The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced new drinking water standards Wednesday to limit exposure to PFAS, a class of substances often called "forever chemicals."
NPR reports that this is the first time the agency has set enforceable limits on PFAS in drinking water. There are nearly 15,000 different types, and the new limits only cover six — but it's a start.
PFAS stands for perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances. They take a long time to break down in the environment and can be traced to things like pesticides and firefighting foam, as well as waterproof and stainproof household products.
Exposure to PFAS has been linked to decreased fertility, weakened immune systems and serious illnesses like cancer.
Not every public drinking water system meets these new standards. Systems will have five years to address their PFAS problems. The EPA expects that excess PFAS levels will be found in around 6-10% of water systems nationwide, affecting some 100 million people.
Eight water pumping stations have tested positive for PFAS on Oʻahu, said Erwin Kawata, the deputy manager of the Honolulu Board of Water Supply.
Kawata said BWS began testing for about 29 different types of PFAS in 2020 in anticipation of the new rules.
The eight BWS wells with PFAS detections — ʻĀina Koa, Waipahu, Makakilo, Moanalua, Waipio Heights, Halawa, Kaʻamilo and Pearl City — had levels at about 50% of the regulated amounts, he said.
"We've hired a consultant that's going to help us assess, you know, what is the impact of PFAS on our sources, especially those that we have detected the PFAS," Kawata said.
"We are actually planning to do some treatment studies because we want to stay ahead of these levels that we are currently recording because if at some point they start to increase and we want to install treatment, we want to be well-prepared to understand what kind of treatment is going to be needed, the treatment facility that needs to be designed and actually constructed, because all of that requires time," he added.
Kawata said BWS has applied for funding through the federal Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to complete that work.
"I guess over the last several years, you know, with things like PFAS and the issues with respect to Red Hill, all of those are providing more awareness about the impact that the environment, or practices within the environment, can have on our resources. So that's something that is good. And what it means is continued vigilance, continued testing and responding to any contaminants that we might be finding as part of that monitoring," Kawata told HPR.
Kawata has worked at the Board of Water Supply for some 40 years.
Editor's note: BWS is an underwriter of Hawaiʻi Public Radio.
This story aired on The Conversation on April 11, 2024. The Conversation airs weekdays at 11 a.m. on HPR-1. Sophia McCullough adapted this story for the web.
