From Persistent to Preventable: The Impact of Policy on the Future of Forever Chemicals

Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS, or “forever chemicals") present risks in the everyday lives of Americans and people around the globe. PFAS are mad-made chemicals that are incorporated into countless products, from cookware to cleaning products, shampoos and furniture.¹ Their widespread industrial use and disposal creates exposure risks in the home, at work, and the surrounding ecosystems, contributing to PFAS buildup in the environment, animals, and people alike; and the makeup of these chemicals does not allow them to break down easily.²

In response to this more-or-less grim reality, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS), and Biden-Harris administration have taken action in recent years to shape impactful policy and fund essential research on PFAS. As these initiatives seek to influence beneficial change, the second installment of this series on PFAS will survey these very policies and ongoing efforts to shed light on a more hopeful, cleaner future.

Ramping Up Safety and Standardization

Under the Biden-Harris administration, numerous critical rulings and standards have been implemented for the betterment of public health. “President Biden believes every American deserves to breathe clean air, drink clean water, and eat safe food — free of chemicals and pollutants that harm the health and wellbeing of children, families, and communities,” the administration declared in a statement.³

Beginning in 2021, the Biden-Harris administration announced the EPA’s launch of a PFAS Roadmap to strategize the agency’s approach to PFAS cleanup, regulation, and more. The Department of Defense (DOD) also began a comprehensive assessment of PFAS cleanup across around 700 DOD sites or National Guard installations that may have used or released PFAS. The FDA additionally expanded its efforts in food testing and estimating dietary exposure, which was supported by the Department of Agriculture’s actions to support research on PFAS in the food system to combat contamination.

In 2021, EPA also issued multiple actions to bolster data collection and monitoring of PFAS in drinking water, introduced new regulatory determinations to include perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS) and perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) in the Safe Drinking Water Act, created standardized toxicity assessments and hazard evaluations, and developed an “EPA Council on PFAS” to oversee and expand upon these initiatives.⁴

Continuing into 2022, the EPA made lots of progress to support the Biden-Harris administration’s goal of protecting communities from the harms of PFAS. Among these efforts were various actions for clean water, including the proposal of the first Clean Water Act to investigate PFOA and PFOS levels in freshwater, aquatic wildlife. In June 2022, the EPA also announced 4 PFAS-related health advisories for drinking water and called for the allocation of $1 billion in Bipartisan Infrastructure Law grants across different states to address PFAS-contaminated water throughout disadvantaged or otherwise smaller communities. The following year, the EPA announced that $2 billion from President Biden’s law was available and would be distributed through the EPA-led Emerging Contaminants in Small or Disadvantaged Communities grant program.

Transparency and Awareness Are Bliss

Complimenting these efforts, the EPA proposed labeling PFOA and PFOS as hazardous substances under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA, or Superfund). This addition was finalized in 2024 and designed to increase transparency about their use, release, and ensure polluters are held accountable for their cleaning up their mess. Furthermore, CERCLA allows the president to respond to any releases or activated releases of hazardous substances.⁵

A PFAS Analytic Tool was then created in January of 2023.⁴ This interactive tool was designed to foster public awareness of PFAS and inform stakeholders, researchers, and residents about local PFAS sources that may be impacting their communities. Simultaneously, a new rule addressing “inactive PFAS” was proposed to mandate a complete EPA review and determination of risk prior to a manufacturing starting or resuming the production or use of nearly 300 PFAS that have not been used or made in many years.

The remainder of 2023 notably saw the EPA further improve monitoring efforts by removing exemptions centered around the use of PFAS in smaller amounts. Previously, facilities were not required to report on their PFAS use if the concentrations fell beneath a certain threshold.

2024: Present PFAS Outlook

To kickstart 2024, the EPA published 3 methods to improve the measuring of PFAS in the environment: Final EPA Method 1633, Method 1621, and the Other Test Method-50. These releases present testing methods for numerous PFAS and chemical substances in wastewater, surface water, groundwater, landfills and soil, biosolids, fish tissue, and the air. There were also 9 PFAS added to the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act’s list of hazardous constituents, which are set to benefit the EPA’s and state’s regulation of PFAS cleanup.

The General Services Administration (GSA) and EPA additionally made changes to custodial specifications outlined by the GSA to make sure that cleaning products bought for use in federal buildings will be PFAS-free.

Of great importance has been the EPA’s issue of the first-ever legally enforceable, nation-wide standard for drinking water.⁶ What are referred to as Maximum Contaminant Levels (MCLs) have been applied to 6 PFAS that affect drinking water. The rule enforces the strict monitoring of these chemicals and—beginning in 2027—requires that knowledge about PFAS levels in drinking water be disclosed to the public. Moreover, public water systems are given until 2029 to integrate solutions for reducing their PFAS concentrations if they are found to exceed the designated MCLs. If these systems are guilty of surpassing MCLs, they are required to not only take action but also notify the public of their violation.

Another noteworthy achievement from 2024 includes the FDA’s announcement that PFAS used in food packaging will no longer be sold in the US, and the issuance of an import alert for chemically-contaminated food products.⁷

These totality of these ruling and initiatives are but a glimpse into ever-growing efforts the Biden-Harris Administration and other governmental agencies are taking to better understand and combat PFAS. As AJMC discusses in the next and final installment on PFAS, these actions have led to the development of interim guidelines for PFAS destruction and disposal that are set to make a difference in the everyday lives of US residents.⁴

For more information on the current state of PFAS research and ongoing research, please visit the NIEHS, EPA, and FDA websites.

References

1. Interstate Technology Regulation Council. History and use of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) found in the environment. Updated September 2023. Accessed August 23, 2024. https://pfas-1.itrcweb.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/HistoryandUse_PFAS_Fact-Sheet_Sept2023_final.pdf

2. Perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS). National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences. Updated May 3, 2024. Accessed August 9, 2024. https://www.niehs.nih.gov/health/topics/agents/pfc#:~:text=What%20Are%20PFAS?,degrade%20easily%20in%20the%20environment

3. Fact sheet: Biden-Harris administration launches plan to combat PFAS pollution. Whitehouse.gov. News Release. October 18, 2021. Accessed August 26, 2024. https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2021/10/18/fact-sheet-biden-harris-administration-launches-plan-to-combat-pfas-pollution/

4. Key EPA action to address PFAS. EPA. Updated May 7, 2024. Accessed August 23, 2024. https://www.epa.gov/pfas/key-epa-actions-address-pfas#:~:text=In%20April%202024%2C%20EPA%20finalized,Act%2C%20also%20known%20as%20Superfund

5. Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) and federal facilities. EPA. Updated July 10, 2024. Accessed August 26, 2024. https://www.epa.gov/enforcement/comprehensive-environmental-response-compensation-and-liability-act-cercla-and-federal#:~:text=Policies%20and%20Guidance-,Summary,hazardous%20substances%20into%20the%20environment

6. Final PFAS national Primary Drinking Water Regulation. EPA. Updated July 12, 2024. Accessed August 26, 2024. https://www.epa.gov/sdwa/and-polyfluoroalkyl-substances-pfas

7. FDA Announcements on PFAS and Other U.S. Government Information. FDA. Updated April 18, 2024. Accessed August 26, 2024. https://www.fda.gov/food/process-contaminants-food/fda-announcements-pfas-and-other-us-government-information