"The first-ever regulations on PFAS are a federal response to the toxic chemicals showing up in drinking water consumed by thousands of U.S. communities".
"The Environmental Protection Agency is proposing the nation’s first-ever drinking-water standards for a group of human-made chemicals — commonplace in consumer items — that pose a greater danger to human health than scientists once thought.
The proposal could force water utilities to spend billions of dollars to comply with the EPA’s planned limits on polyfluoroalkyl and perfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS, even though those limits are less stringent than advisory levels for safe consumption the agency set last year. Officials say that small and rural utilities will have access to federal subsidies and assistance, blunting the impact of the rule, if enacted.
The proposal would require water utilities to detect and reduce PFAS contamination at 4 parts per trillion. The agency had warned in June that the compounds pose a greater danger to human health than regulators previously thought, compromising people’s immune and cardiovascular systems at a lifetime exposure of between just 0.004 to 0.02 parts per trillion, depending on the type of compound."
Timothy Puko reports for the Washington Post March 14, 2023.
SEE ALSO:
"EPA Proposes First Standards To Make Drinking Water Safer From ‘Forever Chemicals’" (CNN)
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