The EPA issued nonbinding health advisories that set health risk thresholds for PFOA and PFOS to near zero.
At the same time, the agency is inviting states and territories to apply for $1 billion under the new bipartisan infrastructure law to address PFAS and other contaminants in drinking water. Money can be used for technical assistance, water quality testing, contractor training and installation of centralized treatment, officials said.
Radhika Fox, EPA's assistant administrator for water, announced the actions at a national PFAS Conference in Wilmington, North Carolina, where PFAS contamination was discovered in the Cape Fear River watershed. While the new guidelines set acceptable risk below levels that can currently be measured, as a practical matter the EPA recommends that utilities take action against the chemicals when they reach levels that can be measured - currently about four parts per trillion, a senior administration official told reporters Tuesday night.
The agency said the advisories provide technical information that federal, state and local agencies can use to address PFAS in drinking water, including water quality monitoring, use of filters and other technologies that reduce PFAS, and strategies to reduce exposure to the substances. Erik Olson, senior strategic director for health and food at the Natural Resources Defense Council, said"the science is clear: These chemicals are shockingly toxic at extremely low doses." He called on the EPA to regulate all PFAS chemicals"with enforceable standards as a single class of chemicals."
While the advisories are nonbinding,"they will have sweeping implications for policies at the state and federal levels,'' the group said."These new levels cannot be achieved with existing treatment technology and, in fact, are below levels that can be reliably detected using existing EPA methods."
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