The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency have announced it plans to control a group of toxic chemicals found in Americans’ drinking water. The catch…. the EPA won’t be setting the limits until later this year.
Acting EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler on Thursday said the agency planned short- and long-term steps to help states exposed to a class of common chemicals called PFAS, used in Teflon and firefighting foam.
The chemicals have been used for decades in common products and have contaminated water systems, most recently in areas around army bases in states including Pennsylvania, Michigan and West Virginia where foam containing the chemicals is used in military exercises.
The chemicals are linked to cancer, liver and thyroid damage, and other health and fetal effects. Both Republican and Democratic lawmakers in certain states have expressed alarm over exposure to the chemicals.
The agency will also monitor PFAS in nationwide drinking water and consider PFAS chemicals for listing in the Toxics Release Inventory to help the agency identify where the chemicals are being released.
