EPA’s New ‘Forever Chemicals’ Limits: What It Means In RI

RHODE ISLAND — The Environmental Protection Agency on Tuesday gave water officials in Rhode Island more information on what they’ll have to do to reduce harmful PFAS “forever chemicals” in water supplies.

The EPA said limiting these chemicals to the lowest level tests can detect will save thousands of lives and prevent serious illnesses, including cancer. This is the first time the EPA has proposed regulating a toxic group of compounds that are widespread, dangerous and expensive to remove from the water.

PFAS, or per- and polyfluorinated substances, don’t degrade in the environment and are linked to a broad range of health issues, including low birthweight babies and kidney cancer. Drinking water is a significant PFAS exposure for people, the agency said.

No state is untouched by PFAS contamination, according to a map compiled by the Environmental Working Group, a nonprofit organization sometimes criticized for exaggerating certain toxicity risks. But a growing body of scholarly and government research backs the assertion of both the EPA and EWG that, even at low levels currently, these chemicals can cause harm over a person’s lifetime.

Cities in Rhode Island where PFAS contamination has been detected in the water supply include:

• Burrillville
• Charlestown
• Coventry
• Cumberland
• Exeter
• Foster
• Glocester
• Hopkinton
• Little Compton
• Middletown
• Newport
• North Kingstown
• North Smithfield
• Pawtucket
• Scituate
• South Kingstown
• Tiverton
• Westerly
• West Warwick

Radhika Fox, an assistant EPA administrator for water, told The Associated Press the federal proposal is a “transformational change” for improving the safety of drinking water in the United States. The agency estimates the rule could reduce PFAS exposure for nearly 100 million Americans, decreasing rates of cancer, heart attacks and birth complications.

“The science is clear that long-term exposure to PFAS is linked to significant health risks,” Fox said.

The chemicals had been used since the 1940s in consumer products and industry, including in nonstick pans, food packaging and firefighting foam. Their use is now mostly phased out in the U.S., but some still remain.

The proposal would set strict limits of 4 parts per trillion, the lowest level that can be reliably measured, for two common types of PFAS compounds called PFOA and PFOS. In addition, the EPA wants to regulate the combined amount of four other types of PFAS. Water providers will have to monitor for PFAS.

The proposed limits are subject to a public comment period that will likely extend until the end of the year, and changes could be made in the agency’s final rule. Water providers will have time to adjust to the new standards, especially utilities with high levels of contamination, but they could face fines or loss of federal grants if problems persist.

The EPA recently made $2 billion available to states to get rid of contaminates such as PFAS, and plans to release billions more in the coming years.

The agency also is providing technical support to smaller communities that will soon be forced to install treatment systems, and there's funding in the 2021 infrastructure law for water system upgrades.

But still, it will be expensive for utilities to install new equipment, and the burden will be especially tough for small towns with fewer resources.
“This is a problem that has been handed over to utilities through no fault of their own,” Sri Vedachalam, director of water equity and climate resilience at Environmental Consulting & Technology Inc., told the AP.

Many communities will need to balance the new PFAS requirements with removing poisonous lead pipes and replacing aged water mains prone to rupturing, Vedachalam said.

Fox said there “isn't a one-size answer” to how communities will prioritize their needs. She said, however, that there are billions of dollars in federal resources available for water improvements.

Several states have already imposed PFAS drinking water limits. Officials in Michigan, which has the tightest standards of any state, said costs to remove PFAS in communities where it was found were reasonable.

If the rules are finalized and imposed, many communities will learn they have been supplying drinking water with harmful compounds. When people learn of problems, they may stop using tap water altogether, distrusting its safety, and turn instead to bottled water.

That's often a more expensive choice and one that can have negative health effects if people replace tap water with sugary drinks that cause cavities and contribute to obesity and other health problems.

“This,” Fox said, “is such an issue of concern for people.”

The proposal would also regulate other types of PFAS like GenX Chemicals, which manufacturers used as a substitute when PFOA and PFOS were phased out of consumer products. The proposal would regulate the cumulative health threat of those compounds and mandate treatment if that threat is too high.

“Communities across this country have suffered far too long from the ever-present threat of PFAS pollution,” EPA Administrator Michael Regan told the AP.

The EPA’s proposal could prevent tens of thousands of PFAS-related illnesses, he said, “and marks a major step toward safeguarding all our communities from these dangerous contaminants.”

Reporting by The Associated Press, which receives support from the Walton Family Foundation for coverage of water and environmental policy.