PRESS RELEASE: EPA Announces New Standards for "Forever Chemicals" in Drinking Water

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 

Contact: Wayne Chung Tanaka, Director, Sierra Club Hawai‘i Chapter,  wayne.tanaka@sierraclub.org
Cindy Carr, Sierra Club National Deputy Press Secretary, cindy.carr@sierraclub.org 

EPA RELEASES NEW PFAS “FOREVER CHEMICAL”  DRINKING WATER STANDARDS  

WASHINGTON, DC -- Today, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released its  first-ever legal standard for two PFAS “forever chemicals” -- PFOS and PFOA -- proposing  a limit of no more than 4 parts per trillion (ppt) for each chemical in drinking water. EPA is  also setting a combined standard for the total hazard posed by four other PFAS chemicals - - PFHxS, PFBS, PFNA, and HFPO-DA or GenX -- in drinking water. More than 200 million  people in the United States are estimated to currently have unhealthy levels of PFAS in  their water. EPA estimates the new standard, when enacted in 2024, will save billions of  dollars in healthcare costs per year and prevent death and serious diseases like cancer,  heart attacks, and strokes. 

The announcement is a rare move for EPA which has not updated any drinking water  standards for dangerous chemicals for more than two decades. In the short term, the costs  of testing and removing PFAS from water will largely be covered by Federal funding,  including $5 billion for PFAS and other emerging contaminants in the Inflation Reduction  Act. 

The announcement is a clear acknowledgment that PFAS chemicals are more potent than  previously believed. Last summer, EPA dramatically lowered its lifetime health advisory  levels for PFOS and PFOA from 70 parts per trillion combined to 20 and 4 parts per  quadrillion, respectively. When finalized, the new drinking water standard for PFOS and  PFOA will be the lowest limit for any chemical the EPA regulates in water. While the  proposed limits are a notable improvement from no limit, they are still more than 250 to  1,000 times higher than the amount EPA says is “safe” or ideal in water. 

In response, Sierra Club Senior Toxics Policy Advisor Sonya Lunder issued the  following statement: 

“EPA’s strong new limits for these six PFAS chemicals will prevent serious illnesses and  save lives. EPA must keep its momentum by issuing rules to limit the production and use of  PFAS chemicals and control their cleanup and disposal. In the long term, polluting industries, not the public, must pay the full cost of removing these ‘forever chemicals’ from  the environment.” 

Mark Favors, military veteran, registered nurse, and Sierra Club member issued the  following statement: 

“Unfortunately, today’s protections arrived too late for my family members who drank water  contaminated by the use of PFAS at Peterson Air Force Base in Colorado Springs for  decades. Sixteen people in my extended family have had cancer, including five military  veterans. But the new rules will have far-reaching implications for future generations,  particularly people living near military bases. The Department of Defense (DoD) has a long  history of failing to honor safer drinking water standards in many states, forcing military  service members and the public to drink unhealthy water and water utilities to pay out of  pocket for expensive treatment. By swiftly implementing and enforcing the proposed PFAS  standards, the EPA can mandate DoD follow these standards and ultimately prevent future  illness, even death, for many Americans.” 

Wayne Tanaka of the Sierra Club of Hawaiʻi issued the following statement: 

“The new PFAS limits confirm the seriousness of the threat to our water, our ʻāina, and our  current and future generations posed by last year’s release of liquid firefighting foam  concentrate from the Red Hill Facility. They also add a new level of urgency to our demands  that the Navy, and all branches of the Department of Defense, come clean about their past  use of firefighting foams, so that we can begin the painful process of assessing where  people may be at the highest risk of exposure to these ‘forever chemicals’ whether through  water, soil, fish, or other environmental pathways.” 

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Experts available for interview upon request: 
Sonya Lunder, Sierra Club Senior Toxics Policy Advisor 
Mark Favors, military veteran, registered nurse, and Sierra Club member

About PFAS Chemicals 

PFAS, or per-fluoroalkyl and poly-fluoroalkyl substances, commonly referred to as “forever  chemicals,” are synthetic chemicals that never break down in the environment and are  linked to a variety of health problems including kidney and testicular cancer, damaged  immune systems, and harm to the liver, thyroid, and pancreatic function. More than 200  million people in the United States are estimated to currently have unhealthy levels of PFAS  in their drinking water, and nearly every American has some amount of PFAS in their  bodies—even newborns. This contamination is global in scope and primarily driven by the  military’s use of PFAS-based firefighting foam, manufacturing companies like 3M, DuPont,  and Chemours releasing chemical waste into the air, waterways, and sewage, and the  widespread use of PFAS chemicals in consumer products like Teflon pans, rain gear, and 

more. To date, the EPA has been slow to restrict the ongoing production, use, and disposal  of PFAS chemicals, and because of the weakness and deliberate carve-outs of the EPA’s  Toxics Release Inventory, nearly every industry that currently produces or uses PFAS is  able to conceal that from the public by classifying them as “trade secrets.” 

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