"The Environmental Protection Agency on Tuesday proposed the first federal limits on so-called forever chemicals in public drinking water, a move that is expected to cost water utilities billions of dollars to filter out substances that have contaminated the water supplies of millions of people.
The EPA is proposing maximum allowable levels for two compounds in a class of chemicals known as perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS. Known as forever chemicals because they take a long time to break down, they were used for decades in carpeting, clothing, food packaging, firefighting foam and other consumer and industrial products.
Once prized as innovative substances that could resist stains, water, grease and heat, PFAS are increasingly viewed as a threat because they persist in the environment and have been found in roughly 99% of the U.S. population.
The move represents a seismic shift in the regulation of the nation's drinking water and would require sweeping changes for thousands of water systems that will have to test for and treat a group of chemicals.
EPA Administrator Michael Regan cited the pervasiveness and emerging health risks of the chemicals at a press briefing announcing the proposed limits. "What began as a so-called miracle, groundbreaking technology meant for practicality and convenience quickly devolved into one of the most pressing environmental and public health concerns in the modern world," he said.
In its new proposed rule, EPA set a limit for two types of PFAS of 4 parts per trillion each in public drinking-water systems. The EPA also said it would regulate four other PFAS chemicals by requiring treatment if the combined level reaches a certain concentration.
Chemical industry groups said they had serious questions about the scientific analysis that the EPA had used to set extremely low limits for the PFAS chemicals.
"We believe that the standards proposed by the EPA lack a sound scientific basis and that EPA has not shown that they are necessary to protect public health or the environment," 3M Co. said.
The rule, if enacted, is likely to fuel fights over who will bear most of the cost for treatment systems in hundreds of communities. Water companies, states and communities have already filed thousands of lawsuits against companies that manufactured or used PFAS, seeking to recover costs for cleanups and filtration.
Hundreds of firefighters and others have also alleged in lawsuits that their exposure to PFAS caused cancers, and other health problems are part of some 3,000 PFAS cases consolidated in federal court in South Carolina.
The EPA has requested comment from the public, water-system managers and public-health professionals on the proposed rule, which the agency has indicated it aims to finalize by the end of 2023. Utilities typically have three years to comply, so they would have until the end of 2026.
The two individual chemicals that the EPA is proposing limiting are known as PFOA and PFOS.
Major fast-food chains, cosmetics companies and others have said they are eliminating PFAS from their products amid growing consumer-products litigation and state laws banning the chemicals in products ranging from carpeting to food packaging and cosmetics.
The American Chemistry Council, which represents chemical manufacturers, has said the chemicals are essential for products from cellphones to medical devices.
The council has argued against regulating the chemicals as a class, saying they have diverse properties. The chemistry council said that it has serious concerns with the underlying science that the EPA used to develop its proposed limits for PFOA and PFOS and noted that the low limits would likely result in billions of dollars in compliance costs.
The EPA estimates that between 3,400 to 6,300 public water systems, serving between 70 million and 94 million people, would be required to remove PFAS under the rule. The agency estimated the cost of implementing the rule to be $772 million a year, with economic benefits of $1.2 billion a year from fewer cancers and other illnesses.
The American Water Works Association, an industry group whose membership includes 4,500 utilities that supply 80% of the nation's drinking water, has estimated that the rule would cost much more.
Robert F. Powelson, president and chief executive of National Association of Water Companies, which represents private water utilities, said the costs will fall disproportionately on smaller communities and low-income households.
Colleen Arnold, president of Aqua, which operates water systems in eight states, said the company is applying for federal grants and seeking aid from state legislatures to fund the treatment costs, which otherwise could be passed along to customers.
Environmental groups praised the proposed regulations. Erik Olson, a senior director at the Natural Resources Defense Council, called the proposal groundbreaking. "That's about as stringent as we were hoping for," he said." [1]
1. U.S. News: EPA Proposes Rules to Limit 'Forever Chemicals' in Water
Maher, Kris. Wall Street Journal, Eastern edition; New York, N.Y. [New York, N.Y]. 15 Mar 2023: A.3.
Komentarų nėra:
Rašyti komentarą