The EPA Just released updated drinking water health advisories. They say, in effect, that for certain PFAS chemicals there is no level below which humans do not experience harm.* This is drastically different from what they said in 2016, that 70 parts per trillion were OK.

* “The new safety limits for the two best known PFAS are 4 parts per *quadrillion* for PFOA and 20 parts per *quadrillion* for PFOS — roughly [17,500] times lower than the current standards.” – Mariah Blake

“The science is clear: These chemicals are shockingly toxic at extremely low doses.” – Erik Olson NRDC.

EPA administrator Michael Regan. The EPA is warning that two PFAS chemicals currently in drinking water pose health risks at levels below the government’s ability to detect them.

News:

EPA Warns That Even Tiny Amounts Of Chemicals Found In Drinking Water Pose Risks, NPR, 15 June 2022

The EPA on Wednesday issued nonbinding health advisories that set health risk thresholds for PFOA and PFOS to near zero, replacing 2016 guidelines that had set them at 70 parts per trillion. The chemicals are found in products including cardboard packaging, carpets and firefighting foam.

Because the EPA failed to act sooner, PFAS ended up in our drinking water:

The EWG estimates that more than 200 million Americans are drinking water contaminated with PFAS.

Some states weren’t waiting for the government:

Several states have set their own drinking water limits to address PFAS contamination that are far tougher than the federal guidance. The toxic industrial compounds are associated with serious health conditions, including cancer and reduced birth weight.

I have been saying this! The reason these chemicals are bad is because they don’t break down. Our bodies cannot dispose of them. They are carcinogenic and cause harm to the kidney, liver, immune system. They accumulate.

The chemical bonds are so strong that they don’t degrade or do so only slowly in the environment and remain in a person’s bloodstream indefinitely.
…
Officials are no longer confident that PFAS levels allowed under the 2016 guidelines “do not have adverse health impacts,” an EPA spokesman said.
…
“The science is clear: These chemicals are shockingly toxic at extremely low doses,” added Erik Olson, senior strategic director for health and food at the Natural Resources Defense Council.

See all these levels of PFAS in drinking water? These should be “near zero”! See that old 70 ppt Now … near zero!