A November 15 memorandum to state drinking water division directors and EPA regions from EPA Office of Ground Water and Drinking Water Director Peter Grevatt provides clarification on the correct application of recent drinking water health advisories (HAs) for Perfluorooctanoic Acid (PFOA) and Perfluorooctane Sulfonate (PFOS). The memorandum was issued in response to questions about whether the PFOA and PFOS HAs can be used to evaluate risks related to exposure via routes other than drinking water, such as food ingestion, inhalation or skin exposure. EPA stresses that the PFOA/PFOS HAs are specific to lifetime drinking water ingestion, and that the derivation of the values takes into account relative contributions from other sources. Thus, application to any other exposure routes is not appropriate.
Additional information on the HAs is available through EPA’s Drinking Water Health Advisories for PFOA and PFOS webpage.