Pennsylvania has enacted a limit on two PFAS chemicals in drinking water. It marks the first time the state has set its limits instead of adopting a federal standard for forever chemicals.
In November, the state’s Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) proposed the rule. It limits PFOS and PFOA to 18 parts per trillion and 14 parts per trillion, respectively. This follows the sampling of more than 400 public water systems in Pennsylvania, which found detectable levels of those chemicals in more than a quarter of them.
PFAS—shorthand for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances—is the umbrella term for about 6,000 man-made chemicals embedded in many products since the 1930s and 1940s.
They’ve been added to cookware to make it nonstick, carpeting, food packaging and firefighting foam, to name a few. The Pennsylvania rule regulates just two of the compounds which as the most prevalent in the class.
Manufacturers have mostly phased out using these chemicals. However, they remain present in air, soil and water because they do not break down, earning them the moniker of “forever chemicals.”
The federal government has no mandated limits for these chemicals. Instead, in 2016, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency put out a health advisory. It recommends that the levels of PFOSs and PFOAs in drinking water should not exceed 70 parts per trillion.
Recent health research suggests that it’s not protective enough to avoid adverse impacts on human development and immune system function.
The state DEP’s rule notes that PFAS exposure has been potentially linked to several health problems. They include “high cholesterol, developmental effects including low birth weight, liver toxicity, decreased immune response, thyroid disease, kidney disease, ulcerative colitis and certain cancers, including testicular and kidney cancer.”
“We are still learning more about these forever chemicals. These new maximum contaminant levels are a step in the right direction,” the department’s acting Secretary, Ramez Ziadeh, said in a statement.
The PFOA and PFOS limits apply to more than 3,100 water systems in the state. They serve about 90 per cent of Pennsylvania’s population.
Larger water systems that serve at least 350 people must begin complying on Jan. 1, 2024. Smaller systems have an extra year after that.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is working on its rules to regulate the chemicals. They had said it would publish a proposal in December, with a final rule coming at the end of this year.
But the federal agency has yet to release its proposed rule, the Pennsylvania DEP noted. Even when it does, that rule is not expected to go into effect until three years after being finalised.
In adopting its rules now, Pennsylvania joins seven other states that have already set limits on PFAS chemicals.
The state’s goal in crafting its regulations is to achieve a 90 per cent improvement in health outcomes over the federally recommended standard of 70 parts per trillion, the DEP said.
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