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A28 SCIENCE
Saturday 16 February 2019
Chemicals contaminating U.S. water supplies focus of EPA plan

By ELLEN KNICKMEYER, MI- ing to the National Confer-
CHAEL CASEY and JOHN ences of State Legislatures.
FLESHER North Carolina lawmak-
Associated Press ers approved money for
WASHINGTON (AP) — The monitoring and treatment.
chemical compounds are Washington state's health
all around you. They're on department plans to test
many fabrics, rugs and hundreds of water systems
carpets, cooking pots for any trace of the chemi-
and pans, outdoor gear, cals.
shampoo, shaving cream, Legislation in other states
makeup and even dental has proposed things such
floss. Increasing numbers as banning use of PFAS in
of states have found them food packaging and pro-
seeping into water supplies. hibiting its use in firefighting
There's growing evidence foam.
that long-term exposure to Dozens of military installa-
the perfluoroalkyl and poly- tions have been affected.
fluoroalkyl compounds, or Tests found drinking water
PFAS, can be dangerous, contamination exceeding
even in tiny amounts. the EPA's health advisory
The Environmental Protec- for a lifetime of exposure
tion Agency released a for two PFAS compounds,
plan Thursday that includes PFOS and PFOA.
moving toward setting a In this May 16, 2018 file photo the Rogue River flows underneath Algoma Ave. NE in Algoma Town- __
maximum level for PFAS in ship, Mich. WHAT ABOUT WILDLIFE?
drinking water nationwide. Associated Press Unsurprisingly, the chemi-
At hearings around the cals have turned up in a
country last year, local and then, for a host of uses. Parkersburg, West Virginia, EPA-mandated testing of variety of wildlife species,
state officials said such an By the 1970s, manufacturers brought a lawsuit blaming about 5,000 of the roughly including fish, bald eagles
action would be needed conceded that PFAS were runoff from a PFAS facility 150,000 public water sys- and mink.
to stop contamination and building up in the bodies for the deaths of his cattle. tems in the U.S. that was Michigan agencies plan
hold polluting parties re- of employees who worked The 2005-2013 study moni- completed in 2016 found to sample a variety of wild
sponsible. with them. Recent scien- tored and tested nearly dangerous levels of the game, such as ducks and
But environmentalists, tific reports have estimated 70,000 people who had same two PFAS com- other waterfowl, for the
Democratic members of that nearly all people in the been drinking water taint- pounds in 66 systems. Local chemicals. They already
Congress and state officials U.S. have some PFAS chem- ed with PFOA, one of the and state testing since then test fish and deer. The state
said the agency wasn't icals in their blood. Studies two kinds of PFAS since has identified high levels in issued a "do not eat" advi-
moving quickly enough to of workers exposed on the phased out of production. scores of additional sys- sory last October for deer
address the issue. job and people who drank The study found "probable tems. Contaminated mate- taken near a marsh pol-
___ contaminated water, in links" between high levels rials are disposed of in land- luted with PFAS — proba-
WHAT ARE PFAS? addition to lab analyses of of PFOA in the body and fills and sewage treatment bly from a former Air Force
Industries use the chemi- animals, have pointed to excessive cholesterol lev- systems. Firefighting foams base — after one of the an-
cals in coatings meant to ties between some PFAS els, ulcerative colitis, thy- are sprayed on the ground. imals registered 5,000 parts
protect consumer goods types and human illness. roid disease, testicular and The chemicals seep into per trillion in its body.
from stains, water and cor- Industries have phased out kidney cancer, and prob- soil, waterways, sediments Michigan, Minnesota and
rosion. two of the most-studied lems in pregnancies. and groundwater; some New Jersey include PFAS
DuPont says its scientists in- versions of PFAS. Manufac- The federal Agency for Tox- are incinerated, generat- chemicals in fish adviso-
vented the earliest form of turers say newer forms are ic Substances and Disease ing air pollution. ries, warning people to limit
the nonstick compound in safer and don't remain in Registry said last year that Many states aren't waiting consumption of such pop-
1938. They were impressed the human body as long medical studies pointed to for the EPA, particularly re- ular game species as bass,
with how water and grease as older types. Some re- "associations" between the garding groundwater and, walleye and brook trout.
slipped off the new sub- searchers say too little is industrial compounds and more recently, drinking wa- "If it's affecting human be-
stance and how it seemed known about them to be those ailments, and also ter. ings, it will be affecting
never to break down — sure of that. to liver problems, low birth New Jersey and Vermont wildlife as well," said Cheryl
winning it the name "for- ___ weight and other health is- are among those that have Murphy, a Michigan State
ever compound." Various WHAT DOES THE SCIENCE sues. set standards more strin- University biologist.
types soon were on the SAY? The federal toxicology re- gent than the EPA's; New The harm to wildlife is un-
market, first in Teflon prod- DuPont agreed to a court- port also says EPA's "advi- Hampshire may join them. clear, partly because PFAS
ucts. Thousands of variants supervised public health sory level" of 70 parts per New York is considering the chemicals don't necessarily
have been produced since study after a farmer in trillion of PFOA and PFOS — toughest standard yet. In accumulate in animals the
the two older, phased-out December, a state drink- way other chemicals do,
versions — in drinking water ing water commission rec- she said. Older, larger fish
is too weak. Before the re- ommended a maximum have higher levels of mer-
port was released, a White limit of 10 parts per trillion cury and PCBs because
House email disclosed by for PFOA and PFOS. That those contaminants are
Politico called it a "poten- follows revelations of wide- passed up food chains,
tial public relations night- spread PFAS contamina- from smaller species to big-
mare." tion in several communities. ger ones. But high levels of
___ Other states are trying to PFAS are being found in
HOW WIDESPREAD IS EXPO- determine the extent of the medium-sized fish such as
SURE? contamination, accord- bluegill.q