There are growing concerns about the presence of microplastics in drinking water that come from a wide variety of consumer products. Per-and polyfluoroalkyl substances are known by the acronym PFAS and are carcinogens and cause immune and developmental damage in infants and children.
On April 10, 2024, the United States Environmental Protection Agency issued a new rule lowering the allowable limits for five specific chemicals as well as a mixture of the chemicals.
“By reducing exposure to PFAS, this final rule will prevent thousands of premature deaths, tens of thousands of serious illnesses, including certain cancers and liver and heart impacts in adults, and immune and developmental impacts to infants and children,” reads a press release sent out this morning.
In addition to the rule, the administration of President Joe Biden has set aside $1 billion in new funds for municipal waterworks in states and territories to meet the new standards. Biden made his announcement today in Fayetteville, North Carolina where the Cape Fear River has been contaminated with PFAS from a factory in the watershed.
That press release lists other ways the administration is seeking to address PFAS, which is used in a variety of situations.
- The Department of Defense now offers PFAS blood tests to military firefighters as many fire suppressing foams contain the chemicals
- The Department of Defense is also moving to use fire suppressing foams that do not contain flourines. These are used in the event of aircraft fires and the Federal Aviation Administration will assist civilian airports in switching to the new versions.
- The Centers for Disease Control have developed a guide for physicians called PFAS: Information for Physicians.
- The Food and Drug Administration has a voluntary program to phase out the use of PFAS in paper and paperboard food packaging. The materials are used to help “grease-proof” wrappers and FDA has announced manufacturers have agreed to not sell the products in the United States. (learn more)
- The General Services Administration and the EPA announced this week that custodial contracts for federal buildings are to avoid products that have PFAS chemicals included within them. (learn more)
The day after the Biden administration issued the new rules, the Rivanna Water and Sewer Authority issued a press release of their own.
“The Rivanna Water & Sewer Authority has been monitoring PFAS levels since 2014 and has been a participant in the EPA’s Unregulated Contaminant Monitoring Rule water sampling program since 2023,” reads the statement. “With the exception of one instance in May of 2023 at the North Rivanna Water Treatment Plant, all of the samples which have been collected have not shown levels of PFAS exceeding the new compliance regulation.”
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