< EPA puts limits on 'forever chemicals' in drinking water

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

For the first time, the Environmental Protection Agency is putting limits on chemicals called PFAS in drinking water.

MICHEL MARTIN, HOST:

They're known as forever chemicals because of how long they last. They're useful. They're often used to waterproof and stain-proof products, but that comes at a cost to human health.

INSKEEP: NPR's science correspondent Pien Huang is covering the story. Good morning.

PIEN HUANG, BYLINE: Good morning, Steve.

INSKEEP: OK. Why set limits on these chemicals now?

HUANG: The EPA is acting to end what has seemed like a forever debate over forever chemicals. Here's EPA administrator Michael Regan.

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MICHAEL REGAN: There's no doubt that these chemicals have been important for certain industries and consumer uses. But there's also no doubt that many of these chemicals can be harmful to our health and our environment.

HUANG: Now, this follows what some states, including New Jersey and Washington, have already been doing, but it's the first time that it's happening on the federal level. The EPA is now putting limits on six of these chemicals in the drinking water, saying that every water system now needs to look for them. And if they're found over a certain amount, they have to be taken out.

INSKEEP: What are these chemicals, and where do they come from?

HUANG: PFAS is a group of man-made chemicals - a rather large group that have now been around since the 1940s. They were manufactured by companies like DuPont and 3M, and they're used to make things resistant to stains, to water and to grease - you know, everything from clothing, furniture to firefighting foam and electronics and semiconductors.

INSKEEP: Wait a minute. I've sometimes had pants - that the water rolls off the pants. They might have those chemicals in them. Is that right?

HUANG: Probably. Although there are a few brands now that have committed to not using PFAS in their clothing, but probably, Steve.

INSKEEP: What makes these so effective?

HUANG: Yeah. Well, the thing about them is that they have these really strong molecular bonds, which means that they really don't break down for a long, long time. You know, PFAS from the 1940s - it's still around today. And that's where they get the name forever chemicals. But as they've accumulated, so has evidence for how they can harm human health. You know, there are now links between PFAS and certain cancers, liver damage, high cholesterol, immune problems. And now there are more than 12,000 PFAS chemicals out there. And the EPA is putting limits on six of them in the drinking water.

INSKEEP: When you say 12,000 chemicals and six of them are to be limited, that doesn't sound like much.

HUANG: But experts like Elizabeth Southerland, who's a former EPA official, says that it is a strong first step.

ELIZABETH SOUTHERLAND: The six that they have here have had many, many both animal and human studies in many cases so that they feel confident that they have estimated the safe level of these chemicals.

HUANG: The limits are set around four to 10 parts per trillion depending on the chemicals. And she also says that the filters or chemical treatments that water utilities are going to have to use to deal with these six chemicals are also going to remove a lot of other chemicals that people are concerned about.

INSKEEP: How much does it cost to install the better filters and take the other steps that water systems will need to take?

HUANG: Well, in total, the EPA estimates that this will cost around $1.5 billion a year for water companies to comply. And, Steve, that's $1.5 billion every year until these chemicals stop showing up in the drinking water. The EPA does say that the benefits will exceed that cost. They say about a hundred million people are affected. And in that population, there will be less cancer, fewer heart attacks and fewer birth complications.

INSKEEP: Does my water bill go up?

HUANG: Well, maybe eventually, but there is funding that the government intends as a first resort. So the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law includes billions of dollars for PFAS removal. And companies that made these chemicals are also on the hook for more than $10 billion from a class-action lawsuit. But if water systems can't access those funds or if those funds run out, then some of those costs might eventually get passed on to consumers.

INSKEEP: NPR's Pien Huang. Thanks so much.

HUANG: You're welcome.

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