Comment For decades, Sandy Wynn-Stelt looked with delight at the Christmas tree farm across the street from her west Michigan home. “How idyllic this is,” he said. “This is as quintessentially Michigan as you could get.” Only in recent years has he learned of the toxic “time bomb no one knew was sitting” in the earth beneath those trees. The town of Belmont is one of hundreds across the country contaminated with a ubiquitous batch of dangerous chemicals known as polyfluoroalkyl and perfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS. On Friday, the Biden administration proposed to classify two of the most common of these chemicals, which can remain in the environment for years, as hazardous substances. The long-awaited move by the Environmental Protection Agency is meant to spark a cleanup of many areas contaminated by industrial compounds and make the public more aware of their presence. Used to make everyday products like non-stick cookware, cosmetics, textiles and food packaging, these types of chemicals permeate the drinking water used by millions of Americans—and have been linked to a range of diseases, including cardiovascular problems and low birth weights . “It’s a very important step,” EPA Administrator Michael Regan said in a telephone interview. The proposed rule “requires the polluter to pay for violating the law.” But people who live near toxic waste and their advocates say the federal government under multiple administrations has been painfully slow to act, even as the health risks of PFAS become increasingly clear. ‘Forever chemicals’ toppled a Maine farm — and point to a bigger problem The agency is proposing to add two chemicals known as PFOA and PFOS to the official list of hazardous substances under the federal Superfund program, which cleans up toxic waste sites. The listing would make it easier for the federal government to make polluters pay to remediate contaminated sites and funnel taxpayer money into projects if the culprits can’t be found. Under the proposed rule, companies would have to report when substances are released into the environment, even in relatively small amounts. The requirements will help public health officials track where the chemicals persist. “Transparency and disclosure are critical in this process,” Regan said. “And so, this rule will do that.” Industry representatives argued that listing the two chemicals as hazardous and involving the federal government in more cleanups could complicate them. The EPA’s decision is “an expensive, ineffective and unenforceable means of achieving remediation of these chemicals,” the American Chemistry Council, a trade group representing chemical manufacturers, said in a statement. For decades, it has engineered PFASs for their durability. With tough fluorine-carbon bonds, the compounds were used to make water-repellent clothing, fire-fighting foam, and a variety of other products. But this resilience proved dangerous. Fluoride breaks down slowly, allowing it to accumulate in water, soil and people’s bodies. Even some rainwater is contaminated with dangerously high levels of PFAS, according to a recent study. Once contamination is detected, resistant chemicals are difficult to remove and destroy. Some have called them “forever chemicals.” Among the most contaminated sites are areas outside military bases where airmen used flame retardants to put out jet fuel fires. Under the EPA proposal, the military would have to consider state laws when cleaning up PFOA and PFOS waste. In Michigan, shoemaker Wolverine Worldwide dumped waste on property that was eventually used to grow Christmas trees, said Wynn-Stelt, a psychologist who began advocating on the PFAS issue after learning about the contamination near her home. The Forever chemicals showed up in her drinking water from her private well and eventually her blood. She worries the exposure may have contributed to her husband’s death from liver cancer in 2016, as well as her own thyroid cancer diagnosis four years later. Today, under a consent decree with the state, the company plans to install custom-made membranes on portions of the property. But Wynn-Stelt worries the plan isn’t enough and would still like to see the federal government step in. After decades, some of America’s most toxic sites will finally be cleaned up Although many sites remain contaminated with these two chemicals, manufacturers have largely phased out the use of both. Thousands of other varieties of forever chemicals remain unavailable. Melanie Benesh, vice president for government affairs at the Environmental Working Group, an advocacy group, called the EPA’s move Friday “very important,” but cautioned that the rule alone will not keep PFAS out of the manufacturing process. “Calling something a hazardous substance doesn’t really affect the use,” he said. Many chemists outside of government are struggling to find ways to safely dispose of PFAS. In a paper published this month in the journal Science, a team of researchers described a cheap way to break apart these resistant fluorine-carbon bonds in certain compounds. Friday’s announcement is the latest effort by an administration dealing with widespread contamination from these chemicals. This spring, the EPA issued new health advisories for PFOA and PFOS. This fall, the agency plans to propose the first mandatory drinking water standards for PFAS. And two laws signed by President Biden — the bipartisan infrastructure bill and the Democrats’ climate and health care package — reinstated longstanding taxes on chemical and oil companies to pay for cleanups. “This is one of those issues that is not Republican or Democratic,” Reagan said. “This is a bipartisan issue that many members on both sides of the aisle at all levels of government have called on EPA to step in and take a leadership role.” Sign up for the latest news on climate change, energy and the environment, delivered every Thursday
