The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is conducting a nationwide monitoring effort to better understand the extent of perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in drinking water while addressing public health and environmental risks.
This fifth Unregulated Contaminant Monitoring Rule (UCMR 5), finalized on Dec. 20, will establish nationwide monitoring for 29 PFAS as well as lithium in the drinking water supply, an EPA press release said.
“At EPA, we are advancing the science and the monitoring that are necessary to protect all communities from PFAS,” Regan said in the release. “With the data provided by this rule, EPA will be able to develop better regulations while the agency, states, and our local partners will be able to make protective public health decisions that are grounded in science.”
EPA releases a new list of unregulated contaminants to be monitored by public water systems once every five years under the Safe Drinking Water Act, the release said. UCMR 5 requires samples to be collected for the 30 chemical contaminants between 2023 and 2025.
PFAS are manufactured chemicals widely used throughout the world in industry and consumer products, according to an EPA fact sheet. Utilized since the 1940s, PFAS is found in the blood of humans and animals and is present in water, air and soil worldwide. The number of PFAS chemicals is in the thousands, making research into health effects difficult. Researchers have yet to fully understand how to remove PFAS from the environment.
