PFOA

April 19, 2024

EPA moves to make polluters foot the bill for PFAS cleanup

By Shannon Kelleher

US regulators on Friday finalized a rule designating two widespread PFAS chemicals as hazardous substances, a step they say will ensure polluters pay to clean up contamination and reduce Americans’ exposure to the toxic chemicals.

Under the federal Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA), or Superfund law, the rule will require leaks and spills of these per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) to be immediately reported and will enable investigation and cleanup of the chemicals.

The finalized rule “enables the agency to use one of its strongest enforcement tools to compel polluters to pay for or conduct investigations and cleanup, rather than taxpayers,” said the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in a press release. “Designation is especially important as delay in addressing contamination allows PFOA and PFOS more time to migrate in water and soil, worsening existing contamination.”

“This is great news for the many communities grappling with PFAS contamination – many of which are also low income and communities of color,” said Tracey Woodruff, an environmental health researcher at the University of California, San Francisco and a former EPA senior scientist.

The move comes days after the EPA announced the nation’s first legally enforceable drinking water limits for the same chemicals, perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS), along with four other PFAS.

So-called “forever chemicals,” which do not break down naturally, have been used for decades in consumer products ranging from nonstick pans to waterproof clothes and stain resistant carpet. Exposure to PFAS has been linked to cancers, liver and heart problems, and immune and developmental damage in children, according to the EPA. The chemicals are found in the blood of almost all Americans.

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 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 25, 2024

US court blocks EPA order to eliminate PFAS in plastic containers

By Shannon Kelleher

A US appeals court has vacated an action by the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ordering a company to stop producing plastic containers that leach toxic per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) into pesticides, household cleaners, condiments, and many other products.

The 5th US Circuit Court of Appeals on March 21 ruled that the EPA exceeded its statutory authority when it issued orders to Texas-based Inhance in December prohibiting the company from manufacturing or processing PFAS through its fluorination process for containers.

The EPA move came after the agency determined that types of PFAS created during the fluorination process “are highly toxic and present unreasonable risks that cannot be prevented other than through prohibition of manufacture.”

The agency issued the orders under the Toxic Substances and Control Act (TSCA), which authorizes the EPA to regulate and screen chemicals produced or imported into the US.

But Inhance challenged the EPA’s action, arguing that the EPA improperly sought to take action against the company under a section of TSCA dealing with new uses of chemicals, and that Inhance’s process did not constitute a new use.

The court agreed that the fluorination technique Inhance uses to prevent liquids from leaking out of its plastic containers – a process that creates PFAS chemicals – does not count as a significant new use since Inhance has been using this process since 1983.

March 21, 2024

Warnings of a “wave of lawsuits” as PFAS exemption debated

By Shannon Kelleher

Representatives of US water and waste systems told US lawmakers this week that hundreds of such operations across the nation could face unintended and overwhelming liabilities unless they are exempted from a proposal that would designate two types of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) as hazardous substances.

The rule proposed by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) sets up “multiple avenues to drag innocent parties into extremely costly and complex litigation,” Michael Witt, a lawyer speaking on behalf of a coalition of water groups, told members of the US Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works in a hearing Wednesday.

Witt was one of multiple witnesses to address the committee on the hotly contested issue of how the government should address widespread PFAS environmental contamination. The EPA said in 2022 that it was preparing to designate perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS) as hazardous substances under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) because they present “a substantial danger to human health or welfare and the environment.”

Such a designation allows the government to order responsible parties to clean up the environmental contamination and bear the costs of mitigation. The “polluter pays’ model is a core principle of CERCLA.

The debate now underway is about whether to provide an exemption from liability for “passive receivers” of PFAS – entities that don’t make or use PFAS but wind up with the chemicals in their water, land and waste. The EPA has said it won’t assign liability to passive receivers, but Witt and others speaking at the hearing said there is still concern that such entities could become embroiled in lawsuits over chemicals they never used or produced.

February 22, 2024

Texas farmers, watchdog group demand EPA act on PFAS in farm fertilizer

By Shannon Kelleher

In the wake of fresh evidence that US farms are being poisoned by PFAS-laden fertilizers, a watchdog group and two Texas farm families said Thursday they plan to sue regulators to try to force protective actions.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has violated the Clean Water Act by failing to regulate at least 12 per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in treated sewage sludge (biosolids) applied to agricultural lands, allege Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER) and the farmers in a notice of intent to sue sent Feb. 22 to EPA Administrator Michael Regan. Studies have linked these particular PFAS chemicals to asthma, disrupted thyroid hormones, immune suppression, kidney problems, lung issues in children, and other health effects, the letter says.

