A new federal advisory appears to dig an even deeper hole for Maine’s forever chemical problem. In new recommendations released on Wednesday, the Environmental Protection Agency says that even trace amounts of two of the most well-researched forever chemicals, PFOA and PFOS, can pose significant health risks to humans. These chemicals have been linked to cancers, liver damage, low birth weight, among a myriad of other health risks. They are called “forever chemicals” because of how long it takes for them to break down in a natural environment. Forever chemicals are prevalent in a number of household items, from nonstick pots and pans to plastic water bottles.
EPA Administrator Michael Regan said on Wednesday that “people on the front lines of PFAS contamination have suffered for far too long. That’s why EPA is taking aggressive action as part of a whole-of-government approach to prevent these chemicals from entering the environment and to help protect concerned families.” Many states have been waiting for the federal government to release guidance on updated standards for drinking water because of the piles of new evidence that show the increased buildup of forever chemicals in the human body.
Bill Pluecker, an independent state representative from Warren, says that he is pleased that the EPA stepped up and took action, but wants Mainers to know that “there’s still so much work to be done.”
The new regulations say that acceptable water can contain up to .004 parts per trillion of PFOA’s, which is thousands of times smaller than the current regulation, which allows 70 parts per trillion. According to the Portland Press Herald, the new regulations are comparable to singling out four strands of hair from all the human heads on Earth. Similarly, for PFOS, .02 parts per trillion will be allowed under the new guidelines.
State law requires all of Maine’s public water districts to test for PFA’s by the end of the year to see if they meet Maine’s current limit of 20 parts per trillion of six different chemicals, including the two mentioned in the new guidelines.
The state’s largest water district, in Portland, had one detectable forever chemical in its 2019 tests, with the total amount measuring at two parts per trillion. Michelle Clements, a spokesperson for the water district, said that “one part per trillion is often descried as one drop in an Olympic-sized swimming pool or 30 seconds out of every million years, so you can see two parts per trillion is very small!” Portland’s water is fed from Sebago Lake, and they say they will test the lake and the treated water again this summer, using updated methodology that looks for even more potential forever chemicals.
It’s worth noting that these are recommendations, not regulations, but it is making states aware of what they can expect when the EPA releases its new proposed drinking water standards later this summer.
