Congress Considers New Regulation For PFCs, Cyanotoxins

Congress is considering legislation to crack down on emerging contaminants including perfluorinated chemicals (PFCs), a pollutant plaguing water supplies near factories and former military bases across the country.

Introduced in April, the Safe Drinking Water Assistance Act is sponsored by Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, Democrat of New Hampshire, and Sen. Rob Portman, Republican of Ohio. Along with PFCs, it targets cyanotoxins and other contaminants.

Here’s what the legislation would do, per a statement from Shaheen’s office:

• Direct the U.S. EPA to create a program to provide federal support and technical assistance to communities that have detected emerging contaminants in their water supply.
• Establish and maintain a comprehensive database of resources to assist states and water stakeholders with testing for emerging contaminants.
• Direct the EPA and the Department of Health and Human Services to convene an interagency working group to improve Federal efforts to identify and respond to emerging contaminants.
• Direct the Office of Science and Technology Policy to develop an interagency federal research strategy to improve the identification, analysis and treatment of emerging contaminants.

Shaheen’s state is no stranger to PFC contamination.

“The city of Portsmouth, NH, closed the Haven well at Pease International Tradeport in May 2014 after the Air Force found levels of perfluorooctane sulfonic acid, or PFOS, 12.5 times higher than what was then the EPA’s provisional health,” Seacoast Online reported.

In a statement, Portman emphasized the need to protect Lake Erie from algae.

“The Safe Drinking Water Assistance Act will improve federal efforts to identify the health impacts of unregulated contaminants found in our drinking water sources, such as cyanotoxins, which contribute to the harmful algal blooms found on Lake Erie and in water bodies throughout Ohio.” he said.

Residents of Toledo, OH, underwent a water ban three years ago as a result of toxic algae contamination of Lake Erie.

The legislation cites a 2011 U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) study as finding that the U.S. EPA “has made limited progress in prioritizing drinking water contaminants based on greatest public health concern.”

The GAO found that the EPA “has made some progress in developing the occurrence and health effects data it needs, but for many contaminants EPA lacks sufficient occurrence and health effects data to support regulatory determinations, which continues to limit its ability to make these decisions.”

The legislation also called for cooperation among policymakers and water utilities.

“It is vital that legislators, regulatory officials, public water system owners and operators, scientists, and environmental advocacy groups continue to work to ensure that the public water systems of the United States are among the safest in the world,” the legislation said.

The EPA issued a health advisory in May about PFC exposure as various cities wage high-profile battles against the chemicals, including Hoosick Falls, NY, and factory towns across the country. PFCs are industrial chemicals, and research has tied them to cancer, the Associated Press reported.

The EPA advisory covers perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) as well as perfluorooctane sulfonic acid (PFOS). Though not a regulation, the advisory requires utilities to alert customers about the presence of these chemicals.

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