The agency has also unlawfully failed to include in its regular biosolids reports at least 18 additional PFAS chemicals that scientific studies indicate are present in biosolids, PEER and the farmers allege.

PEER and the farmers will sue the EPA within 60 days if the agency does not take immediate action, said PEER executive director Timothy Whitehouse in the notice of intent to sue.

“EPA has deemed it acceptable for biosolids containing PFAS and other known toxic chemicals to be applied directly to soil as fertilizer, where these man-made contaminants then build up in the environment, exacerbating the PFAS contamination crisis,” wrote Whitehouse. “This is not protective of human health or the environment.”

“Because there are no standards, farmers, ranchers, and gardeners have no warning that they are potentially poisoning their soil, water, livestock, and pets with these biosolid fertilizer products,” Kyla Bennett, director of science policy for PEER, said in a press release. “Prompt, responsible regulatory action by EPA would prevent untold damage and heartache.”

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.

December 6, 2023

EPA orders company to stop making plastic containers that leach toxic PFAS

By Shannon Kelleher
The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has ordered a major company to stop producing hundreds of millions of plastic containers each year that contain toxic per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), which leach into countless products.

The so-called “forever chemicals” are produced by a fluorination technique that Inhance Technologies uses to prevent liquids from leaking out of high-density polyethylene (HDPE) plastic containers. The resulting PFAS can leach into pesticides, personal care products, household cleaners, condiments, and many other liquids stored within the containers.

“I’m stunned but pleased that EPA took such strong action and hoping the decision remains intact through whatever court case Inhance is going to bring,” said Kyla Bennett, the science policy director for the watchdog group Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER) and a former EPA employee. “It wasn’t easy getting them there, but they got there and that’s what matters.”

Inhance is “basically the only one in the world” that uses this particular fluorination process to treat plastic containers, Bennett said, adding that plastic containers from two ounces up to 55 gallon drums are affected and “we’re talking about really all sectors of the economy.”

The order, issued Dec. 1 under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA), states that nine long-chain PFAS chemicals have been identified in Inhance containers, including perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), which was recently classified as carcinogenic to humans by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), an arm of the World Health Organization (WHO). The order will go into effect Feb. 28, 2024.

December 1, 2023

Chemical found widely in the environment causes cancer, global experts determine

By Shannon Kelleher

A group of global scientific cancer experts this week classified a widespread chemical known as PFOA as carcinogenic to humans, confirming decades of research, and building on concerns about human and animal exposure to that chemical and to the larger class of manmade substances that are commonly known as “forever” chemicals because of their persistence in the environment. Separately, the experts deemed a related chemical called PFOS as possibly carcinogenic to humans.

The classifications, published Thursday in The Lancet Oncology, were determined by a working group of 30 experts from around the world through the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), an arm of the World Health Organization (WHO). The experts convened in Lyon, France Nov. 7-14 to review published literature on the health risks of perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and perfluorooctane sulfonic acid (PFOS). Both are types of per-and poly fluoroalkyl substances (PFAS).

“This latest action highlights and reaffirms the concerns we have been raising for decades that these man-made ‘forever chemicals’ present a serious threat to human health, mandating that appropriate steps be taken to prevent and address exposures,” said Rob Bilott, an environmental lawyer for the Ohio-based firm Taft Law who has spent over two decades exposing the dangers of PFAS chemicals.

In classifying PFOA as carcinogenic, the IARC scientists said they found “sufficient” evidence for cancer in experimental animals exposed to PFOA and “strong” evidence that the chemical affects gene expression and immune response in humans exposed to PFOA. They also found limited evidence for cancer in humans, identifying a link to renal cell cancer and testicular cancer.

The scientists said that the research shows PFOS is “possibly” carcinogenic to humans. They said they found strong mechanistic evidence that the chemical affects gene expression and immune response in exposed humans, along with several other key characteristics of carcinogens. They also found limited evidence linking PFOS to cancer in experimental evidence but ‘inadequate evidence’ linking it to cancer in humans.

It remains to be determined how, or if, the new classifications may impact thousands of lawsuits that are pending in US courts against PFAS makers DuPont and 3M. The companies have been sued by individuals as well as by drinking water utilities and municipalities over alleged harms tied to PFAS contamination.

On Monday, a US appeals court turned back a large class action lawsuit brought on behalf of Ohio residents, finding there was not sufficient proof that the companies caused the exposure alleged in the case. Lead plaintiff Kevin Hardwick, who worked as a firefighter for 40 years and used PFAS-containing foams, brought the suit in 2018, alleging that the companies caused his blood to become contaminated with potentially dangerous levels of PFAS chemicals. Hardwick asked for a panel of scientists to study the effects of PFAS in his body and for medical monitoring.