The Association of State Drinking Water Administrators (ASDWA) wrote to EPA and the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) asking them to partner with ASDWA, the Department of Defense (DoD) and state drinking water programs to form a working committee to address the “growing public health concerns” of Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS). PFAS are a diverse group of man-made chemicals, which include Perfluorooctanoic Acid (PFOA) and Perfluorooctyl Sulfonate (PFOS). These compounds are resistant to heat, water, and oil and are persistent in both the environment and the human body.
In ASDWA’s letter dated January 12, the association urges both EPA and CDC “to develop a unified message to the public and state regulators on what to do about PFAS, and to work in unison with other stakeholders, and in a timely manner, to minimize the potential adverse effects to public health and the environment from PFAS.” The association goes on to give a series of recommendations for how EPA and CDC could address the challenges that the state agencies are facing.
In December, EPA announced a new initiative to address PFAS and had already established a lifetime health advisory level (HAL) for PFOA and PFOS in drinking water at 70 parts per trillion (ppt) in 2016. When both chemicals are found within a system, the combined lifetime HAL is 70 ppt. There is no national primary drinking water regulation for either PFOA or PFOS, but three states (Minnesota, New Jersey, and Vermont) have already proposed or established their own standards or guidelines for PFAS that are lower than EPA’s HAL. PFOA and PFOS were included on EPA’s third and fourth contaminant candidate list and were monitored under the third unregulated contaminant monitoring rule.