EPA wants to designate two 'forever chemicals' as hazardous substances
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is taking steps Friday to address toxic chemical contamination from so-called "forever chemicals."
The agency is proposing that two toxic chemicals used in cookware, carpets, and firefighting foams be designated hazardous substances, a step that could encourage more transparency and accountability from producers of the chemical compounds, which have been linked to health problems.
Friday’s EPA proposal would designate PFOA and PFOS -- two of the most widely-used of the so-called “forever chemicals” – as hazardous substances under the 1980 Superfund Law.
The move follows through on a Biden administration campaign promise for the EPA to curb environmental hazards from per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances – known as PFAS chemicals.
Manufacturers have used the chemicals to make coatings and products that repel water, oil, and heat. They leach into soil and drinking water and persist in the environment. The chemicals have also been linked to negative health impacts including cancer and reproductive problems.
“That’s a really big deal because it’s going to give EPA new tools to hold those polluters accountable to make sure that the polluters actually have to pay for the mess that they made and it’s going to jumpstart cleanup,” said Melanie Benesh, vice president of Government Affairs for Environmental Working Group.
The advocacy and research organization applauded the announcement.
“This problem is so big, there is so much contamination, these have been so widely-used that we really need to address them with every environmental statute that we have,” Benesh said.
The American Chemistry Council, which represents major PFAs producers including 3M and DuPont, called the EPA’s proposal an “expensive, ineffective and unworkable means to achieve remediation for these chemicals.”
Others said the EPA’s action isn’t enough and is a drop in the bucket for the scope of the problem.
“There are 12,000 of these chemicals, “said Natural Resources Defense Council Senior Strategic Director Erik Olson. “Only two are being added to the superfund list, so there are thousands of other PFAs chemicals, we need to regulate them as a toxic family, as a class.”
Friday’s announcement is a step toward regulation as research continues into just how dangerous the chemicals can be.
The EPA said it will publish the proposed rule in the coming weeks in the Federal Register. It would give the public 60 days to comment before the rule could be finalized.
If finalized, releases of the chemicals would have to be reported to the government, which could encourage companies to handle the chemicals more responsibly.
