We have a chance to make sure that Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) protects our health from toxic “forever” chemicals, which are found in water around the country. Tell EPA to limit these dangerous PFAS chemicals in drinking water. Act here.
What are PFAS Chemicals?
PFAS are a large group of human-made chemicals widely used in consumer products and industrial processes. People can be exposed to these chemicals in many ways, including through exposure to products like firefighting foam, stain and water resistant clothing, food packaging, cookware, and cosmetics. Industrial workers and people who live near certain facilities can also have higher levels of exposure. PFAS are found in our drinking water, our air, our soil, and our bodies.
Why are PFAS Chemicals a Health Risk?
EPA’s proposal is based on analysis of the latest science, which links PFAS to a wide range of health impacts. These chemicals can affect people’s nervous systems, their livers, their thyroid functions, and reproduction. They are also linked to increases in some types of cancer, cardiovascular impacts, and impaired immunity, including reduced vaccine efficacy. At certain stages of life, such as infancy, people can be more vulnerable to PFAS.
What is EPA Proposing?
EPA is proposing enforceable Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) limits on the two oldest PFAS chemicals — PFOA and PFOS. EPA is also considering an innovative approach to the problem of the thousands of other PFAS chemicals, some of which are also being found in drinking water. EPA is proposing to regulate four of these other chemicals individually or in mixtures, which could help us move toward addressing these risky chemicals as a class.
Setting drinking water limits is not enough. In fact, we should be keeping these chemicals out of our water in the first place and holding their manufacturers and other polluters accountable for the damage they have done. The Biden Administration and EPA are committed to many actions to control PFAS chemicals in the PFAS Strategic Roadmap and many states are taking the lead in eradicating unessential uses of these substances. We are pushing all levels of government to take aggressive action to get these chemicals out of use and out of our environment and bodies.
Your Voice Matters
EPA is already facing intense opposition to this proposal. PFAS manufacturers and users continue to deny the abundance of science demonstrating that these chemicals pose a serious risk to people’s health and that they are widespread in the environment, including in drinking water. Drinking water regulations are also linked to the cleanup requirements for contaminated sites for which chemical companies are being held liable across the country. Communities nationwide are struggling with contamination from military bases, airports, manufacturing facilities, and the use and disposal of PFAS-laden firefighting foam and consumer products. Those responsible for this contamination could push to further delay the relief these communities need.
EPA needs to hear that you support strong drinking water limits and further action to get these chemicals out of our environment. Having these limits will also help hold those responsible for PFAS water pollution accountable for costs. A public comment period will be open for 60 days. Please weigh in with EPA through our online action here.
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