Skip to main content

On May 19, EPA announced that it has established a health advisory level (HAL) for Perfluorooctanoic Acid (PFOA) and Perfluorooctane Sulfonate (PFOS). The new HAL of 70 parts per trillion (ppt) is a lifetime HAL for the combined concentrations of PFOA and PFOS. This HAL is replacing EPA’s 2009 provisional short-term PFOA and PFOS health advisories of 0.4 and 0.2 parts per billion (ppb), respectively.

EPA recommends that water systems with samples above 70 ppt (0.07 ppb) conduct additional sampling to assess the level and potential sources of contamination. If water sampling results confirm levels that exceed the HAL, water systems are advised to contact their primacy agency to consult on next steps and work with public health officials to promptly provide customers with health risk information and remediation options.

A fact sheet and other background documents are available through EPA’s Drinking Water Health Advisories for PFOA and PFOS webpage.