Oregon officials will begin regulating six PFAS chemicals as hazardous substances and develop rules to clean up the toxic compounds, which are tied to cancer and other health problems.
Alex Baumhardt reports for the Oregon Capital Chronicle.
In short:
- The Oregon Department of Environmental Quality will add six PFAS chemicals to its list of hazardous substances for the first time since 2006 and begin rulemaking to enforce cleanup and control contamination.
- PFAS have been found in drinking water, soil, and wildlife, particularly around airports and fire training sites; 24 Oregon water systems have PFAS levels above federal standards.
- The state’s new rules won’t cover airborne PFAS pollution, including emissions from sewage sludge burned or used as fertilizer, although regulators say more comprehensive policies are in development.
Key quote:
“This rule making really is just addressing one piece of the puzzle. There are other issues at play with PFAS that will need to be addressed.”
— Sarah Van Glubt, manager in the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality environmental cleanup program
Why this matters:
Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS, are an enormous class of synthetic chemicals that have crept into nearly every corner of American life and landscape. Traces of these “forever chemicals” have now been found in drinking water systems serving millions, as well as in soil, rivers, wildlife, and human blood. Scientists have linked even low levels of exposure to health effects including kidney and testicular cancers, thyroid disease, liver damage, high cholesterol, and reproductive and developmental harm. Against this backdrop, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency moved to set the first enforceable federal limits for PFAS in drinking water, while states like Oregon are taking steps to catalog and regulate them.
Related EHN coverage: States move to cement PFAS protections amid fears of federal rollbacks
