WASHINGTON – The Environmental Working Group today recognized the Environmental Protection Agency for taking the first step needed to properly dispose of the toxic “forever chemicals” known as PFAS.
Responding to a petition filed by New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham, EPA announced it will take two steps to address the risks posed by disposal of PFAS, the toxic chemicals contaminating the water supplies of thousands of communities around the U.S.
The EPA will propose a rule adding four PFAS – PFOA, PFOS, PFBS and GenX – to its Appendix VIII list of hazardous wastes. The agency will also propose a rule clarifying that PFAS contamination can be remedied under federal waste law.
“It’s critical that we properly dispose of PFAS wastes,” said Scott Faber, EWG’s senior vice president for government affairs.
“It’s good news that EPA is taking the first step toward addressing the end-of-life challenges posed by PFAS,” he said. “By adding four PFAS to Appendix VIII, as EPA has proposed today, the agency helps us get one step closer to ensuring that PFAS wastes are treated as hazardous wastes under our federal waste disposal law.
It’s also good news that EPA will use new tools to investigate and, if needed, require cleanup of these wastes,” Faber added.
“The EPA should also immediately block the Defense Department and others from incinerating legacy firefighting foam containing PFAS,” Faber said. “We should not be incinerating PFAS wastes and simply spreading this problem downwind. EPA should take action right away to protect communities that are already disproportionately exposed to toxic pollution.”
In 2020, EWG scientists highlighted the challenges of disposing of PFAS wastes in a peer-reviewed study. The research, published in the journal Chemosphere, found that three standard practices for waste management – landfilling, wastewater treatment and incineration – do not effectively contain or destroy PFAS.
“The disposal of PFAS can cause environmental pollution, which disproportionately affects people and communities near the waste disposal sites,” says Olga V. Naidenko, Ph.D., vice president for science investigations at EWG. “States, the EPA and waste management companies must take strong action to protect fence-line communities from harmful exposures to PFAS.”
Instead, disposal of PFAS likely returns the toxic chemicals to the environment, creating a cycle of contamination that also poses risks to the public. PFAS might suppress the immune system, and the chemicals are associated with cancer, reproductive and developmental harms, and reduced effectiveness of vaccines, among other health problems.
The EPA’s announcement on PFAS disposal comes just days after the agency issued a “PFAS Strategic Roadmap” that anticipates other agency actions, including the designation of PFOA and PFOS as hazardous substances under federal cleanup law.
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The Environmental Working Group is a nonprofit, non-partisan organization that empowers people to live healthier lives in a healthier environment. Through research, advocacy and unique education tools, EWG drives consumer choice and civic action. Visit www.ewg.org for more information.
