The Biden administration is designating two “forever chemicals,” man-made compounds linked to serious health risks, as hazardous substances under Superfund laws, shifting responsibility for cleanup from taxpayers to polluters.
New rules announced Friday give the government the power to force many companies that make or use perfluorooctanoic acid, also known as PFOA, and perfluorooctanesulfonic acid, known as PFOS, to monitor their emissions into the environment and take responsibility for cleaning them up. Grants . These companies could face billions of dollars in debt.
Found in everything from dental floss to firefighting foam to children's toys, these compounds are called forever chemicals because they break down very slowly and can accumulate in the body and environment. According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), exposure to PFAS has been linked to metabolic disorders, decreased fertility in women, developmental delays in children, and an increased risk of certain prostate, kidney, and testicular cancers.
The chemical is so common that it can be found in the blood of almost everyone in the United States. A recent government study found PFAS chemicals in nearly half of America's tap water. In 2022, the EPA found that the chemicals can cause harm even at levels “much lower than previously understood” and that no level of exposure is remotely safe.
The pair of compounds are part of a larger family of chemicals known collectively as PFAS.
This announcement follows extraordinary action by the EPA last week requiring water utilities to reduce PFAS in drinking water to near zero. The agency also proposed designating seven additional PFAS chemicals as hazardous waste.
“President Biden understands the threat that chemicals will forever pose to the health of families across the country.” EPA Administrator Michael S. Regan said: “Designating these chemicals under our Superfund authority will allow EPA to address more contaminated sites, take early action, and expedite cleanup while ensuring polluters clean up contamination that threatens the health of communities.” “We can make you pay for what it costs to do it.”
The new regulations require companies to immediately report PFOA and PFOS releases exceeding 1 pound within 24 hours to the National Response Center and state, tribal and local emergency response agencies.
The EPA said it's important to identify PFAS contamination quickly because delays can cause the chemicals to migrate into soil and water.
“It’s past time for polluters to be held accountable for polluting all of us,” said Ken Cook, president of the Environmental Working Group, an advocacy group. “This is too late for everyone who was poisoned without their knowledge or consent and has paid the price for one of the greatest environmental crimes in history. “But today’s designation of PFOA and PFOS as hazardous substances is the first step toward achieving justice for those harmed.”
Shifting cleanup costs onto polluters “is good news for many communities grappling with PFAS contamination, many of them low-income and communities of color,” said Dr. Tracey Woodruff, director of the Reproductive Health and Environment Program. University of California, San Francisco. “This is another step toward protecting people from the health harms of these well-known toxic chemicals.”
Industries that use the chemical in question believe that the designation cost is too expensive. In public comments submitted after the EPA proposed the rule in 2022, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce said it was “concerned about the high regulatory cost burden” of the “costly and unnecessary” designation. It would cost up to $22 billion to comply with regulations and clean up contamination.
The National Association of Manufacturers wrote: “This approach could quickly sweep away virtually the entire manufacturing sector, downstream user communities, and other entities, including municipal water bodies and commercial airports, leading to lengthy and costly litigation over legacy activities that are out of their control. Not only is this unfair, but perhaps more importantly, it won't speed up cleaning. In fact, the opposite will be true.”
Hundreds of municipalities have filed lawsuits against PFAS manufacturers, claiming the companies have polluted their water and soil. Last year, 3M agreed to a $10.3 billion settlement with U.S. cities and towns over pollution claims. Under the sweeping agreement, 3M said it would pay money over 13 years to cities, counties and other areas across the country to test and clean up PFAS in public water supplies. The company, which has not admitted any liability, said the settlement includes remediation for water suppliers that found the chemicals “at any level or may become so in the future.” 3M also said it would stop manufacturing PFAS chemicals by the end of 2025.
The rule announced Friday also requires federal agencies that transfer or sell their property to provide notice of any storage, release or disposal of PFOA or PFOS on that property and ensure that contamination has been removed or that additional cleanup occurs if necessary. I demand that you do so. It takes place in the future. For decades, hundreds of military installations across the country have used firefighting foams containing persistent chemicals, and nearby communities have some of the highest concentrations of PFAS contamination. Now it's unclear whether taxpayers will have to fund cleanup efforts or whether the government will try to recover costs from foam manufacturers.
The new listing also allows the Department of Transportation to list and regulate these materials as hazardous under the Hazardous Materials Transport Act.
This regulation will take effect in 60 days.