drinking water

April 17, 2024

EPA called to address “long-ignored health crisis” in Iowa drinking water

By Carey Gillam

US regulators must take immediate action to address a “long-ignored health crisis” stemming from dangerously contaminated drinking water in Iowa, according to a legal petition filed by environmental and health advocacy groups this week.

The Iowa Environmental Council (IEC) and 12 other organizations are calling for the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to take a series of steps to reduce harmful nitrate pollution found in water supplies in Northeast Iowa.

The petition highlights the fact that for many years, nitrate concentrations found in thousands of private wells and some public water sources have exceeded the federal limit of 10 milligrams per liter for drinking water.

State agencies have documented the contamination, but have “failed to do what is needed to correct the pervasive threat to human health,” the petition states.

“For decades, Northeast Iowa residents have been exposed to dangerous levels of nitrate contaminated water,” Food & Water Watch attorney Dani Replogle said in a press release. “As the state reckons with high cancer levels and ongoing pollution regulation rollbacks, federal action is needed to safeguard the right to clean water. EPA must exercise emergency authority to hold polluters accountable and deliver safe drinking water in Iowa.”

Food & Water Watch is among the groups joining IEC in its petition. Others include the Environmental Working Group, the Center for Food Safety, the Environmental Law & Policy Center, and several state organizations.

All signs indicate that “dangerous contamination levels will continue or worsen, absent EPA action,” the petition states.

Farm operations are largely to blame for the contamination, both from the runoff of fertilizer applied to fields of corn and other crops, and the runoff of liquified manure generated by large livestock operations that is also often spread on farm fields. The runoff carries nitrates and phosphorus into surface and groundwaters, and ultimately drinking water.

Iowa is one of the nation’s largest farm states for crops and livestock, and Northeast Iowa is particularly vulnerable to farm pollutants because of its “karst” terrain, which features porous limestone that allows surface pollutants to more quickly move into groundwater. All of the drinking water in the karst region of northeast Iowa depends on groundwater aquifers.

Despite these facts, only a small fraction of private wells are tested regularly for nitrates, which are known to cause health problems at high levels, especially for infants. Cancer is a specific concern with nitrate exposure. Still, more than 1,200 wells in the 12-county karst region tested above the federal threshold for safety from 2016 to 2023, the petition states.

April 12, 2024

Firefighting foam company reaches $750 million PFAS settlement

By Shannon Kelleher

The company Tyco Fire Products today reached a $750 million settlement to help resolve claims related to its firefighting foam, which allegedly contaminated drinking water systems with harmful PFAS chemicals for decades.

Once the settlement is approved, an estimated 7,000 to 8,000 US public water systems could receive money to treat contaminated drinking water, said Joe Rice, co-lead attorney for the plaintiffs with the Motley Rice law firm. Water systems that test positive for PFAS by May 15 may be eligible to benefit from the settlement.

“$750 million towards this problem, that is a huge contribution,” said Rice.

Tyco, a subsidiary of Johnson Controls, does not admit liability or wrongdoing by agreeing to the settlement.

The announcement builds on last summer’s landmark settlements from the companies 3M, Dupont, and others, which could total up to nearly $14 billion to assist affected water systems as they test for and clean up PFAS contamination. 3M’s settlement received final approval April 1.

Earlier this week, US regulators announced the nation’s first legally enforceable limits for levels of six toxic per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in drinking water, a move the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) says should prevent thousands of deaths and reduce serious illnesses in people across the country.

April 9, 2024

Unsafe levels of PFAS contaminate global water sources, study finds

By Shannon Kelleher

A large part of the world’s surface waters and groundwater contains toxic PFAS chemicals at levels higher than regulators consider safe for drinking water, according to a new analysis of data from more than 45,000 water samples collected from around the world.

The data points to Australia, China, Europe and North America as hotspots for contamination by per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), although the authors suggest this may be skewed due to higher levels of sampling in these regions.

The findings, which were published April 8 in the journal Nature Geoscience, come as regulators in the United States prepare to set the first enforceable drinking water limits for certain types of PFAS. Many US states and other countries have already set regulations for PFAS in drinking water.

