WASHINGTON – The Environmental Working Group applauds the announcement by the Environmental Protection Agency of a new stewardship program to remove from the marketplace “forever chemicals” approved through a loophole known as the low volume exemption.
The effort was revealed at EWG’s Inaugural PFAS Conference, on July 14, by Michal Freedhoff, Ph.D., assistant administrator for the EPA’s Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention. Freedhoff added that the agency will also develop a new PFAS testing strategy to fill data gaps about the substances.
Here is a statement by EWG legislative attorney Melanie Benesh:
Too many of the toxic fluorinated chemicals known as PFAS have entered the marketplace – and our bodies – without adequate safety review. Many PFAS entered commerce through an exemption in the law for “low volume” chemicals. So it’s good news the EPA is taking steps to close this loophole and begin to remove some PFAS that have previously entered the marketplace.
It’s also good news the EPA is creating a strategy to require companies to perform health and environmental tests on representative PFAS to fill important data gaps. For decades, communities across the nation have been exposed to PFAS without knowing the full impact of these toxic chemicals on their health. It’s especially encouraging to hear that the EPA will use a class-based approach to understand the impacts of PFAS.
The EPA also announced earlier this week that officials will list the entire class of PFAS as a group as candidates for regulation under the Safe Drinking Water Act.
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The Environmental Working Group is a nonprofit, non-partisan organization that empowers people to live healthier lives in a healthier environment. Through research, advocacy and unique education tools, EWG drives consumer choice and civic action.
Since 2012, water utilities' testing has found pollutants in Americans' tap water, according to an EWG drinking water quality analysis of 32 million state water records.
