On June 15, 2022 the U.S Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced new health advisories for four per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances commonly known as “PFAS.” These new EPA health advisories are:
0.004 parts per trillion (ppt) or 4 parts per quadrillion for perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA)
0.02 ppt for perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS)
2,000 ppt for perfluorobutanesulfonic acid (PFBS)
10 ppt for GenX
It seems clear that there is no level of exposure to these extremely dangerous chemicals and now we need the EPA to enact equivalent enforceable standards, not just health advisories, to protect communities around federal Superfund sites and Department of Defense facilities.
To be truly protective of human health, we need enforceable standards and I am happy to hear that the EPA plans to make such a proposal by the end of the year and we should expect that enforceable standards will be forthcoming eqivalent to these health advisories.
These chemicals must be regulated as a class so we can put an end to the whack-a-mole approach to regulation, speed up the process to protect public health, and hold manufacturers and polluters accountable for continuing to use these dangerous chemicals. Recent testing has shown that Saint Gobain Performance Plastics continues to contribute to the largest environmental tragedy in southern NH by emitting both PFOA and PFOS from their plant located in Merrimack.