New Jersey Gets Stricter On PFOA Regulations
By Peak Johnson
A New Jersey agency has announced its proposal to adopt a new drinking water standard in order to control levels of a cancer-causing chemical.
The chemical, perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) or C8, has been used in the manufacturing of waterproof clothing, non-stick cooking pans, and other commonplace products, and has become increasingly problematic around the country.
New Jersey’s Drinking Water Quality Institute proposed the new standard, according to NorthJersey.com. If the standard is adopted, it would cause water utilities to better treat water in order to reduce the amount of PFOA reaching taps.
“The institute is taking a pretty aggressive approach on PFOA,” Howard Woods Jr., a private consultant to water utilities and former water company executive to NorthJersey.com. “It’s a good idea. The institute is deliberate and not rash. The stuff is all over the place.”
There are smaller water utilities, including some in North Jersey, that have said requiring extra treatment would be a major financial hit.
“System by system you’ll find issues where the cost of treatment is prohibitive compared to finding an alternative water source, so some towns might abandon wells and buy water from a neighboring system,” Woods added.
The current state health advisory standard for PFOA is 0.04 ppb. The proposed standard is 0.014, nearly three times lower, according to NorthJersey.com.
The chemical is found much more frequently in drinking water in New Jersey than in many other states, NorthJersey.com reported.
According to a report by an advocacy group that appeared on NJ.com, almost 200 million Americans, including many in New Jersey, have tap water that contains a toxin that can cause cancer even from minute exposures.
The U.S. EPA over the past two years have detected PFOA in levels of at least 0.02 ppb in 14 drinking water systems, according to NJ.com.
According to NorthJersey.com, in 2005 DuPont agreed to dole out $16.5 million after the EPA claimed “the company failed to report information it had showing that PFOA posed substantial human health risks, information the company knew as early as 1981.”
In 2006, the EPA asked the eight major producers of PFOA to eliminate the product by 2015.
Research has indicated that filters made of granular activated carbon can remove PFOA and similar chemicals from water, according to NorthJersey.com.
To read more about PFOA visit Water Online’s Source Water Contamination Solutions Center.