"EPA Targets ‘Forever Chemicals’ In Historic Water Rule"

"EPA is taking aim at six notorious “forever chemicals” with aggressive standards likely to usher in a new hard-line approach to the compounds.

Administrator Michael Regan unveiled dramatic new drinking water cutoffs for two PFAS on Tuesday, with a proposed rule slashing the threshold permitted in systems nationwide. Under the proposed regulation, the limit for the likely carcinogen PFOA and equally notorious PFOS would be 4 parts per trillion — as low as labs can reliably measure.

Four additional compounds would be regulated as a mixture and assessed through a hazard index calculator, a tool commonly used in public health and environmental settings. That formula would determine if combined levels of PFNA, PFHxS, PFBS and HFPO-DA (better known by its trademarked name GenX) require immediate action."

E.A. Crunden reports for E&E News March 14, 2023.

SEE ALSO:

"PFAS: EPA Releases Proposed Drinking Water Standards For Six “Forever Chemicals”" (EHN)

"U.S. Proposes Limits For Cancer-Causing Chemicals In Drinking Water" (Reuters)

"Biden Administration to Restrict Cancer-Causing ‘Forever Chemicals’" (New York Times)

"EPA’s Proposed Change on PFAS Limits Would Deem Dozens Of Colorado Water Sources Unsafe" (Denver Post)

"EPA Proposes First-Ever Limits On PFAS in Drinking Water" (Grist)

"PFAS Analysis Used Poor Science, EPA’s Inspector General Says" (Bloomberg Environment)