Federal regulators are formulating an exemption for polluters who emit harmful perfluorinated chemicals (PFAS) into the environment. Environmentalists say this exemption circumvents new laws designed to address widespread pollution problems.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued a regulation on Monday to add 172 PFAS chemicals to the list that must be reported. These chemicals are discharged into the air, water or land.
PFAS is called a "permanent chemical" and PFAS is found in drinking water all over the country. They are used in waterproof fabrics, non-stick cookware and fire-fighting foams. They are linked to cancer, low birth weight, immune problems and thyroid disorders.
Under pressure from health experts and states, Congress directed the EPA late last year to require better reporting on some of the thousands of PFAS chemicals.
Specifically, the legislator said that if a manufacturer discharges 100 pounds or more of chemical substances into the waterway every year, it should report to the government. But the EPA’s new regulations allow them to bypass this requirement, as long as no PFAS chemical in the mixture releases more than 1% of the total.
The EPA also skipped the step that normally allows the public to comment before finalizing the rule, arguing that because the rule is in line with Congressional bills, the EPA "has no power to decide on the outcome."
Eve Gartner, the toxic substance exposure attorney for "Earth Justice", said: "It is clear that Congress has set a 100-pound threshold because they fear that these chemicals will be released without people's knowledge. come out."
She added: “We know that in an Olympic-sized swimming pool, a teaspoon of perfluorooctane sulfonic acid has an impact on health.”
An EPA spokesperson said, "Solving the PFAS problem is a top priority."
The "Earth Justice" organization has joined a coalition of multiple organizations including the National PFAS Pollution Coalition, Clean Water Action, Environmental Protection Fund, Environmental Working Group, and the Natural Resources Defense Council to oppose this provision.
The National PFAS Contamination Coalition (National PFAS Contamination Coalition) is made up of grassroots groups that have found the chemical in their water, including the Clean Cape Fear organization headquartered in North Carolina, which is based in DuPont. After years of pollution in a manufacturing plant (now owned by Chemours) in ), it advocated the regulation of PFAS.
Emily Donovan, the co-founder of the local organization, said: “Understanding what is happening in our region and being able to track the situation so that we can self-advocate, this is a burden on the country and the community.”
Donovan said that the EPA should list PFAS chemicals as intended by Congress so that the community can better track how companies use and release PFAS.
Health experts said the government will take measures to protect people from these chemicals, and the reporting requirements are only a small step forward.
Donovan said: "Because these are always chemicals... We live with our grandmother's generation, we just keep adding them." "We have been overexposed for decades and can no longer afford it. "
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