EPA fends off critics claiming PFAS health levels premature before advisors complete review
Countering its critics, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is defending the release of much stricter drinking water health advisories for two notorious “forever chemicals” known as PFAS before a key science advisory panel finishes reviewing studies of the chemicals.
The agency on June 15 issued updated interim lifetime health advisories (LHAs) for the forever chemicals PFOA and PFOS, alongside final LHAs for PFBS and GenX. The PFOS advisory is 0.02 parts per trillion (ppt) and the PFOA advisory is 0.004 ppt, both dramatically lower than the prior EPA advisory, set in 2016, established at 70 ppt for combined PFOA and PFOS.