In recent years, there’s been a significant amount of light shed on a group of chemicals that we find in everyday items, including cookware, microwavable popcorn bags, pizza boxes, surface-protectants, fire-fighting foam, and more. These chemicals are known as per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, and are very resistant to chemical or thermal breakdown, and tend to repel water, oil, and other substances.   

Studies have shown that at least some of these compounds can cause adverse health effects, even at very low concentrations. Health affects attributed to some PFAS compounds include elevated liver weight, increased cholesterol, increased uric acid, kidney diseases, and some cancers.  While research is still needed to fully understand the health implications of these compounds, some studies show that these effects may be caused by exposure equivalent to 10 to 100 parts per trillion in water.  A speaker at a conference I attended recently put a part per trillion into context like this: it’s six inches in the distance from the earth to the sun.

PFAS compounds are widely present in the environment.  Because they are utilized in so many every day products, they get released into the environment from those products, and from the manufacturing facilities that make them.  These compounds are not directly regulated in wastewater discharges at this time, therefore some manufacturing plants that use PFAS in production assume that these compounds can be released into local streams and watersheds without treating them. Once released to the environment, the chemical properties that make PFAS so useful in many products also make these compounds highly transportable in air, water, and groundwater.  In fact, there was a study conducted that found traces of PFAS in polar bears far from any source of the chemicals.  Because they also have high chemical and thermal stability, PFAS breakdown in the environment very slowly (almost not at all). 

Humans may be exposed to PFAS from cookware, personal hygiene products, contaminated food, airborne sources, and contaminated water, just to name a few. However, if a PFAS contamination is present in a person’s water supply, that is generally the most significant exposure pathway. PFAS are not removed or degraded by conventional water and wastewater treatment processes, therefore if PFAS enter a water supply, more costly treatment processes, such as reverse osmosis, activated carbon, or ion exchange would be required to remove them. 

What is the Environmental Community Saying?

There is much discussion in the environmental community regarding regulation of PFAS. PFAS are known as “emerging contaminants” because studies to understand the nature and effects of these contaminants and establish regulatory limits are still in progress.  To date, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has not established enforceable limits for PFAS in drinking water or other environmental media, but has established a 70 ng/L lifetime health advisory limit for combined exposure to two specific compounds, perfluorooctane sulfonic acid (PFOS) and perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA).  A handful of states have enacted enforceable limits on specific PFAS in drinking water on their own.  Many are watching the regulatory process very carefully because if regulatory limits are established for PFAS in water and/or wastewater, it would mean a significant change in treatment and discharge strategies for the water and wastewater treatment systems.  It will be important for regulators to find the appropriate balance between protecting human health and the environment without adding undue cost to treatment systems.