Starting this week, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency will begin a new review to decide what the accepted drinking water levels of a “likely carcinogen,” previously used to make Teflon should be.
Widespread exposure to the chemical and others like it is a concern, said Philippe Grandjean, a researcher at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, according to USA Today. He said harm may not be immediately obvious and that it can present as something as simple as a child who is always going to the doctor for a cold.
Perfluorooctanoic acid, also known as PFOA, was used for manufacturing polytetrafluoroethylene – a synthetic resin marketed with trademarks such as Teflon, Fluon, Hostaflon, and Polyflon – until 2002, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
“PFOA persists in the environment and does not break down,” said the CDC. People can now be exposed to the chemical from drinking contaminated water sources and workers in the perfluorochemical industry can be exposed to greater amounts of it.
According to CDC data, small amounts of PFOA and similar chemicals are in the blood of more than 98 percent of Americans.
Companies such as 3M and DuPont have been sued over their production of the chemicals in the U.S. The 2019 film “Dark Waters” follows one such case, a suit filed by Ohio-based attorney Rob Bilott against DuPont.
Sean Lynch, a spokesperson for 3M, told USA Today the company believes the “weight of evidence” from its own studies and other independent research doesn’t show adverse health outcomes related to the chemicals.
However, new documents released by the EPA indicate that the chemical probably causes cancer
“The new data and analyses in EPA’s draft documents indicate that the toxicity values (for PFOA and PFOS) are much lower than previously understood – including near zero for certain health effects,” the agency said, according to USA Today.
Around five years ago, the EPA created an advisory level for the chemical in drinking water of no more than 70 parts per trillion. However, calculations from Scott Bartell, a researcher at the University of California, Irvine, showed drinking the chemical at that amount for a decade was linked to a 16 percent higher risk of developing kidney cancer than drinking none.
“We see that mothers are recording that more often their kids are sick if they have higher prenatal or postnatal exposure to PFOA,” said Grandjean. “This is already harming populations.”
PFOA and PFOS are just two of hundreds of polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), including replacement chemicals now in circulation. Some researchers warn early analysis indicates other PFAS chemicals are also toxic.
“It’s as bad as it sounds. I don’t think we can sugarcoat this,” said Scott Faber, senior vice president of the Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit Environmental Working Group. “PFAS are a public health emergency that touches many more Americans than have been touched by lead pipes or other really urgent health risks.
Just this week, the Biden administration announced it would allocate $3 billion in Bipartisan Infrastructure Law funding lead service line replacement in 2022.
Research from Kyle Steenland, an epidemiologist at Emory University in Georgia, and his colleagues has linked PFOA exposure to high cholesterol, ulcerative colitis, thyroid disease, kidney cancer, testicular cancer and pregnancy-induced hypertension. Other research has lined PFOA to low birthweight.
Research from Tracey Woodruff, director of the Reproductive Health and the Environment program at the University of California, San Francisco suggests that, if the millions of women whose PFOA blood levels rank in the top half nationwide had only the average amount, as many as 40,000 fewer babies would be born at low birthweight each year.
Faber’s Environmental Working Group estimates that at least 1,700 water supplies across the country contain PFOA.
While many researchers agree that the chemical is harmful, the American Water Works Association, a nonprofit representing water utilities across the country, is not sure how low the EPA should lower the limit. Steve Via, director of federal relations for the group said the costs to renovate a single system are often in the millions.
“It’s a huge number,” Via said, of potential cost to eliminate PFOA from all water systems. He said money is also needed to address other risks like lead pipes. “At the end of the day, you’ve got to ask yourself, ‘Is this the best way to manage risk?’”
A board of scientists needs to peer-review the new EPA documents regarding PFOA and related chemicals before the agency determines a safe limit for the chemicals in drinking water. It is expected to decide next fall and regulation would go into effect in fall 2023.
The EPA also told USA Today it is moving “as quickly as possible” to update its health advisories in the interim.
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