After an inexcusable time of inaction, perhaps our government is finally beginning to begin meaningful regulation.
Read the original article here in EchoWatch.
Comments by OSFR historian Jim Tatum.
jim.tatum@oursantaferiver.org
– A river is like a life: once taken,
it cannot be brought back © Jim Tatum
Two Forever Chemicals More Toxic Than Previously Thought
Nov. 17, 2021 06:00PM EST Health + Wellness
The agency announced Tuesday that it was asking its Scientific Advisory Board to review draft scientific documents about the health impacts of two types of Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS): Perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and Perfluorooctane sulfonic acid (PFOS).
“EPA has transmitted to the Science Advisory Board four draft documents with recent scientific data and new analyses that indicate that negative health effects may occur at much lower levels of exposure to PFOA and PFOS than previously understood and that PFOA is a likely carcinogen,” the agency wrote in a press release.
PFOA and PFOS are two of the most well known and well studied PFAS. PFOA was made by Dupont to make Teflon, while PFOS was used by 3M in Scotchgard, The Environmental Working Group (EWG) explained in a press release emailed to EcoWatch. The EPA pushed for them to be phased out in 2015, however, they persist in the environment, along with other PFAS.
The EPA estimates that more than 200 million people in the U.S. are exposed to PFAS in their drinking water, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has found PFAS in the blood of almost everyone it has tested, according to The Hill.
The new draft documents will be used to develop enforceable drinking water limits for PFOA and PFOS, something the EPA has promised to do by 2023. They include the finding that exposure to the chemicals can reduce the efficacy of vaccinations, EWG said.
“Under our new PFAS Strategic Roadmap, EPA is moving aggressively on clear, robust, and science-based actions to protect communities suffering from legacy PFOA and PFOS contamination,” EPA Administrator Michael S. Regan said in the agency announcement. “This action will ensure a rigorous review from experienced scientists to strengthen our understanding of this preliminary information as the agency works toward developing revised health advisories for PFOA and PFOS, and soon establishing regulations that protect communities from these contaminants.”
Currently, the non-enforceable limit for the two PFAS in drinking water is 70 parts per trillion (ppt), according to EWG. However, EWG and other groups have long argued that it should be much tougher, at one ppt. The public health advocacy group welcomed the new development….