“I was surprised to find out the large fraction of source waters that are above drinking water advisory recommendations,” Denis O’Carroll, an engineering professor at the University of New South Wales in Australia and an author of the study, said in a press release.

The number of samples considered unsafe was higher in countries that have stricter PFAS drinking water guidelines and regulations. In Canada, which has one of the strictest recommendations for PFAS in drinking water, 69% of groundwater samples had levels that surpassed that country’s threshold, while only 6% of samples from the European Union failed to meet its criteria.

February 13, 2024

EPA’s proposed lead pipe crackdown spurs debate

By Shannon Kelleher

Proposed revisions to a national drinking water regulation designed to reduce exposure to lead in US drinking water are drawing applause from many sectors, but also criticism as industry groups worry about how to meet the stricter standard and environmental and health advocates fear the proposed requirements don’t go far enough.

The regulatory move comes after public outcry in response to recognition that communities around the country could be at risk of the type of contamination that occurred in Flint, Michigan in 2014 when the town’s drinking water became contaminated with lead from corroded pipes. The toxic metal, which is a known health hazard, particularly to children, has also been found in the tap water of Chicago residents.

“Now, there’s a new proposed rule, there’s lots of money, and there is a deadline, so now people are mobilizing to implement,” said Alfredo Gomez, director of Natural Resources and Environment at the US Government Accountability Office (GAO). But, he said, “some folks are supportive of the proposed rule, and others are concerned.”

The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)’s proposed changes would require water systems to replace lead service lines within 10 years of the rule going into effect. An estimated 9.2 million water service lines provide water to communities across the nation. The agency would also compel utilities to take stronger measures to prevent lead in the pipes from entering the water through corrosion by reducing the level at which utilities are required to take mitigation action for lead from 15 parts per billion (ppb) to 10 ppb. The EPA action builds on revised regulations introduced in 2021.

The new move to address lead in drinking water, which the EPA proposed in late November, is among a host of actions the agency has recently taken to crack down on a wide range of harmful environmental pollutants. The agency issued an enforcement alert in late 2023 calling out “widespread noncompliance” with the first US regulation on toxic coal ash, and earlier this month it announced a proposal that would help ensure cleanups of pervasive chemicals known as PFAS at hazardous waste facilities. Last week, the EPA finalized stronger air quality standards to reduce soot pollution.

January 21, 2024

Research ramps up but PFAS pollution remains tough to tackle

By Shannon Kelleher

As researchers rush to tackle global contamination from a class of toxic chemicals known as PFAS, a new study demonstrates a novel way to detect the substances in wastewater – but also underscores how far scientists are from figuring out how to effectively overcome this worldwide threat to human and environmental health.

The new method makes use of a sensor to identify one type of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) called perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) in heavily contaminated water based on changes in light emissions from metals on the device’s surface, according to a Jan. 16 study in the journal Analytical Chemistry. The researchers plan to develop the early model in to a portable device, according to a press release.

Current PFAS detection methods take place in a laboratory using a tool called a mass spectrometer, which charges molecules in a sample and then accelerate them using magnetic or electric fields so that scientists can identify them.

“Existing approaches are time-consuming,” said Zoe Pikramenou, a professor at the University of Birmingham in the United Kingdom who is an author of the study. “Our approach offers significant advantages of greater speed, ease of analysis, and reduced cost over currently-used methods.”

The prototype can so far only measure one PFAS chemical out of thousands. And although the sensor appears to be sensitive enough to illuminate PFAS in industrial wastewater, it may take another decade before the technology can be used for drinking water, which contains much lower levels of the chemicals, said Pikramenou.

Many other promising new technologies to detect so-called “forever chemicals”, which do not naturally break down, remain in the early stages of development. The Biden administration has called on federal agencies to restrict PFAS from entering US water, air, land, and food; set goals for the government to better assess and reduce PFAS exposure; clean up existing pollution; and expand health effects information.

