On Wednesday, April 10th, the US EPA finalized the much-anticipated National Primary Drinking Water Regulation Maximum Contaminant Levels (MCLs) for six Per- and Polyfluorinated Substances (PFAS) in drinking water. This regulation has been a long time coming, and has been promulgated to protect our communities against the adverse impacts of PFAS exposure, including cancers, reproductive complications, diabetes, asthma, and neurobehavioral issues. It has been almost three decades since the EPA last regulated a pollutant of concern, which underscores the importance of their action earlier this week. Water Center Director Howard Neukrug states that “this single regulation will likely significantly impact water rates throughout the US and the growing national and local concern over the affordability of water to many low-income households.” As a technical assistance provider for communities across the United States, the Water Center is keenly aware of the need for community support in this massive undertaking. To better understand the potential impacts of PFAS on communities and water systems across the nation, the Water Center has been conducting research on communication best practices and financial implications of PFAS contamination to assess how public health concerns regarding PFAS/PFOA are conveyed and how accurately these communications are messaged to the public. "Communities and water systems don't have the capacity and budgets to respond to this magnitude of a communications, engineering, and financial challenge - they're going to need funding and other forms of help," said Brianne Callahan, Senior Research Manager at the Water Center. The Water Center is committed to further research and technical assistance in the wake of these significant changes to better promote equity for vulnerable communities and water systems at all scales.
US EPA's Final National Primary Drinking Water Regulation for six PFAS >
US EPA's PFAS National Primary Drinking Water Regulation Factsheet >