EPA releases drinking water treatment options for 11 PFAS compounds

May 20, 2021

Drinking water treatment officials now have new ways to treat nearly a dozen PFAS compounds.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency updated its Drinking Water Treatability Database with treatment options and scientific references for 11 toxic PFAS chemicals, bringing the total to 38.

PFAS are a family of thousands of compounds that have been used since the 1940s to produce industrial products resistant to water, oil, grease and stains. They have been linked to a series of adverse health conditions like increase risk of kidney and testicular cancer, increased risk of high blood pressure or pre-eclampsia in pregnant women, increased cholesterol levels and decreased vaccine response.

EPA administrator Michael Regan has said the agency will address PFAS during his tenure, including assessing PFAS toxicity and potentially regulating how much PFAS is allowed in the nation’s waterways.

The Indiana Department of Environmental Management is currently undertaking a three-year review of PFAS in the state’s community water systems.

In 2021, IDEM will sample all water systems that serve between 3,300 and 10,000 residents. Between this July and May 2022, it will sample water systems serving less than 3,300 residents. And between July 2022 and June 2023, it will test water systems serving more than 10,000 residents.

EPA releases drinking water treatment options for 11 PFAS compounds

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