On Tuesday, the Department of Environmental Protection presented a draft rule on PFAS standards for the state’s nearly 3,000 public water systems to EQB.
Studies at Rutgers and elsewhere are looking at possible links. The chemicals can cause serious health problems, including immune system effects.
With about 4,700 different PFAS, these ‘forever chemicals’ are a formidable issue to tackle. The Center for PFAS Solutions can test for 40 of them.
The agency said the three-year plan would prevent this class of toxic chemicals from being released into the environment and speed up the cleanup process.
Advocates with the Environmental Working Group want EPA’s plan to set standards for drinking water and groundwater cleanup, as well as to set limits on industrial discharges.
The watershed of the nation’s largest estuary includes Maryland, Virginia, Delaware, Pennsylvania, West Virginia and New York. The bay also is troubled by pollution from nitrogen fertilizer runoff and other pollutants.
One environmental group has consistently advocated for stricter limits than what the agency is recommending.
The so-called ‘forever chemicals’ are linked to a range of health problems.
Delaware County’s district attorney said contamination could have been prevented if companies that made the chemicals “had been honest with consumers.”
By
Jon Hurdle
In Bucks and Montgomery counties, PFAS contaminated local water through firefighting foam used at two military bases.
