“U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) last month proposed “maximum contamination levels” in drinking water for six per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) chemicals.
This was the first such action that EPA had taken in more than 30 years on any drinking contaminant.
Unfortunately, despite the magnitude of this action for this handful of PFAS, there are at least 12,000 PFAS variations.
Before the applause for EPA could die down, this month, a study found 26 types of PFAS in drinking water samples from 16 states.
Notably, EPA has no pending proposed standard for 20 of these PFAS. More disturbing, 12 of these PFAS are not included in EPA’s current monitoring — in other words, EPA does not even currently test for them…
One trait all PFAS have in common is persistence. They do not break down readily in the environment, hence they are called ‘forever chemicals.’ Many bioaccumulate in our bodies and biomagnify in the food chain.”