The U.S. EPA announced a proposal for regulating PFAS chemicals in the nation’s drinking water. Through the U.S. EPA’s proposal, perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS) and perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) will become regulated through the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA). 

According to the U.S. EPA, this preliminary determination is a necessary step toward providing state and local communities with key information about PFOA and PFOS in drinking water. Through this proposal, the U.S. EPA is asking for information and data on other PFAS substances, along with seeking comment on potential monitoring requirements and regulatory approaches EPA is considering for PFAS chemicals. Upon finalizing the regulatory determination, the U.S. EPA will begin the required process to establish a national primary drinking water regulation for PFOA and PFOS.

PFAS contamination is being discovered at sites throughout the United States. Polyfluoroalkyl and perfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are fluorinated organic chemicals, which include PFOA and PFOS.  PFAS chemicals are persistent and bioaccumulate. Persistent means they do not break down in the environment and bioaccumulate refers to the process of building up over time in the blood and organs.

The U.S. EPA currently recommends a health advisory level of no more than 70 parts per trillion (ppt) of PFAS in drinking water. Many scientists, health advocates, and state regulatory bodies believe this is too high and should be lowered. In the absence of U.S. EPA action, a number of states, have passed or are proposing laws requiring lower levels of PFAS for drinking water. States that have established or proposed tougher drinking water requirements than the U.S. EPA’s current Health Advisory level of 70 ppt include:

• California

• Connecticut

• Massachusetts

• Michigan

• Minnesota

• New Hampshire

• New Jersey

• New York

• North Carolina 

• Vermont

Merit is a leading national PFAS environmental laboratory, analyzing drinking water, soil, wastewater, groundwater, and other sample matrices, including biosolids and sludge. Analytical methods performed by Merit for PFAS include drinking water by EPA 533, EPA 537.1, and EPA 537 rev. 1.1 and soil, wastewater, groundwater, and surface water by ASTM D7979 with Isotopic Dilution.