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File photo: The Environmental Protection Agency.
January 10, 2024 | 9:40 AM

EPA finalizes new rules for companies producing toxic PFAS chemicals

Companies must now notify the EPA if they want to resume the production of certain PFAS chemicals.
By Zoƫ Read/WHYY
Water flows down the Wissahickon Creek in view of the Autumn foliage Thursday, Oct. 29, 2015, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)
August 31, 2023 | 11:01 AM

More than 70% of Pennsylvania rivers, streams contain PFAS

Valley Creek is just one waterway out of many across the U.S. with elevated PFAS levels caused by wastewater treatment plants and electronics manufacturing facilities.
By Zoƫ Read/WHYY
Filters to remove PFAS that mount to your tap cost about $20 up front, but require maintenance in order to be effective.
August 29, 2023 | 5:41 PM

Advocates say proposed cuts to EPA would hurt PFAS control efforts

PFAS have been linked to some cancers, thyroid disease, developmental delays in children, and other health conditions.

By Rachel McDevitt
Eva Stebel, water researcher, pours a water sample into a smaller glass container for experimentation as part of drinking water and PFAS research at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Center For Environmental Solutions and Emergency Response, Thursday, Feb. 16, 2023, in Cincinnati. The Environmental Protection Agency is expected to propose restrictions on harmful "forever chemicals" in drinking water after finding they are dangerous in amounts so small as to be undetectable, but experts say removing them will cost billions.
March 15, 2023 | 11:55 AM

EPA proposes first limits on toxic ā€˜forever chemicalsā€™ for public drinking water

While states like Pennsylvania and New Jersey have already set PFAS limits for public water systems, the EPA proposal is more restrictive and would apply nationwide.
By Zoƫ Read/WHYY
The Cutaiar family drinks only bottled water at her home in Sellersville because her family's well was found to be contaminated with PFAS.
January 14, 2023 | 3:39 PM

Pennsylvania sets drinking water standards on two ‘forever chemical’ PFAS compounds

There are no federal maximum contaminant levels for PFAS. Pennsylvania joins others states that have set their own.

By Susan Phillips
October 21, 2022 | 9:43 AM

York County creek worst in the country for PFAS pollution, study says

The Lower Susquehanna Riverkeeper found high levels of chemicals known as PFAS in the Kreutz Creek Watershed in York County.

By Rachel McDevitt
In this Aug. 1, 2018 photo, a water tower stands above a residential neighborhood in Horsham, Pa. In Horsham and surrounding towns in eastern Pennsylvania, and at other sites around the United States, the foams once used routinely in firefighting training at military bases contained per-and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS. EPA testing between 2013 and 2015 found significant amounts of PFAS in public water supplies in 33 U.S. states.
June 16, 2022 | 4:33 PM

1 in 3 Pennsylvania drinking water systems exceed new EPA limits for ā€˜forever chemicalsā€™

The federal government warned that the potential health impacts of a group of chemicals known as PFAS are much more pervasive than previously acknowledged

By Oliver Morrison/ WESA
In this Aug. 1, 2018 photo, a water tower stands above a residential neighborhood in Horsham, Pa. In Horsham and surrounding towns in eastern Pennsylvania, and at other sites around the United States, the foams once used routinely in firefighting training at military bases contained per-and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS. EPA testing between 2013 and 2015 found significant amounts of PFAS in public water supplies in 33 U.S. states.
March 16, 2022 | 8:17 AM

Pennsylvania asks for input on PFAS rule

The Department of Environmental Protection found PFAS in about one-third of 114 Pennsylvania water systems.

By Rachel McDevitt
In this Aug. 1, 2018 photo weeds engulf a playground at housing section of the former Naval Air Warfare Center Warminster in Warminster, Pa. In Warminster and surrounding towns in eastern Pennsylvania, and at other sites around the United States, the foams once used routinely in firefighting training at military bases contained per-and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS. EPA testing between 2013 and 2015 found significant amounts of PFAS in public water supplies in 33 U.S. states.
December 14, 2021 | 1:29 PM

‘More power in knowing’: PFAS health study under way in Montgomery, Bucks counties

Seven areas across the United States were selected for the national study funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry.

By Zoƫ Read/WHYY
In this Aug. 1, 2018 photo, a water tower stands above a residential neighborhood in Horsham, Pa. In Horsham and surrounding towns in eastern Pennsylvania, and at other sites around the United States, the foams once used routinely in firefighting training at military bases contained per-and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS.
November 17, 2021 | 5:52 AM

Pa. moving forward with rule to limit ‘forever chemicals’ in water

On Tuesday, the Department of Environmental Protection presented a draft rule on PFAS standards for the stateā€™s nearly 3,000 public water systems to EQB.

By Rachel McDevitt
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