The EPA’s new data includes testing completed in 2023, and more tests are planned for this year and 2025. The findings come as the EPA works toward finalizing limits for six kinds of PFAS compounds in drinking water, and amid a broader push by the Biden administration to rein in forever chemical pollution.
The nationwide testing does not need to be complete for the proposed drinking water limits to be made law, but the findings underscore the situation’s urgency, Hayes said.
“The whole thing is really showing we need to get drinking water standards in place soon because of how prevalent and toxic PFAS are, and because they are everywhere,” Hayes said. “We need leadership from the Biden administration and EPA.” Public health advocates expect the agency to finalize the rules before the November election.
The findings also show 60 million people are exposed to PFOA and PFOS, two of the most dangerous PFAS compounds, at levels above the EPA’s proposed limits. Once the limits are made law, utilities will be required to install technology, such as granular activated carbon or reverse osmosis systems, that will remove most PFAS.
The federal government has made billions of dollars available for utilities to install the systems and ease the burden on ratepayers, and chemical companies that produce PFAS have so far been court ordered to pay about $14bn toward new systems.
