Radhika Fox, the assistant administrator for water at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), said that the EPA has put out advice for states about ways they can study and decrease the amounts of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in water sources.
“EPA is following through on its commitment to empower states and communities across the nation to address known or suspected discharges of PFAS,” Fox said, according to the Environmental Protection Agency website. “Today’s action builds upon successful and innovative efforts already used by several states to safeguard communities by using our Clean Water Act permitting program to identify and reduce sources of PFAS pollution before they enter our waters.”
The EPA has issued a memorandum to states outlining guidance for how they can monitor and reduce the levels of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in water sources through the bedrock clean water permitting program. The guidance is part of the EPA's PFAS Strategic Roadmap, which is a holistic approach aimed at addressing "forever chemicals."
The memo aims to help reduce PFAS at the sources from which they originate, which will in turn reduce the levels of PFAS that enter wastewater and stormwater systems. Reducing those PFAS levels will decrease the risk that people are exposed to PFAS while swimming, drinking or fishing.
The memo, titled "Addressing PFAS Discharges in National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) Permits and Through the Pretreatment Program and Monitoring Programs," recommends that states look to their NPDES programs for the most recent methods for water sampling and analysis to identify sources of PFAS. States should then utilize their pretreatment and permitting authorities to limit PFAS discharges.
The EPA acknowledged that Michigan and North Carolina have already been working to identify and restrict PFAS sources through their NPDES programs.
PFAS refers to a group of chemicals that have been used since the 1940s in industrial processes and manufacturing consumer products, according to the EPA. PFAS are utilized because of their resistance to heat, oil, grease and other materials, but those properties also enable PFAS to remain in the environment after being discharged into bodies of water or water treatment plants.
PFAS have been linked to multiple types of cancer -- including kidney, ovarian, liver and prostate -- according to the San Francisco Firefighters Cancer Prevention Foundation, which notes that PFAS are used in firefighting foam, in addition to common items such as food packaging and nonstick cookware.
