19 US Water Quality Issues and Regulations

What are PFAS?

PFAS are a group of manufactured chemicals called per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances. There are thousands of different PFAS, and some are used more frequently than others. These synthetic chemicals have been used in everyday products since the 1940’s-50’s including nonstick cookware, stain-resistant clothing materials, and highly effective firefighting foam. These chemicals are often referred to as “forever chemicals” because they take a very long time to break down in our environment. PFAS molecules contain a chain of linked carbon and fluorine atoms (polyfluoro-), and the bond between these atoms is very strong. Therefore, there aren’t many forces present in our natural environment that can degrade these molecules.

The PFAS that are studied most frequently include perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and perfluorooctane sulfonic acid (PFOS). These specific chemicals have been phased out of use in the United States, but they may still be produced in other countries. While the removal of PFAS from US production may seem like a positive first step, we often develop new PFAS with similar properties to replace the restricted substances. This is one of the reasons why PFAS research is still developing- new experiments and methods of study are needed whenever a new variety of PFAS makes its way into production (US EPA, 2023).

How do they impact people? What are the health effects?

The health effects of PFAS exposure are still being investigated, but there have been some clear connections draw between increases in exposure to PFAS and a variety of negative health effects in humans. The risk of health effects from PFAS depends on multiple factors including dose, exposure frequency, exposure route, and exposure duration. Additionally, individuals may experience different health effects depending on personal health factors such as sensitivity and disease burden. Environmental justice- related issues also play a role in PFAS exposure. An individual’s access to safe drinking water and quality healthcare can be an external determinant of health and play a role in PFAS- related health issues.

Here is a list of some associations we see as a result of increased PFAS exposure (CDC, 2024):

• Decreases in birth weight
• Lower antibody responses to specific vaccines
• Increased cholesterol levels and/ or risk of obesity
• Kidney and testicular cancer
• Developmental delays in children
• Reproductive effects (decreased fertility, increased high blood pressure in pregnant women)
• Interference with the body’s natural hormones

How are people exposed to PFAS? How can we decrease these exposures?

Because PFAS are used in a variety of industries, our exposure to them is very widespread and variable across different locations and lifestyles. Typically, humans are exposed to PFAS through contaminated water or food, by using products made with PFAS, or by breathing air contaminated with PFAS. These forever chemicals leach into our waterways from multiple sources, contaminating everything downstream and making it difficult to pinpoint any particular source. As previously discussed, these molecules take a long time to break down. This means that repeated exposures to PFAS simply increase the amount we have in our bodies. This process is called bioaccumulation, and it happens all over our environment with many different substances. One way PFAS can bioaccumulate is through food chains. When organisms lower in the food chain become contaminated with PFAS, the larger organisms that eat them are also contaminated. As this process continues, the amount of PFAS in each trophic level continues to increase. This makes it difficult to track the levels of PFAS contamination- I may only eat one fish that was contaminated with PFAS, but the amount that had bioaccumulated in that organism represents the amount of PFAS present in all lower levels of the food chain.

(Stovne, 2018)

Awareness of PFAS is one of the best ways to reduce exposures, and you can take steps to reduce the amount of these chemicals you come in contact with. One of the simplest examples of how we can make small changes is by not using non-stick cookware. Teflon is a notorious non-stick coating that is made with PFAS and is linked to several health risks. By swapping these pots, pans, and baking sheets for ones made of stainless steel or cast iron, you can easily reduce the amount of PFAS that make their way into your food and water.

How can we remedy this problem?

The Safe Drinking Water Act (1974) is the main federal law that protects public drinking water nationwide. It’s under this law that the EPA has the authority to set enforceable standards and regulations for specific substances in our water. They can also require testing of all public water supplies. It should be noted that the SDWA does not apply to private domestic wells or to other private or public water not being used for drinking (Interstate Technology Regulatory Council, 2016).

Regulating PFAS in the United States requires the collaboration of a number of federal and state governing agencies and policy initiatives. The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) are both key players in this arena. Beginning in 2021, the EPA released the first PFAS Strategic Roadmap, an annual progress report detailing the research, policy actions, and reporting methods regarding PFAS that the organization had worked on in the past year. In April 2024, the EPA issued the first-ever, “national, legally enforceable drinking water standard to protect communities from exposure to harmful PFAS, (CITE EPA)”. This rule dictates specific maximum contaminant levels (MCLs) for six different PFAS. These values range from 4 to 10 parts per trillion. The EPA estimates that this standard will prevent exposure to PFAS in drinking water for roughly 100 million people. Large-scale policy actions like this require lots of work and, subsequently, investment. After all, in order for public water utilities to meet these standards, they must monitor PFAS levels for three years. If this initial monitoring reveals PFAS in concentrations above the maximum contaminant levels, water utilities have until 2029 to implement appropriate solution. Beginning in 2027, public water systems must also provide information to the public about the levels of PFAS in their water. All of this additional work to regulate PFAS in drinking water will require more people and more money, so the EPA also allocated $1 billion from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. This is only one example of how complicated it can be to enforce national-level environmental policies. However, large-scale efforts yield large-scale results (“Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS),” 2024).