December 12, 2023

Ohio PFAS class action lawyers slam US judges; seek rehearing

By Shannon Kelleher

A federal appeals court should grant a rehearing in a class action lawsuit filed against the makers of toxic PFAS chemicals after a panel of three federal judges disregarded legal precedent and misstated crucial facts in rejecting claims of liability alleged against PFAS makers, according to a petition filed by plaintiffs’ lawyers in the closely watched legal battle.

The request for rehearing comes after last month’s ruling by the Cincinnati, Ohio-based 6th US Circuit Court of Appeals, which reversed a lower court’s approval of the lawsuit brought on behalf of Ohio residents who want PFAS makers 3M, DuPont and others to pay for medical monitoring and studies that will analyze the health impacts of PFAS contamination the residents have been exposed to. The plaintiff’s attorneys have requested either a panel rehearing; a hearing before all judges of the court; or permission for the plaintiff to refile.

Lead plaintiff Kevin Hardwick worked as a firefighter for 40 years and used PFAS-containing foams at work. He alleges that ten companies, including chemical giants 3M, DuPont, and related companies, caused his blood -and the blood of other Ohio residents – to become contaminated with potentially dangerous levels of PFAS chemicals. The judges who rejected the allegations said in their opinion that Hardwick could not trace the chemicals in his blood back to the ten defendants, citing “the thousands of companies that have manufactured chemicals of this general type over the past half-century.”

In the filing by plaintiffs’ lawyers on Monday, the lawyers for the class action said the judges were factually wrong on multiple fronts, including stating that there are thousands of PFAS manufacturers. One of the PFAS toxins found in Hardwick’s blood is perfluorooctane sulfonic acid (PFOS). PFOS has only been made by defendant 3M, for instance, a fact not even disputed by 3M, the petition states. Another type of PFAS found in his blood was perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA).

“Defendants do not dispute that they caused PFOA (and other PFAS) to be created and deposited into human blood. Nor do they dispute that that these toxins did not exist before Defendants created them,” the Hardwick petition states. The defendants additionally have been identified by the US EPA as “known makers” of PFOA, according to the petition for rehearing.

November 2, 2023

EPA restarts assessment of health risks from nitrate in water

By Brett Walton

The US Environmental Protection Agency, reversing a Trump-era decision, is restarting a human health assessment of nitrate and nitrite, a move that has potentially far-reaching regulatory implications for one of the country’s most pervasive drinking water contaminants.

The EPA suspended its nitrate assessment in December 2018. It was one of nine chemicals that the Trump administration deemed no longer a priority for evaluation by the agency’s health assessment division known as the Integrated Risk Information System, or IRIS.

That changed in June when the EPA quietly reinserted the nitrate assessment into the IRIS agenda “to address an agency priority.”

The decision to take a closer look at the chemical comes at a time of increased scrutiny and public concern over nitrate exposure and human health. Nitrate forms when nitrogen is exposed to oxygen in the air. An exponential increase in the use of synthetic, nitrogen-based fertilizers since 1950 supercharged the production of corn and soybeans. The number of large livestock feeding operations — and the amount of manure they produce — also increased rapidly.

Nutrients are essential to crop production. But the convergence of high rates of chemical fertilizer use and immense manure production led to well-documented risks to human health and the environment. In addition to generating heat-trapping greenhouse gases, over-application of nitrogen-rich fertilizer and manure contributed to steadily rising levels of nitrate in streams and groundwater, particularly in the 11 Corn Belt states across the Great Lakes and Midwest, California’s Central Valley, North Carolina, and Washington’s Yakima Valley.

August 30, 2023

Historic 3M PFAS settlement gets preliminary court approval

By Shannon Kelleher

A federal court on Tuesday granted preliminary approval for a “landmark” $12.5 billion payout by chemical conglomerate 3M to resolve claims in a class action lawsuit and help public drinking water providers remove toxic per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) from communities around the United States.

The court approval comes a week after DuPont and related companies received preliminary approval for a $1.185 billion settlement that similarly addresses class action claims over toxic PFAS contamination in US water systems. Together, the deals mark the largest drinking water settlements in history.

