For Immediate Release
Contact: Jeff Tittel, Director, NJ Sierra Club, 609-558-9100
Lawrencville, NJ- Today the Drinking Water Quality Institute (DWQI) will hold a meeting to discuss previous DWQI MCL Recommendations on PFNA and1,2,3-TCP – NJDEP MCL rule adoption and implementation b. PFOA and PFOS – status of DWQI recommendations. In September, DEP adopted amendments to the New Jersey Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) rules at N.J.A.C. 7:10 to establish an MCL for 1,2,3-trichloropropane (1,2,3-TCP) of 0.030 µg/l. 1,2,3-Trichloropropane (TCP) is commonly used as an industrial solvent and new research points to the possibility of TCP having severe health effects including cancer.
“We need the DEP to adopt new standards that are much stricter for dangerous chemicals in our drinking water. DEP adopted standards for 1,2,3-TCP at 30ppt but the science shows the standards should be at 5ppt. 1,2,3-TCP is a known carcinogen that impacts public health and we need to keep it out of our drinking water. Will the DEP move forward to adopt stricter standards?” said Jeff Tittel, Director of the New Jersey Sierra Club. “We must be proactive in setting stronger standards for dangerous chemicals in our drinking water like 1,2,3-Trichloropropane (TCP), PFOS, and 1,4-Dioxane. New Jersey especially need to make our own standards because we can’t trust the federal government to make stronger enough ones to protect our communities
1,2,3,-TCP is both mutagenic and genotoxic and is found at dangerously high concentrations at Moorestown, Burlington County. An MCL is the standard for how much of a certain chemical can be in the drinking water before it poses a potential public health risk. chemicals have been found in wells in Moorestown and dozens of other places in New Jersey. The state has set an PQL for TCP instead of an MCL standard. Based on this standard, the risk factor for cancer is 6x more using PQL rather than MCL. The PQL is a practical quantity level that is not based on health-based standard. Using a different standard will also set up a conflict between the DEP and DWQI.
“The DEP adopted a weaker standard for a carcinogenic chemical known as 1,2,3- Trichloropropane (TCP) than what health studies show. By doing this, the DEP is putting people at risk, especially in Moorestown and Burlington County where these chemicals have been found in their drinking water and wells. TCP is a known carcinogen that impacts public health and we need to get it out of our drinking water. New Jersey requires standard of a cancer risk for 1 in a million but DEP has just adopted a standard that is 6 times weaker,” said Tittel.
1,4 Dioxane has been found in 119 water systems throughout New Jersey. The groundwater at the Ford Superfund Site in Ringwood that could contaminate the Wanaque Reservoir. The report by the North Jersey District Water Supply Commission says that the 1,4 dioxane found in the groundwater at the Superfund Site needs to be treated to ensure it doesn’t migrate to the reservoir, which is just a mile away. This could contaminate the drinking water that serves as many as 3.5 million people.
“1,4-dioxane is a cancer-causing substance and it’s still present throughout New Jersey in areas like Chester, Fair Lawn, Pompton Lakes, and the Ford Superfund Site in Ringwood. Cancer could occur in one person out of 1 million exposed to 0.35 milligrams per liter of the chemical over a lifetime. The federal government has yet to develop a national standard for the chemical in water supplies which is why it is critical for DWQI to recommend a strict standard for 1,4-Dioxane and the DEP to adopt it,” said Tittel.
The Drinking Water Quality Institute will also make recommendations for PFOAs and PFOS. The federal Environmental Protection Agency detected PFOA in levels of at least 20 parts per billion in 14 drinking water systems, including Ridgewood Water, Fair Lawn, Garfield, Wallington and Hawthorne.
“DEP have been delaying for more than a year to set strict standards for PFOs. Last year, PFOS was found at the Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst and the surrounding areas in Burlington County. In Salem and Gloucester County, PFOs found near the Solvay site were seven times over standard. Repeated exposure to PFOS can lead to development defects in children and pregnant women, liver and kidney problems, and even tumors. We have even found PFOS in our fish, even from the most pristine areas,” said Tittel. “DEP must move forward and adopt standards for PFOS, it’s too important for our health and the environment.”
In May, the Drinking Water Quality Institute (DWQI) met to discuss various toxins in our drinking water including PFOs and 1,2,3,-TCP. Their meeting agenda included Comment/Response on Draft Subcommittee Reports on PFOS. The Senate Environment and Energy Committee also held S74 (Singleton) because the DEP opposed the level of 15 ppt and instead recommend 30 ppt. The bill requires DEP to establish maximum contaminant level for 1,2,3-trichloropropane in drinking water.
“We hope DEP will reopen and adopt stricter standards for 1,2,3-TCP. 1,2,3-TCP is a known carcinogen that impacts public health and we need to keep it out of our drinking water. DEP must move forward on setting the strictest standards for contaminates in our water like PFOS, PFAS, and 1,4 Dioxane. The DWQI is doing work based on science and we need the DEP not to do their work based on political science,” said Jeff Tittel, Director of the New Jersey Sierra Club. “We need the strictest standards for these dangerous materials and we need them to be as strong as possible based on strict science. The longer they wait, the more people are put in danger.”