More than 5,000 sites across the U.S. are polluted with the toxic “forever chemicals” known as PFAS, creating an urgent national health and environmental crisis.
For years, states have led the way in addressing this contamination, with at least 11 setting enforceable drinking water standards. These standards, also known as maximum contaminant levels, limit the amount of PFAS legally allowed in tap water.
On April 10, the Biden administration finalized bold new limits for six notorious PFAS: PFOA, PFOS, GenX, PFBS, PFNA and PFHxS.
But what does this mean?
EWG has answers to questions about what the Environmental Protection Agency’s federal drinking water standards mean for the state guidelines already in place – and for the millions of Americans threatened by the PFAS contamination crisis.
Impact of the new standards
What are PFAS and why are they harmful?
PFAS are known as “forever chemicals” because they build up in our bodies and never break down in the environment. They are used in thousands of consumer and industrial applications to make products nonstick, stain-repellent and waterproof.
Hundreds of studies link PFAS exposure to health harms including testicular, kidney, liver and pancreatic cancer; reproductive problems; weakened childhood immunity; low birth weight; endocrine disruption; increased cholesterol; and weight gain in children and dieting adults.
Why is the Biden administration finalizing a drinking water standard for PFAS?
In 2020, then-presidential candidates Joe Biden and Kamala Harris promised in their Plan to Secure Environmental Justice to set a drinking water standard for PFAS.
What is a maximum contaminant level?
A maximum contaminant level, or MCL, is the highest amount of a chemical legally allowed in drinking water. The standard is based on public health, as well as the cost and feasibility of cleaning up the water. The upcoming EPA rule will set MCLs for six PFAS: PFOA, PFOS, GenX, PFBS, PFNA and PFHxS.
What are the new standards?
The EPA set MCLs of 4 parts per trillion, or ppt, for PFOA and PFOS and 10 ppt for Gen X, PFNA and PFHxS. The agency has set a hazard index of 1 for GenX, PFBS, PFNA and PFHxS. A hazard index is a way to address cumulative risks from mixtures of chemicals.
How much is 4 ppt?
Imagine a map of Texas. One ppt – a single part per trillion – is equivalent to 7 square feet out of the 7 trillion square feet that make up the state.
How have these six PFAS been regulated in drinking water up until now?
Eleven states have set drinking water standards for PFAS, but 39 others have not. So 260 million people will now have protection from PFAS contamination in their tap water because the EPA finalized its rule.
What does a federal limit mean for states that have already established their own?
Once federal PFAS drinking water standards are set, utilities across the country must comply with them. But states can still impose stricter standards, setting even tighter limits.
The agency set an interim health advisory in 2022. Why is the MCL higher than the level set in that advisory?
Lifetime health advisories for drinking water are based on health considerations only. When drinking water contaminants are linked to health harms such as cancer, the EPA when developing health advisories must assume the safe level is zero, or the level at which there is no known or expected risk.
But when it sets the standard, the EPA must also consider other factors, including cost and technological feasibility, which leads to a higher number. The interim health advisories are also below the level at which the EPA can detect PFOA and PFOS, so the agency cannot enforce MCLs set at those levels.
When was the last time the EPA set a standard for a new contaminant?
This is the first time the EPA has set new standards under the process created by the 1996 amendments to the Safe Drinking Water Act.
The EPA has finalized new standards since 1996, but those were not for new contaminants or they were initiated before 1996. For example, in 2001 EPA set a new, tighter limit for arsenic, as required by the 1996 amendments to the Safe Drinking Water Act. The EPA also set an MCL for radionuclides, a new contaminant, in 2000, but the EPA first proposed that MCL in 1991, before the 1996 amendments.
Steps to tackle PFAS exposure
How many people are drinking water contaminated with PFAS?
EWG estimates that 200 million people may be drinking water contaminated with PFAS. The EPA’s own analysis estimates that about 60 million people get their water from a system containing PFOA or PFOS – two of the most well-studied PFAS – at maximum levels above the new proposed limits.
How do I know if PFAS contaminate my drinking water?
EWG has mapped sites with known PFAS detections. You can check to see whether your city or water utility has detected PFAS. You can also search for your ZIP code on our Tap Water Database to find out whether PFAS and other pollutants have been found in your tap water.
