forever chemicals

April 10, 2024

“A huge victory for public health”: EPA set limits on PFAS toxins in drinking water

By Shannon Kelleher

US regulators on Wednesday put in place the nation’s first legally enforceable limits for levels of six toxic PFAS chemicals in drinking water, saying the moves should prevent thousands of deaths and reduce serious illnesses in people across the country.

The rule is designed to reduce exposure to these per-and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) – also called “forever chemicals” – for about 100 million people nationwide, according to the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Exposure to PFAS has been linked to “deadly cancers, impacts to the liver and heart, and immune and developmental damage to infants and children, the EPA said.

“Today we can celebrate a huge victory for public health in this country,” Rob Bilott, a lawyer who has become famous for his work against PFAS, said in a statement. Bilott has spent decades pushing for PFAS regulations and to hold PFAS manufacturers accountable for releasing the dangerous chemicals into the marketplace.

“It should never have taken this long to address such serious threats to public health and our environment,” Bilott said, noting that he first alerted the EPA to the presence of PFAS in US drinking water more than twenty-three years ago.

The new rule sets a limit of four parts per trillion (ppt) for two types of PFAS – perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS), which are both known to be particularly hazardous.

The EPA acknowledged that there is “no level of exposure to these contaminants without risk of health impacts, including certain cancers,” and said it was setting a “non-enforceable health-based goal,” at zero for PFOA and PFOS.

March 11, 2024

Farmers facing PFAS pollution struggle for solutions

By Shannon Kelleher

When Jim Buckle and his wife, Hannah Hamilton, started their 18-acre organic vegetable farm in Unity, Maine more than a decade ago, they wanted to grow the healthiest food possible. But after a wholesale buyer asked them to test their operation for toxic chemicals called per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in 2022, the couple was in for a shock.

The soil tests came back clean, as the couple expected. But Buckle’s heart sank when the results arrived for the well water they used to wash and irrigate their vegetables. Through no fault of their own, the farm Buckle and Hamilton had carefully cultivated for nearly a decade was contaminated with PFAS-laced sewage sludge that had been used as fertilizer on land nearby years earlier.

Faced with evidence that their harvests were also likely contaminated with potentially hazardous PFAS toxins, he and Hamilton made the decision to close down their farming operations, at least temporarily, as they wrestled with how they might clean up their farm and protect it from future contamination.

“We said, ‘wow, this is crazy. We actually have this problem,’” Buckle said.

About a year earlier, first-generation organic farmers Katia Holmes and her husband faced a similar crisis on their 700-acre Misty Brook Farm in Albion, Maine, where they raise livestock and grow grains. In their case, the well water was fine, said Holmes. But testing of their cows’ milk – and the hay they bought from a neighbor to feed the cows – came back with elevated levels of PFAS.

Further testing revealed that a previous owner of the Holmes’ land had spread sewer sludge on certain fields 20 years ago, leaving behind PFAS in the soil.

“We called all the stores and pulled all our products,” said Holmes.

Buckle’s and Holmes’ stories are, sadly, becoming more common.

February 16, 2024

EPA is illegally concealing data about PFAS in millions of plastic containers, lawsuit alleges

By Shannon Kelleher

The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is breaking the law by concealing health and safety data about a class of toxic chemicals called PFAS found in millions of plastic containers, two environmental advocacy groups allege.

The agency is refusing to turn over data on toxic per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances in high-density polyethylene (HDPE) plastic containers produced by the company Inhance, citing “confidential business information.”

Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER) and the Center for Environmental Health (CEH) have been seeking data held by the EPA about the company and its containers through a 2023 Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request. But the agency has redacted and withheld key information, the groups allege.

They filed a lawsuit against the EPA on Thursday claiming the agency is violating the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) by refusing to provide the requested data for public scrutiny.

