{"id":16899,"date":"2021-10-25T16:00:40","date_gmt":"2021-10-25T20:00:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.paawwa.org\/?p=16899"},"modified":"2021-10-25T16:22:24","modified_gmt":"2021-10-25T20:22:24","slug":"us-epa-announces-key-step-to-advance-science-better-protect-communities-from-pfas-pollution","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dev.linnflux.tech\/paawwa\/us-epa-announces-key-step-to-advance-science-better-protect-communities-from-pfas-pollution\/","title":{"rendered":"US EPA Announces Key Step to Advance Science, Better Protect Communities from PFAS Pollution"},"content":{"rendered":"

US EPA Announces Key Step to Advance Science, Better Protect Communities from PFAS Pollution<\/strong><\/p>\n

WASHINGTON (Oct. 25, 2021)<\/strong>\u00a0\u2013 Today, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency released a final human health toxicity assessment for\u00a0GenX\u00a0chemicals, which are part of the per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substance (PFAS) group. The agency\u2019s final toxicity assessment represents a key step in advancing the scientific understanding of\u00a0GenX\u00a0chemicals and their effects on human health.<\/p>\n

\u201cResearch establishes a foundation for informed decision making and it is one of the central strategies of EPA\u2019s PFAS Roadmap,\u201d\u00a0said Assistant Administrator for Water Radhika Fox<\/strong>. \u201cThis science-based final assessment marks a critical step in the process of establishing a national drinking water health advisory for\u00a0GenX\u00a0chemicals and provides important information to our partners that can be used to protect communities where these chemicals are found.\u201d<\/p>\n

In certain locations,\u00a0GenX\u00a0chemicals have been found in surface water, groundwater, drinking water, rainwater, and the air. EPA\u2019s final assessment for\u00a0GenX\u00a0chemicals focuses solely on the potential human health effects associated with oral exposure. Issuing the final toxicity assessment gives EPA the opportunity to share and exchange information with the agency\u2019s state and Tribal co-regulators who are working with their communities to confront this complex environmental challenge.<\/p>\n

The agency\u2019s final 2021\u00a0GenX\u00a0chemicals assessment uses the state-of-the-art systematic review process, incorporates new data available since 2018, and applies revised uncertainty factors. These changes resulted in a lower, more protective toxicity value for\u00a0GenX\u00a0chemicals relative to EPA\u2019s 2018 draft toxicity assessment.<\/p>\n

EPA\u2019s release of the final\u00a0GenX\u00a0chemicals toxicity assessment is a key step toward developing a national drinking water health advisory for\u00a0GenX\u00a0chemicals, which the agency committed to publishing in Spring 2022 as part of the PFAS Roadmap.<\/p>\n

For more information, visit\u00a0https:\/\/www.epa.gov\/pfas\/epa-actions-address-pfas<\/a><\/span>.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Background<\/strong>
\nGenX\u00a0is a trade name for a processing aid technology used to make high-performance fluoropolymers. Hexafluoropropylene oxide (HFPO) dimer acid and its ammonium salt are the major chemicals associated with\u00a0GenX\u00a0processing aid technology. Industry developed\u00a0GenX\u00a0chemicals to replace perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), a legacy PFAS.<\/p>\n

In October 2021, EPA Administrator Michael S. Regan announced the agency\u2019s PFAS Strategic Roadmap\u2014laying out a whole-of-agency approach to addressing PFAS. The roadmap sets timelines by which EPA plans to take specific actions and commits to bolder new policies to safeguard public health, protect the environment, and hold polluters accountable. The actions described in the PFAS Roadmap each represent important and meaningful steps to safeguard communities from PFAS contamination. Cumulatively, these actions will build upon one another and lead to more enduring and protective solutions.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

US EPA Announces Key Step to Advance Science, Better Protect Communities from PFAS Pollution WASHINGTON (Oct. 25, 2021)\u00a0\u2013 Today, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency released a final human health toxicity assessment for\u00a0GenX\u00a0chemicals, which are part of the per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substance (PFAS) group. The agency\u2019s final toxicity assessment represents a key step in advancing the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mi_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[6,14,7,5,11,10],"tags":[],"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dev.linnflux.tech\/paawwa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16899"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dev.linnflux.tech\/paawwa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dev.linnflux.tech\/paawwa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dev.linnflux.tech\/paawwa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dev.linnflux.tech\/paawwa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=16899"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/dev.linnflux.tech\/paawwa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16899\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":16900,"href":"https:\/\/dev.linnflux.tech\/paawwa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16899\/revisions\/16900"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dev.linnflux.tech\/paawwa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=16899"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dev.linnflux.tech\/paawwa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=16899"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dev.linnflux.tech\/paawwa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=16899"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}