Both settlements relate to water system contamination by PFAS in aqueous film-forming foam (AFFF), used as a firefighting agent and widely used by military and civilian airports as well as municipal fire departments.

The AFFF litigation is one aspect of more extensive and ongoing litigation against 3M and DuPont that blame the companies for knowingly contaminating the environment with PFAS for decades despite evidence that the substances pose a risk to human health. Lawyers representing plaintiffs in the litigation have uncovered internal corporate records dating back to the 1960s revealing corporate concerns about PFAS that were not shared with the public or regulators.

“These new proposed settlements for public water providers in the AFFF litigation represent not only historic amounts of potential recoveries for victims of PFAS contamination, but also reflect the decades of work our team has undertaken to make sure the information these companies had – but withheld – as to the threat these ‘forever chemicals’ pose to human health and the environment is finally revealed to the public, and that the proper parties are held financially responsible for the enormous damage caused,” plaintiffs’ attorney Rob Bilott, who has led PFAS litigation for more than 20 years, said in a press release.

July 19, 2023

New worries about risks PFAS and other chemicals pose for pregnancies

By Carey Gillam
California researchers have found new evidence that several chemicals used in plastic production and a wide array of other industrial applications are commonly present in the blood of pregnant women, creating increased health risks for mothers and their babies.

The researchers said their findings add to a growing body of evidence showing that many chemicals people are routinely exposed to are leading to subtle but harmful changes in health.

“This is such an important issue,” said Tracey Woodruff, professor and director of the University of California San Francisco (UCSF) Program on Reproductive Health and the Environment. “It’s urgent we do more to understand the role that chemicals have in maternal conditions and health inequities. We are being exposed to hundreds of chemicals and this research contributes to better understanding the impact they are having on our health.”

Maternal death rates in the US doubled between 1999 and 2019, with mortality highest for African-American mothers.

In the government-funded study, which was published Wednesday in the Environmental Health Perspectives journal, a team led by Woodruff and other UCSF researchers said they found multiple harmful chemicals, including types of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), in the blood of 302 pregnant study participants as well as in the umbilical cord blood of their babies.

At least 97% of the blood samples contained a type of PFAS known as PFOS, which has long been associated with multiple serious health problems, including birth defects.

July 7, 2023

Nearly half of US drinking water contains toxic PFAS chemicals, study finds

By Shannon Kelleher

At least 45% of US tap water is contaminated with harmful synthetic chemicals known as per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS, a new federal study estimates.

The study, which was conducted by the US Geological Survey (USGS), also supports previous findings that people in urban areas are more likely to be exposed to PFAS in their drinking water than those in rural places. The analysis found similar PFAS concentrations in public and private water and marks the first study to test for the chemicals in tap water from both sources across the country, the USGS said in a press release this week.

“It’s valuable to have this study, which does have at least one data point in every one of the 50 states and Puerto Rico, to attempt to measure contamination at a truly nationwide level,” said Alissa Cordner, Co-Director of the PFAS Project Lab at Northeastern University and an associate professor of sociology at Whitman College. “There’s really a need for more systematic private well testing across the country,” she added.

There are more than 12,000 types of PFAS chemicals, which are sometimes called “forever chemicals” because they do not naturally break down. PFAS have been linked to health problems including cancer, decreased fertility, and kidney disease. The chemicals have been applied to many popular consumer goods and can leach into drinking water from industrial sites, sewage treatment plants, landfills, or certain firefighting foams. A 2022 analysis found detectable levels of PFAS in about 83% of US waterways.

Concerns about widespread PFAS contamination has led to recent measures to reduce exposure to the harmful chemicals, including proposed national drinking water standards for six PFAS released by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in March. At the end of June, the agency announced a new framework to prevent some new PFAS chemicals from entering the market. The chemical giants 3M, Dupont, and others recently agreed to settlements that may provide affected communities with billions of dollars to test for the toxic chemicals and remove them from their drinking water.