Source: CNN Health
Read more: https://www.cnn.com/2023/03/14/health/e ... index.html
CNN — The US Environmental Protection Agency on Tuesday proposed the first national drinking water standard for “forever chemicals” that are dangerous to human health. The move could radically affect drinking water for nearly everyone in the United States. The new rule intends to set drinking water standards for six per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, also known as PFAS or “forever chemicals.”
PFAS are a family of ubiquitous synthetic chemicals that linger in the environment and the human body, where they can cause serious health problems. Although there are thousands of PFAS chemicals, according to the National Institutes of Health, under the rule, water systems would have to monitor for six specific chemicals, notify the public about PFAS levels and work to reduce them if levels go above the standard allowed.
Environmental groups estimate as many as 110 million Americans could have contaminated water. The EPA says the proposal would prevent thousands of deaths due to exposure to these chemicals, as well as tens of thousands of serious illnesses. The agency chose these chemicals because it has the most clear science about their impact on human health and said it is evaluating additional chemicals, as well.
The EPA’s proposed limits set the allowable levels for these chemicals so low that they could not be easily detected. The proposal would regulate two chemicals, PFOA and PFOS, at 4 parts per trillion (ppt). For PFNA, PFHxS, PFBS and GenX chemicals, the EPA proposes not one standard for each but a limit for a mix of them. Water systems would have to determine whether the levels of these PFAS pose a potential risk. They may need to install treatment or take other action to reduce PFAS levels, the agency said, and systems may also even need to switch to different water sources.