An advocacy group focused on public health and environmental hazards says the EPA has finally honored a request to update information about PFAS on the agency’s website.
PFAS are a group of widely-used human-made chemicals used in manufacturing, consumer products and many other industries.
Exposure to PFAS has been linked to a range of health issues including several types of cancer. Kyla Bennett is a former EPA scientist who now serves as the director of science policy at Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility, or PEER.
“So we do know that the three routes of exposure for PFAS in humans is ingestion, dermal absorption and inhalation,” she said.
The EPA has determined that no amount of two types of PFAS — known as PFOA and PFOS — are safe in drinking water. Bennett says for years, the agency’s website said the two compounds had been phased out entirely or limited in U.S. manufacturing.
But despite that, she says, both are still widely used. Her research has found them in one company’s plastic containers, which hold everything from shampoo and edible oils, to pesticides.
Last October, her group asked the EPA to amend their website in accordance with the Information Quality Act, and this month, it was finally done. Bennett says it’s a welcome first step, but regulation is still needed.
“Does it do anything to fix the problem? No," she said. "But at least people will now know ... that EPA is allowing the manufacturing and distribution throughout all sectors of commerce of this chemical. Now people can go on their website and see the truth."
According to the EPA’s updated website, "domestic production and import of PFOA has been phased out in the United States by the companies participating in the 2010/2015 PFOA Stewardship Program."
The 2006 program included eight major companies in the PFAS industry and sought to drastically reduce PFOA emissions by 2015. Participation was voluntary and doesn’t include several companies — like Inhance Technologies, LLC., which produces the plastic bottles found to have PFOA.
The EPA did not respond to questions in time for publication.
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