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PFAS roadmap: One year later

Advocacy nonprofit Environmental Working Group held a conference over Zoom to commemorate the one-year anniversary of the Biden administration's PFAS roadmap.

WASHINGTON D.C., DC — The Food and Drug Administration, Environmental Protection Agency, and Department of Defense have stepped up efforts to eliminate PFAS from land, water, and products. But the advocacy nonprofit Environmental Working Group says it's happening too slowly. 

EWG Representatives held a conference on Monday to talk about the Biden administration's creation of the PFAS roadmap one year ago and the policy changes that have come out of it.

One of the major changes will be the requirement to add 29 detectable forms of PFAS to water testing between 2023 and 2025. Results from that testing will be available to anyone online wanting to track the forever chemicals in their own backyard. 

Through the Toxic Substances Control Act, the EPA will have more resources to send out test orders to companies and to support any upgrades to systems to filter out PFAS.

"One federal agency that really has not met the challenges posed by PFAS is the FDA, even though it is the agency that has known for the longest. They have known since the 1960s that PFAS are toxic chemicals," EWG Vice President for Government Affairs, Melanie Benesh, said. "In particular, the FDA has stubbornly refused to end the use of PFAS in food and in cosmetics. So, fortunately, states have really stepped in to start filling the regulatory gap."

RELATED: Federal probe underway in Fairfield to assess health risks from PFAS exposure

"I would also point out that we are still moving too slowly to address ongoing releases of PFAS into the air and water. The EPA's plan to turn off the tap on industrial pollution really does need to move much faster, and fortunately, Congress does still have time to set deadlines for the EPA in order for the EPA to set limits on these releases," Benesh said. 

EWG specifically cited Maine for taking a leadership role in researching PFAS when federal agencies have not. Maine has a detailed map of where wastewater sludge was spread, which has been linked to PFAs in the soil and water on farmland.

RELATED: 'Forever chemicals' in deer, fish challenge hunters, tourism

RELATED: Two Maine schools report high PFAS levels in recent water samples

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