous they are, the Environmental Protection Agency said Wednesday.

Polyfluoroalkyl and perfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS, have been a widely known issue in southeastern Pennsylvania for years. The chemicals were used for decades in firefighting foam and other industrial materials at the former Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base Willow Grove and the Naval Air Development Center in Warminster.

Melanie Benesh, legislative attorney for the Environmental Working Group, told The Washington Post the EPA’s advisory “should set off alarm bells for consumers and regulators.”

“These proposed advisory levels demonstrate that we must move much faster to dramatically reduce exposures to these toxic chemicals,” Benesh said.

PFAS and related substances are known as “forever chemicals” because of their durability in high heat and water, which means they remain in the environment for years without breaking down. They’re found in a range of food and consumer products, and have been linked to infertility, thyroid problems and several types of cancer.

In the greater Philadelphia area, a study is underway to further examine the impacts of the chemicals. The study seeks 1,000 adults over the age of 18 as well as 300 children between the ages of 4 and 17 who live in a number of municipalities in both Montgomery and Bucks Counties.

Researchers from the Pennsylvania Department of Health, Temple University, Brown University and RTI International are conducting the study, according to information found about it online.

No state is untouched by PFAS contamination, according to a map compiled by the Environmental Working Group, a nonprofit organization sometimes criticized for exaggerating certain toxicity risks. But a growing body of scholarly and government research backs the assertion of both the EPA and EWG that even at low levels currently, these chemicals can cause harm over a person’s lifetime.

The best thing people can do right now is install one of several commercially available filters, but they need to make sure the filter removes PFAS.

Communities with PFAS contamination may be eligible for funding under a $1 billion grant program included in the Biden administration’s bipartisan infrastructure package approved by Congress last year.

U.S. manufacturers have phased out PFOA and PFOS, two compounds found in the cluster of forever chemicals widely used in nonstick cookware, moisture-repellent fabrics and flame-retardant equipment. A few uses remain, and they’re ubiquitous in the environment, having accumulated since the 1940s, National Public Radio reported.

Even at levels so low they can’t be detected in drinking water, these compounds pose a health risk, the EPA said in the revised advisory. The agency lowered the allowable limits of these two compounds, immediately drawing fire from the chemical industry

The American Chemical Council, which represents PFAS producers such as 3M and Dupont, said Wednesday the EPA’s new standards “will have sweeping implications” on public policy, and “cannot be achieved with existing treatment technology and, in fact, are below levels that can be reliably detected using existing EPA methods.”

Further, the industry group questioned the science behind the revised drinking water health advisory, saying it should have been delayed until the agency’s own Science Advisory Board could review dramatically reduced toxicity levels that are “3,000 to 17,000 times lower” than those set in 2016.

“Getting the science right is of critical importance,” the American Chemical Council said in a statement.

Health advocates say the problem can’t be overstated. Forever chemicals have already prompted officials in Wisconsin, Minnesota and Michigan to issue advisories against eating certain fish caught in Lake Superior

Pennsylvania is holding a series of hearings of virutal public hearings on the new rules will be held next month via Webex on the state's Department of Environmental Protection Agency's website.

• Monday, March 21, 2022, at 1:00 PM
• Tuesday, March 22, 2022, at 6:00 PM
• Wednesday, March 23, 2022, at 1:00 PM
• Thursday, March 24, 2022, at 9:00 AM
• Friday, March 25, 2022, at 9:00 AM

To submit a comment, email RegComments@pa.gov or write through the DEP's website here.