“The cloak of confidential business information cannot be used to hide health and safety studies as EPA is currently doing,” Colleen Teubner, a PEER lawyer, said in a press release. “By sitting on this critical information, EPA is advancing the private interests of a corporate violator and shirking its public health responsibilities.”

The groups sent a demand letter to EPA in November, arguing that the agency “has no statutory basis” for its refusal to turn over information.

Last year, the EPA ordered Inhance to stop making plastic containers that contain PFAS following legal pressure from PEER and CEH. That order is set to go into effect Feb. 28.

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February 1, 2024

EPA proposes adding PFAS to hazardous waste cleanup law

By Shannon Kelleher

Federal regulators today announced a proposal to update the definition of hazardous waste in the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) to include a class of chemicals known as PFAS, a move designed to help ensure cleanups of these so-called “forever chemicals” at hazardous waste facilities.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)’s proposed rules will also add nine per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) to a list of substances in the act that are considered in assessments of facilities used to treat, store, and dispose of hazardous waste. The updates will strengthen protections for communities located near the 1,740 hazardous waste facilities across the US, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) said in a statement.

“Today’s announcement by the EPA will ensure that quick action can be taken to clean up PFAS and will send a powerful signal to industry to be good stewards of their PFAS wastes,” said Scott Faber, senior vice president for government affairs at The Environmental Working Group nonprofit in a statement.

PFAS chemicals do not break down naturally and can leach into drinking water from industrial sites, sewage treatment plants, and landfills. PFAS have been found in at least 45% of US tap water and in the blood of about 97% of Americans. Exposure to the chemicals has been linked to numerous health problems, including certain cancers.

Over 700 military sites nationwide have been either found to have discharged or are suspected of having discharged PFAS into the environment, often from firefighting foam that contains the toxic chemicals.

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 8, 2023

PFAS may disrupt bone development in children and young adults, study finds

By Shannon Kelleher

Exposure to a widespread, toxic chemical called PFOS may interfere with bone development in children and young adults, potentially putting them at higher risk for osteoporosis and other bone problems later in life, according to a new study that focused mainly on Hispanic individuals from southern California.

Perfluorooctane sulfonic acid (PFOS), a widespread type of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), was associated with lower bone mineral density in a group of 328 overweight Hispanic children and in a group of 158 young adults of mixed ethnicity. The study, published Dec. 6 in the journal Environmental Research, was unique in that it tracked associations between bone density and PFAS blood serum levels over time.

“Existing research had established associations between PFAS and bone health, but previous studies, most of them only collected information at one time point from participants,” said Emily Beglarian, a PhD student at the University of Southern California’s Keck School of Medicine and the lead author of the study. “Additionally, many existing studies were focused on non-Hispanic, white participants and many focused on older adults.”

Although Hispanic people are at high risk for developing osteoporosis as adults, they are often not included in research on bone health, said Beglarian.

There are over 12,000 PFAS chemicals, which do not break down naturally and have been found in at least 45% of US tap water, according to the US Geological Survey, and in the blood of about 97% of Americans, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Exposure to PFAS has previously been linked to numerous health problems, including kidney cancer, testicular cancer, thyroid disease, thyroid cancer, and ulcerative colitis.

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.

June 26, 2023

3M settlement marks “significant step forward” for PFAS-contaminated communities

By Shannon Kelleher

In a move that could help alleviate US public drinking water systems contaminated with harmful chemicals, the conglomerate 3M agreed last week to a settlement of at least $10.3 billion. The announcement comes weeks after the companies Dupont, Chemours, and Corteva agreed to pay about $1.2 billion to settle similar claims.

If approved, the settlement, which could total up to $12.5 billion, would be paid to affected communities over 13 years. The money would go towards the costs of testing for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) and removing the toxic chemicals from drinking water.

“This settlement with 3M is a significant step forward in what has been many years of work to make sure that those responsible for the contamination of our nation’s drinking water supply with PFAS ‘forever chemicals’ pay for the damage – not the victims of the contamination,” said Rob Bilott, a lawyer who has spent decades exposing the dangers of PFAS chemicals, in a statement. Bilott serves as the court-appointed advisory counsel to the plaintiffs in this multidistrict litigation (MDL).

