EPA designates 2 forever chemicals as hazardous substances, eligible for Superfund cleanup
Source: ABC News/AP
April 19, 2024, 8:45 AM
WASHINGTON -- WASHINGTON (AP) The Environmental Protection Agency on Friday designated two forever chemicals that have been used in cookware, carpets and firefighting foams as hazardous substances, an action intended to ensure quicker cleanup of the toxic compounds and require industries and others responsible for contamination to pay for its removal.
Designation as a hazardous substance under the Superfund law doesnt ban the chemicals, known as PFOA and PFOS. But it requires that releases of the chemicals into soil or water be reported to federal, state or tribal officials if they meet or exceed certain levels. The EPA then may require cleanups to protect public health and recover costs that can reach tens of millions of dollars.
PFOA and PFOS have been voluntarily phased out by U.S. manufacturers but are still in limited use and remain in the environment because they do not degrade over time. The compounds are part of a larger cluster of forever chemicals known as PFAS that have been used since the 1940s in industry and consumer products including nonstick frying pans, water-repellent sports gear, stain-resistant rugs and cosmetics.
The term PFAS is short for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances. The chemicals can accumulate and persist in the human body for long periods. Evidence from animal and human studies indicates that exposure to PFOA or PFOS may lead to cancer or other health problems, including liver and heart damage and developmental problems in infants and children. The final rule issued Friday follows strict limits set by the EPA on certain PFAS in drinking water that will require utilities to reduce them to the lowest level they can be reliably measured.
Read more: https://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/epa-designates-2-forever-chemicals-hazardous-substances-eligible-109423161
Link to EPA NEWS RELEASE - Biden-Harris Administration Finalizes Critical Rule to Clean up PFAS Contamination to Protect Public Health
Ponietz
(3,004 posts)Oh, wait, the plastics industry will take it to the Supreme Court and the rule will be on hold for the next decade.
FredGarvin
(483 posts)Taxpayer money gonna clean up their undevelopable land without paying a dime.
Passages
(144 posts)Medium or rare.
What we have done to this beautiful planet.
Wonder Why
(3,233 posts)young_at_heart
(3,772 posts)These chemicals will be in our bodies forever and babies and children were the most vulnerable. I wonder if ANY of the manufacturing big shots care??
mopinko
(70,197 posts)as a long time parrot owner, i have watched this crap for decades. weve known that long.
and we sat back and watched it get harder to tell if it was teflon, as well as watching more and more applications.
for a while they were putting it in/on everything. 2 most ridiculous applications- stain blocker on clothing, and toilet bowl cleaner. yes, folks, they wanted to put it straight into the water.
after a few stories went out of ppl buying a new sweater, having their bird come sit on their shoulder and keel straight over, that idea died out.
dont think the bowl cleaner ever made it to the market, but if it did, it died quickly. im sure it wasnt cheap.
go joe. lets give him 4 more yrs so he can fix fucking everything.
moniss
(4,274 posts)last night about plastics pollution and persistence in the environment and our bodies. Basically we're f**ked because the quantity of plastics in production is set to triple by 2050. Babies are now born with plastics in their blood. Breast milk contains plastics. Literally everything, everywhere on the planet now contains plastics. The concentrations are increasing.
Your organically raised cows and vegetables? Contain plastics. Grow your own vegetables? The soil and water contain plastics. The rain contains plastics. The air all over the world contains plastics. Regulate them away? All the industry does is slightly modify the compound and give it a new name that is not in the regulated list and so they evade restriction while years of testing is required to get the new compound restricted. When it does get listed the cycle of evasion begins again. You can be sure the plastics/chemical industries have the substitutes mapped out ahead of time.
Ponietz
(3,004 posts)speak easy
(9,294 posts)Warpy
(111,332 posts)but we might be able to keep it from getting even worse. Time will take care of PFAS pollution, if bacteria can evolve to live in lethal water at decommissioned nuclear sites, they can evolve to eat that stuff, it's a great energy source.
It turns out it's rather easy to decrease them to practically nil in drinking and cooking water, just heat the water to almost boiling, what cooks call a simmer, cool it, and pass it through a coffee or charcoal filter. The PFAS nanoparticles stick together when heated and become large enough to be trapped by simple filtration, dropping the PFAS load to nearly nothing.
I know there's been more recent research but last year
https://e360.yale.edu/digest/bacteria-break-down-pfas-forever-chemicals
It's just a matter of moving discoveries from the lab into practice, which seems a widespread issue in all areas.
Warpy
(111,332 posts)and while we might fuck things up enough to kill ourselves off, the planet will continue on just fine, new, weird and wonderful forms of life emerging as niches ready for exploitation open up.
Bayard
(22,128 posts)And other weird, uncommon diseases. Mostly dogs, but a few cats as well, even though we have cooked for the dogs for years instead of feeding commercial food.
I think they've been the canaries in the coal mine.