EPA Proposes Changes To National Drinking Water Rules. Sparking Concerns

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Better known as PFAS, per- and polyfluoroalkyl chemicals are found in numerous products as well as in the environment, water supplies, and the human body. It's estimated that 98% of Americans have PFAS in their bloodstream, and heavy exposure to these "forever chemicals" is linked to major health problems, including certain types of cancer. PFAS have become so controversial that many restaurants, including Wendy's, have made plans to cease using PFAS in food packaging. Researchers have pushed for regulations on PFAS in water supplies, and up until very recently, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) appeared to be making a concerted effort to control substances in drinking water. 

The EPA previously proposed that specific PFAS chemicals would be subject to regulation on Maximum Contaminant Levels in water supplies around the country, and the agency gave utility companies until 2029 to take the necessary efforts. Along with changing the deadline from 2029 to 2031, the EPA is requesting that the Maximum Contaminant Levels requirement be scaled back. That would mean that PFAS go unregulated in water supplies throughout the nation, which could put consumers at significant risk. The widespread proliferation of PFAS means that people are exposed to the chemicals in a variety of ways, and certain PFAS are associated with serious health risks, particularly for vulnerable groups like pregnant people, children, and those who live in proximity to industries that use PFAS regularly.  

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It's notable that the EPA's current stance on PFAS is quite different from the agency's past approach. In 2022, the EPA alerted consumers that even small amounts of PFAS could lead to health issues and aimed to create new guidelines while also supporting water treatment and testing efforts for individual states. And in recent years, the EPA recommended federal limitations on PFAS in water supplies and pushed to declare certain chemicals as human health hazards that carry a risk of substantial disease and birth defects. 

Further research is needed to understand the impact of forever chemicals on humans, but the Center for Disease Control (CDC) has highlighted the many potential health risks of specific PFAS. While factors like level of exposure and general health are relevant, research shows that PFAS can lead to pregnancy complications (such as high blood pressure), decreased birth weight, elevated cholesterol levels, and increased risk of testicular and kidney cancer. Based on these possible risks, many people have concerns about PFAS exposure, including chef Andrew Zimmern, who avoids cookware containing the chemicals. In absence of federal regulations on forever chemicals in drinking water, consumers can partially protect themselves with in-home water filters and special pitchers with internal filters. 

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Based on the EPA's previous efforts, consumers are naturally wondering what caused the recent change regarding PFAS. The EPA's primary complaint is that the public was not involved in the process for establishing rules regarding limiting potentially harmful PFAS in water supplies, which the agency claims is in violation of the Safe Drinking Water Act. The EPA also highlighted the Biden administration as being responsible for the error. Instead of instituting restrictions on Maximum Contaminant Levels as previously proposed, the EPA wishes to implement a Hazard Index, though it's not clear how this index would work. (An EPA Hazard Index is currently used to determine the safety of water that contains several types of PFAS, however.) 

The Natural Resources Defense Council categorized the recent moves as a method of avoiding rules in the Safe Drinking Water Act that disallow the EPA from decreasing water standards once established. According to NRDC senior attorney Jared Thompson, "The EPA's request to jettison rules intended to keep drinking water safe from toxic PFAS forever chemicals is an attempted end-run around the protections that Congress placed in the Safe Drinking Water Act." Speaking with Newsweek, Northeastern University professor and department head Phil Brown said, "[The EPA's previous plans] were well-intentioned regulations that stemmed from major contamination sites in their own states, as well as awareness of the pervasiveness of PFAS and a vast set of scientific studies on the many health effects."