Toxic chemicals known as PFAS exist at nearly 42,000 sites in the United States, according to one released Tuesday through the Environmental Working Group.
Research published in the American Water Works Association’s journal Water Science uncovered tens of thousands of potential point resources of contamination through perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl ingredients across the country. The researchers analyzed knowledge collected between August 2016 and March 2021 and discovered many in the unknown past. PFAS sites in water samples downstream of production facilities.
“At the moment, we don’t have smart data on how those other resources contribute to the PFAS contamination we locate in surface water and drinking water,” the study’s lead author, David Andrews, told The Hill.
Andrews said a Michigan case study highlighted in the report illustrates “how there is a diversity of other industries [that] have been known Array . . . as PFAS pollution resources. “
“Overall, I think it literally highlights all the paints that you want to do to identify where this pollution is coming from, so that we can prevent the ongoing contaminants in our water, ultimately,” he added. “It’s a general description, but it also provides a frame of paintings to move forward. “
Additional, widespread treatment and a more physically powerful authorization device has resulted in significant discounts on PFAS titles in Michigan, demonstrating the need for such a technique across the country, Andrews said.
At the federal level, Andrews said the measures taken through the Biden Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) are encouraging and called epa’s proposed regulations on gathering knowledge at PFAS sites “a critical step in identifying this contamination. “
“There are places where we think they can do more” on PFAS contamination, he added, such as controls that check for a wider diversity of PFAS.
“What we are looking for is the definition of hazardous chemicals and ingredients that would require cleaning infected sites, as well as implementing release permits,” he said.
“Our government is betting in large part on an catch-up game in which the chemical industry and its pollutants are decades ahead,” Andrews added.
The EPA is reportedly about to unveil a stricter PFAS system, according to documents received through The Hill.
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