EPA Enforces Regulations on PFAS Chemicals in Drinking Water
EPA takes steps to prevent illness caused by exposure to PFAS in drinking water
After decades of inaction, the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has finally taken action by announcing regulations on six PFAS chemicals ("per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances" or forever chemicals) in drinking water. These chemicals pose a significant risk to public health as people are exposed to them through contaminated drinking water and numerous consumer products, including the recent finding of PFAS in bandaids.
“On April 10, 2024, EPA announced the final National Primary Drinking Water Regulation (NPDWR) for six PFAS….EPA expects that over many years the final rule will prevent PFAS exposure in drinking water for approximately 100 million people, prevent thousands of deaths, and reduce tens of thousands of serious PFAS-attributable illnesses.”
The final rule requires:
Public water systems must monitor for these PFAS and have three years to complete initial monitoring (by 2027), followed by ongoing compliance monitoring. Water systems must also provide the public with information on the levels of these PFAS in their drinking water beginning in 2027.
Public water systems have five years (by 2029) to implement solutions that reduce these PFAS if monitoring shows that drinking water levels exceed these MCLs.
Beginning in five years (2029), public water systems that have PFAS in drinking water that violates one or more of these MCLs must take action to reduce levels of these PFAS in their drinking water and must provide notification to the public of the violation.
What This Means To You
Even if regulators, a laboratory, or a water maintenance professional assures you that your water is safe, it's essential to review the results yourself to confirm that your water from your private well or water system meets the new EPA enforcement levels. For instance, this updated regulation will have significant implications for over 1,000 private well owners in southern New Hampshire affected by pollution from Saint-Gobain Performance Plastics.
If you have any questions, please feel free to comment here.
Mindi Messmer, MS, PG, CG is an environmental and public health scientist and author of Female Disruptors: Stories of Mighty Female Scientists. The book is available on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and through your local bookstore.
"Female Disruptors is a wonderful mix of stories about mighty female scientists, and carefully documented data on everything from discrimination against women in STEM to the impact of balancing a career in science with motherhood. Mindi makes this personal by interweaving her own stories, which makes the work come alive. If you want to both be infuriated at woman scientist's plight, and also hear words of hope, and solid ideas for change, read this book."
~ Dr. Linda Rhodes, VMD, PhD