The Story:
The EPA is expected soon to announce a plan to address what it sees as “inadequate” regulations on a class of toxic chemicals that has been called the “forever chemicals,” given their persistence once created and unleashed into the environment.
Significance:
The forever chemicals are more formally known as the PFAS, which stands for “perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances.” Teflon, an invention of DuPont in the 1940s, is the best-known of the PFAS group.
PFAS’ have been plausibly linked to the occurrence of kidney and testicular cancer.
The EPA appears ready to set the first-ever discharge limits for PFAS, focusing on both the manufacturers of the substances, and the owners of chromium electroplating facilities, which use PFAS chemicals as a fume suppressant.
In Pill Form:
There are voices in the House of Representatives for pressing the EPA to move further and faster on the subject of PFAS’. The anti-PFAS caucus in the House includes Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D – Conn.), Peter Defazio (D – Ore.), Jim McGovern (D – Mass.) and Dan Kildee (D – Mich,).
Collectively, those four wrote to the EPA recently to say, among other points, that it has failed to set deadlines for the implementation of new standards. This, the letter said, is “extremely disappointing.”
