New PFAS standards set to protect drinking water
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has announced new enforceable federal standards for perand polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in drinking water. This includes a new enforceable Maximum Contaminant Level (MCL) of 4.0 parts, per trillion (ppt), individually, for PFOA and PFOS, and 10 ppt, individually, for PFNA, PFHxS and GenX.
Additionally, the EPA finalized an MCL at a hazard index of 1, when a combination of PFNA, PFHxS, GenX and PFBS are present in a mixture.
PFAS are a group of human-made chemicals used for decades, in numerous products, including non-stick cookware, fast food wrappers, stain-resistant sprays and certain types of firefighting foam. These contaminants have made their way into the environment in a variety of ways, including spills of PFAS-containing materials, discharges of wastewater that contain PFAS from treatment plants and use of certain types of firefighting foams.
PFAS are known to accumulate in fish and wildlife tissues, as well as in the human body, posing several risks to human health.
The EPA’s enforceable standards acknowledge the importance of limiting exposure to PFAS and the role that drinking contaminated water plays, in the potential for negative health impacts from PFAS.
“Overall, Wisconsin’s public water systems are well positioned to comply with the EPA’s enforceable standards,” said Steve Elmore, director of the DNR’s Bureau of Drinking Water and Groundwater.
The current enforceable standard of 70 ppt for PFOA and PFOS in public drinking water, will remain in effect until the DNR completes rulemaking to comply with the EPA’s drinking water standards. This may take up to three years to complete, based on Wisconsin’s statutory requirements.
In addition, the DNR will formally request that the Wisconsin Department of Health Services (DHS) update their health-based recommendations for the six PFAS included in EPA’s finalized MCLs, to account for new scientific findings. The DHS anticipates their updated recommendations will be available during the second half of 2024.
“The good news is, there are steps people can take right now to reduce their exposure to PFAS in drinking water and other sources,” said Kirsten Johnson, DHS secretarydesignee.
While this rulemaking process is underway, the DNR will also work with PFAS-impacted public water systems, on potential actions to reduce contamination in water provided to the community. Of Wisconsin’s nearly 2,000 public water systems, approximately 95 percent have PFAS levels below the EPA’s standards.
Specific actions taken by any public water system will depend on their circumstances and could include treating water to remove PFAS, or finding a different water source. These MCLs do not apply to drinking water from private wells.
Funding from the federal Bipartisan Infrastructure Law may be available to municipal public water systems, to take corrective actions against PFAS.