But some drinking water systems have not recently or ever tested their water for PFAS or have not yet published their results. All public water systems serving more than 3,000 people must test for 29 PFAS some time between 2023 and 2025.
What if I rely on a private well for drinking water?
Well water is not covered by the EPA’s drinking water rule. However, to address PFAS, the EPA is making funding available to well owners. This funding can be used to test and treat well water. The EPA will release more guidance soon on how to access this funding.
How can I protect myself at home?
To help you lower your family’s exposure at home, EWG has a step-by-step guide for consumers interested in buying a home tap water filter.
Reverse osmosis and carbon-based home water filters can help reduce PFAS in tap water.
What other steps can I take to reduce my exposure?
Lowering the amount of PFAS in drinking water is among the most effective ways to reduce PFAS in your blood. Other steps include changing your diet, cooking more at home and avoiding products made with PFAS.
Impact of the EPA rule
How many drinking water systems will be affected?
The EPA estimates that roughly 66,000 water systems will be subject to the new limits. But the agency also calculates that PFAS at levels exceeding the new MCL contaminate about 4,000 systems.
When will my drinking water meet the new standards?
Water utilities have up to five years to comply with the new standards.
Will my water bill go up?
Congress included $10 billion in the 2021 bipartisan infrastructure law to help water utilities with infrastructure upgrades needed to address PFAS. Water utilities have recovered billions more through lawsuits against polluters, and that’s expected to rise in the coming years.
What technologies can treat PFAS in drinking water?
There are several utility-scale treatments that can treat PFAS, including granular activated carbon, anion exchange and reverse osmosis.
What about PFAS that are not covered by the EPA’s rule?
The federal standard is limited to six PFAS. But technologies required by the new regulation will effectively treat other PFAS, too, and lower total levels in drinking water.
What about the polluters who contaminate drinking water?
Water utilities shouldn’t bear the sole burden of getting PFAS out of drinking water. Polluters should also have to limit how much PFAS waste they discharge into sources of drinking water. The EPA should stop PFAS at the source and quickly impose industry-wide limits for PFAS for all the sectors most likely to be using the chemicals.
What does this mean for military communities?
The Defense Department has known about the risks of PFAS exposure since at least the 1970s but still used PFAS-laden firefighting foam for decades without warning nearby communities. As a result, many Defense communities have had contaminated water for decades. Thousands of people in these areas who drink water contaminated by the military will be eligible for bottled water, home filtration systems or connections to public water supplies.
Health harms linked to PFAS
How does PFAS affect reproductive health?
Exposure to PFAS is linked to developmental and reproductive toxicity, including low birth weight, thyroid disruption, harm to the male reproductive system, pregnancy-induced high blood pressure, and some evidence of infertility and shorter duration of breastfeeding.
What are the public health benefits from this rule?
According to the EPA, the standard will prevent tens of thousands of serious PFAS-attributable illnesses or deaths. The agency estimates that these new PFAS limits will result in 1,232 fewer birth-weight-related infant deaths; 1,928 fewer kidney cancer deaths; 1,844 fewer bladder cancer deaths; and 3,584 fewer deaths caused by cardiovascular disease.
How does PFAS exposure raise the risk of cardiovascular disease?
Exposure to PFAS through drinking water contributes to increased PFAS in blood serum. This can lead to increases in total cholesterol, changes in high-density lipoproteins and elevated levels of systolic blood pressure. Changes in these factors are associated with a higher risk of cardiovascular events, such as heart attacks and strokes.
How do PFAS increase the number of infant deaths?
Exposure to PFAS has been linked to developmental problems, such as low infant birth weight, birth length, and head circumference at birth. Low birth weight is an important factor in survival rates and medical care costs among infants.
Are children more susceptible to the harms caused by PFAS?
Because children are still developing, they may be more sensitive to the harmful effects of chemicals like PFAS. Children drink more water, eat more food and breathe more air per pound of body weight than adults, which can increase their exposure to PFAS.
Young children crawl on floors and put things in their mouths which leads to a higher exposure to PFAS from carpets, household dust, toys and cleaning products. Breast milk with PFAS and formula made with water containing PFAS can expose infants to PFAS, and it’s also possible for the the developing fetus to be exposed.
