The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) took further steps this spring to deal with the problem of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS). The EPA declared two classes of PFAS (PFOA and PFOS) to be hazardous substances under the Superfund law, which allows polluters to be held responsible for cleanup.
The EPA also set maximum allowable limits on PFOA and PFOS of 4 parts per trillion (ppt) in drinking water. Limits were also established for four other classes of PFAS. In doing so, the EPA gave water utilities three years to test for the presence of these toxic substances and two additional years to install safeguards, such as filters.
PFAS are linked to kidney, liver, and testicular cancer; thyroid disease; developmental disorders; and other serious health conditions. The EPA has said no level is safe.
New Jersey has been a leader in establishing PFAS drinking water limits, but the EPA has now set even higher standards, which will supersede the New Jersey maximums.
In other developments, a South Carolina court approved a settlement under which the manufacturer 3M will pay at least $10.5 billion to compensate US water systems for PFAS contamination.
3M and DuPont are among the most prominent culprits in the nation’s PFAS problems. Last year, the NJ Department of Environmental protection (DEP) settled with Solvay Specialty Polymers for $393 million to clean up PFAS contamination related to a factory in West Deptford.
Ridding our drinking water of PFAS is one of the first steps in dealing with this problem. New Jersey has water contaminated by PFAS in many communities throughout the state. The DEP estimates that more than 200 water systems will fail to pass under the stricter EPA standards.
PFAS in Biosolids
Concerns have increased lately about PFAS contamination from other sources. PFAS tends to accumulate in raw sewage, which is processed into biosolids, which throughout the nation have been used as farm fertilizer on an estimated 20 million or more acres.
In February, the group Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER) filed suit against Synagro Technologies, a biosolids-based fertilizer maker, after alarmingly high levels of PFAS were found in soil, water, fish, and calf tissue at farms in Johnson County, Texas.
“There were 610,000 ppt of PFOS in a stillborn calf liver, and 57,000 and 74,000 ppt of PFOS in two fish samples,” PEER wrote. PFAS are also readily taken up by plants, especially green, leafy vegetables.
Kyla Bennett, PEER’s Director of science policy and a former EPA wetland permit reviewer, said in an interview that as biosolids are created at wastewater plants, the levels of PFAS actually increase.
Synagro has biosolids operations across the country, processing millions of tons of waste annually, including one in Deerfield Township in Cumberland County, New Jersey. That facility was built just a few years ago despite residents’ concerns about PFAS in biosolids.
New Jersey does permit agricultural use of biosolids, although a 2018 report indicated less than 1% of New Jersey biosolids were used in agriculture that year. The majority were used as landfill covering or disposed of in landfills, adding to the dangers of leachate from these facilities.
New Jersey’s use of biosolids in agriculture stretches back many years. These biosolids have also been shipped out of state because New Jersey has limited agriculture and limited landfill space.
Further investigation and testing appear necessary, and advocates believe PFAS regulation should not stop with drinking water standards alone.