While the settlement should help communities receive the resources they need, “questions remain whether [the settlement] will cover all of the injuries that 3M caused,” said Carl Tobias, a law professor at the University of Richmond.

“The agreement does not resolve hundreds of cases that seek compensation for personal injuries and property damage,” said Tobias.

March 14, 2023

EPA announces proposed drinking water standards for six toxic PFAS chemicals

By Shannon Kelleher

The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on Tuesday proposed national standards aimed at reducing levels of six harmful chemicals in drinking water. The move was applauded by health and environmental advocates who say the action is long overdue.

The agency said in a press release that if the rule is implemented it will “over time, prevent thousands of deaths and reduce tens of thousands of serious PFAS-attributable illnesses.”

The EPA action is part of a larger government move to respond to scientific evidence showing that certain types of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are associated with a range of health problems, including a heightened risk of developing cancer, birth defects, liver disease, thyroid disease, decreased immunity, hormone disruption and a range of other serious health problems. PFAS have become nearly ubiquitous in the environment, including in water sources.

The new standards target six types of PFAS. For PFOA and PFOS – types known to be particularly dangerous to human health – the agency said the new rule would require public water systems to ensure levels of PFOA and PFOS do not exceed a maximum contaminant level (MCL) of four parts per trillion (ppt). Additionally, the EPA would require public water providers to use a hazard index calculation to determine if combined levels of PFNA, PFHxS, PFBS, and GenX Chemicals pose a potential risk.

“Today we can celebrate a huge victory for public health in this country – US EPA is finally moving forward to protect drinking water across the United States by proposing federally-enforceable limits on some of the most toxic, persistent, and bioaccumulative chemicals ever found in our nation’s drinking water supply,” US attorney Rob Bilott said in a statement. Bilott has been calling for the EPA to address PFAS in US drinking water in 2001.

“It has taken far too long to get to this point, but the scientific facts and truth about the health threat posed by these man-made poisons have finally prevailed over the decades of corporate cover-ups and misinformation campaigns designed to mislead the public and delay action,” added Bilott.

If finalized, all public drinking water systems will be required to monitor for all six PFAS chemicals and to notify the public and reduce PFAS levels if they exceed the standards.

“It’s not surprising that [EPA under the Biden administration] is doing it,” said Phil Brown, co-director of the PFAS Project Lab at Northeastern University and co-principal investigator of a PFAS research and education project at the Silent Spring Institute, in response to the drinking water standards announcement. “Everyone wishes it had happened a long time ago,” he added.

The American Chemistry Council (ACC), which represents the interests of more than 190 chemical companies, called the EPA’s approach “misguided,” and said the new low limits would “likely result in billions of dollars in compliance costs.”

The ACC said it had “serious concerns with the underlying science” used to develop the proposed MCLs, and said the agency was violating its own guidance by combining substances affecting different health endpoints into a single index.

March 2, 2023

Chemicals in toilet paper are clogging up our bodies

What we flush down the toilet could be making us sick, according to a new study.

According to research published this week in the journal Environmental Science & Technology Letters, toilet paper could be a significant source of the toxic “forever chemicals” in wastewater. The findings raise public health concerns since wastewater and its by-products are frequently spread on agricultural fields to help grow crops.

Per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances, also known as PFAS, are a class of chemicals used for their waterproofing and stain-resistant properties. They have been linked to certain cancers, reproductive problems, and developmental issues.

Scientists have known for years that wastewater is a slurry of PFAS from all different sources — soaps, makeup, and residues on clothing can all contain PFAS, which is washed down the drain every time someone showers or washes their clothes. But though PFAS are used in toilet paper manufacturing, toilet paper’s contribution to PFAS contamination in wastewater has been under-studied, according to the paper’s authors.