In April, the Biden administration announced sweeping reforms to the Superfund law, designating two commonly used “forever chemicals” as hazardous substances and making polluters responsible for cleaning up their pollution in communities.
According to the New York Times, the rule will authorize the government to require companies that produce or use two synthetic compounds — perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and perfluorooctane sulfonic acid (PFOS) — to report any releases to the environment and assume responsibility for cleanup to take.
PFOA and PFOS are part of a laboratory-made chemical group called perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), according to the American Cancer Society. They are linked to serious health problems, including cancer, liver and heart problems, and immune and developmental damage in infants and children, according to a press release from the Environmental Protection Agency.
The Times explained that they are forever called chemicals because it can take hundreds of years for them to break down in nature and “four to 15 years for levels of PFAS in the human body to be reduced by half.”
Worryingly, a 2023 government study found that PFAS was in nearly half of the country’s tap water, and the EPA introduced a requirement for city water systems to reduce the chemicals to “near zero” levels.
“President Biden understands the forever threat that chemicals pose to the health of families across the country,” EPA Administrator Michael S. Regan said in the news release. “…By placing these chemicals under our Superfund jurisdiction, EPA can address more contaminated sites, take action sooner and expedite cleanup efforts, while ensuring that polluters pay for the costs of cleaning up health-threatening contaminants of communities.”
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Although the new Superfund PFAS rule does not ban the substances, manufacturers in the United States have phased them out. However, imported items such as carpets, textiles, rubber and plastic may still contain them, the Times said.
The EPA stated that it will focus enforcement on major polluters of PFAS chemicals, such as companies that used them in manufacturing, federal agencies and other industrial companies.
“It is long past time that the polluters who have poisoned us all are held accountable,” Ken Cook, chairman of the Environmental Working Group, said in the news release. “This comes too late for all the people who were poisoned without their knowledge or consent and paid the price for one of the greatest environmental crimes in history. But the current designation of PFOA and PFOS as hazardous substances is the first step in bringing justice. those who have suffered harm.”
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