|
|
The Environmental Protection Agency announced last month that it wants to begin labeling so-called “forever chemicals” found in many household products “hazardous” so releases of a certain amount of these substances will have to be reported to the federal government.
The approval of PFOA and PFOS, which are part of a class of perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), would be labeled “hazardous” substances under Superfund regulations. The agency said companies that pollute with these substances would be forced to pay fines or take the clean-up bill.
For years, The Trends Journal has reported extensively on the issue and its impact on Americans’ health. (See “EPA LOWERS WHAT IT CONSIDERS TO BE SAFE LEVELS OF ‘FOREVER CHEMICALS’ IN DRINKING WATER” 21 Jun 2022, “DEADLY ‘FOREVER CHEMICALS’ IN U.S. WATER” 13 Apr 2021 and “HEALTHY INDIVIDUALS COULD DEVELOP LIVER DISEASE DUE TO ‘FOREVER CHEMICALS FOUND IN NON-STICK PANS, TAKEOUT CONTAINERS” 10 May 2022.)
Nearly all Americans are exposed to PFAS. They can be found in the air or drinking water and the chemicals stay in the bloodstream for a lifetime. The chemicals are not regulated so municipalities are not required to test for them in their systems. Scott Faber, the senior vice president of the Environmental Working Group, said there are nearly 2,000 public water supplies in the U.S. that have some level of PFOS and PFOA.
Keith Vorst, an associate professor at Iowa State University who studies the levels of PFAS in products, told The New York Times earlier this year, “It’s in the Arctic. It’s in the polar bears. It’s in trees. It is at the bottom of the ocean.”
PROA and PFOS are two of the most widely used PFAS, CNN reported.
The Biden administration announced that it will spend $1 billion to address these chemicals. The EPA issued nonbinding health advisories that set health risk thresholds for PFOA and PFOS to near zero. In 2016, the guidelines were set at 70 parts per trillion.
TRENDPOST: Tim Whitehouse, the executive director of Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility, told CNN that the EPA’s move is another case of too little, too late.
“This administration and previous administrations have been fiddling around trying not to upset chemical companies, and communities suffer,” he said.
The American Chemistry Council industry group—whose members include 3M and DuPont—accused the EPA of shoddy work when investigating these chemicals. The agency is accused of not waiting for a review by the agency’s Science Advisory Board before making major announcements.
The group said it is concerned that the process for developing the advisories was “fundamentally flawed.”
“A few communities may benefit from the proposed rule, but it doesn’t solve the problem and the problem is that the EPA refuses to develop management standards for PFAS waste,” Whitehouse said.