New regulation targets PFAS 'forever chemicals': What you need to know

Pennsylvania has joined the growing list of states to pass restrictions on so-called "forever chemicals," the substance found in water-resistant clothing and firefighting foam that's been linked to cancer and other illnesses.

These chemicals have shown up in water supplies around the county — most notably in Kreutz Creek in Lower Windsor Township, near the Modern Landfill. The landfill is currently upgrading its water treatment plant in response to runoff that exceeded limits set for other contaminants, including boron.

The new PFAS rule, published earlier this month in the official register of state government agency actions, sets a limit of 14 parts per trillion for perfluorooctanoic acid and 18 parts per trillion for perfluorooctane sulfonic acid. It applies to all 3,117 of the state's water systems.

Local officials, including spokespeople from the York Water Co., declined or did not respond to requests for comment on how the rule impacts them.

In a previous interview, Lower Susquehanna Riverkeeper Ted Evgeniadis said the work of state regulators is "a great step in the right direction." 

But what are PFAS?

PFAS, per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, are a type of human-made chemicals used in water-resistant products, Teflon and firefighting foam, according to the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry. PFAS production in the United States dates to the 1940s, and although many companies are phasing them out, PFAS has been detected in waterways around the United States.

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Locally, Kreutz Creek reported the highest levels of PFAS in a multi-state study, far exceeding the health advisory limit set by the Environmental Protection Agency.

With the new regulations, the DEP can now regulate and enforce restrictions on how much PFAS can be in drinking water. Pennsylvania is now one of just eight states that have enforceable PFAS regulations. There are no enforceable PFAS regulations at the federal level, only a health advisory, essentially a recommendation.

Although the restrictions are now in effect, enforcement for drinking water providers will come in following years, Jamar Thrasher, a DEP spokesperson, said. DEP monitoring and enforcement of systems serving a population over 350 will begin in 2024 and for systems serving a population under 350 will begin in 2025.

The monitoring was split between two years to ease laboratory capacity issues and give smaller systems more time to comply with monitoring.

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For now, the maximum containment level does not have a specific requirement for how water systems should comply. If a system violates the MCL once monitoring begins, the owner may need to take it offline until the issue is resolved and use approved treatment technologies, Thrasher said.

Approved treatment technologies include reverse osmosis filters, ion exchange and granulated activated carbon. However, treatments for PFAS are different from destroying PFAS.

Treatments extract the PFAS in a concentrated stream of wastewater that can still enter the biosphere, John Bowser, a Lower Windsor Township resident and previous DuPont employee, said. DuPont is one of the major companies that produced products with PFAS in them before the negative effects were known.

To learn more about PFAS and the new MCL, visit www.dep.pa.gov/Citizens/My-Water/drinking_water/PFAS/Pages/default.aspx.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

— Reach Noel Miller at NMiller3@yorkdispatch.com or via Twitter at @TheNoelM.