COLUMBUS, Ohio — The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency will soon release its regulation regarding “forever chemicals,” also known as PFAS. The regulation may result in some changes for water departments across the state and nationwide.
"Forever chemicals" are highly-persistent chemicals that don’t occur in nature. The chemicals are used in everything from clothing to furniture, cell phones, frying pans and make-up.
The problem is, the chemicals don’t break down in the environment or in the human body.
Studies have shown, at low levels, "forever chemicals" can cause health issues and increase the chances of cancer.
That’s why the EPA is about to announce new standards for water plants regarding the legal levels of PFAS allowed in drinking water.
But is what is legally allowed the same as what is safe?
“We had no idea it was in the water back a few years ago because no testing could have presented it," said Glenn Marzluf, who runs the Del-Co Water Company.
Forty percent of the water that comes from the Scioto River supplies Columbus water customers. The Hap Cremean Water Plant and the Parsons Avenue Water Plant serve the remaining customers.
Water tests from the Dublin Water Plant for PFAS levels show that levels are either non-detectable or meet federal guidelines.
As a result, the city is not treating drinking water to remove PFAS, according to a spokesperson. However, the water department does sample for PFAS four times a year.
In February, the city began to sample tap water for PFAS. The results from the sample testing are not complete.
Before raw water reaches the tap, it’s treated and monitored by people like Emilie Eskridge, who is the regulatory compliance manager for the Columbus Division Of Water.
It’s her job to ensure forever chemicals don't exceed federal guidelines.
When asked whether our water is safe from PFAS, Eskridge said "It's hard to say what safe is." The reason is because the EPA has yet to decide what is safe.
For now, the recommendation from the EPA is four parts per trillion gallons of water of forever chemicals.
EPA regulations for PFAS were supposed to be finalized in November.
Delaware County and the City of Columbus joined a class action lawsuit against DuPont and 3M for allowing "forever chemicals" into the water system.
3M has agreed to pay more than $12 billion to settle hundreds of lawsuits brought by cities that said their drinking water was contaminated with "forever chemicals" for decades.
Last month, a federal district court judge granted final approval to a $1.2 billion settlement between water utilities affected by “forever chemicals” and DuPont de Nemours, as well as spinoff firms Chemours and Corteva. As part of the settlement, the three companies will collectively establish a $1.18 billion fund for public water systems that have been contaminated by per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, also known as PFAS, at any level.
Susan Pinney is the director of the Center for Environmental Genetics at the University of Cincinnati. She said at low levels, "forever chemicals" have been linked to a series of health problems and may increase the risk of cancer.
“I do think it's a substantial public health risk,” she said.
The Del-Co Water Company saw the issues surrounding PFAS in the water ahead of time. The team hired an engineer to begin plans to retrofit its water department with a carbon filtration system to catch more "forever chemicals" from entering the public drinking system.
Its water system meets federal standards, but to maintain those standards over time it says it needs to upgrade as science begins to better detect PFAS in water.
“The U.S. EPA has suggested that drinking water could be about 25% vector for this stuff getting into the human body, and incidentally it's in 98% of the blood of Americans today so almost every individual you met has some form of PFAS in their blood,” said Marzluf.
Delaware County’s water tests for PFAS also meet the regulation limits.
A national tap water test by the U.S. Geological Survey found "forever chemicals" in both public and private water supplies.
“What we found is that at least 45% of the nation’s tap water could have at least one or more PFAS,” said Kelly Smalling a Research Hydrologist at the U.S. Geological Survey.
Last month, the US EPA announced that grease-proofing substances containing Per and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) are no longer being sold by manufacturers for food contact use in the U.S. market.
“The substances containing PFAS were applied to fast-food wrappers, microwave popcorn bags, take-out paperboard containers, pet food bags, as well as other similar types of packaging. While the original commitment letters received by the FDA from the manufacturers state that paper and paperboard products containing these food contact substances could take 18 months to exhaust the market supply from the last date of sale, most of the companies have exited the market prior to their original phase-out date,” according to the EPA.
The alarm bells about "forever chemicals" are not only a problem at water plants; they’re also a warning for water customers.
When the EPA hands down its new regulations, it will cost water companies tens of millions of dollars to meet those standards. An expense water customers will ultimately pay for.
“To install treatment at our Dublin Road facility, you are probably looking at $90 to 100 million. It's expensive,” Eskridge said.
In Delaware County, the cost is less but still a large expense.
“The cost is probably in the neighborhood of $8 to $10 million,” Marzluf said.
He said he hopes to start retrofitting the water plant from a membrane system to a carbon filtration system sometime in 2024. Once these plants are retrofitted, there is ongoing maintenance that will be passed down to water customers.
How much water rates could increase is unknown, but water departments say rate increases are inevitable.
So, what should consumers do in the meantime if they want to filter their water? Experts suggest a home filtration system designed to filter PFAS.
Meanwhile, these odorless, colorless, tasteless forever chemicals will never completely leave our water system.
The question is, how much are we willing to spend to get to zero?
“To remove PFAS from water is very, very expensive,” said Pinney.
In February, the EPA announced $210 million dollars in funding for Ohio drinking water, wastewater and stormwater infrastructure upgrades as part of President Joe Biden’s Investing in America agenda.
In December 2023, Gov. Mike DeWine announced the expansion of the H20hio program to find out the impact of "forever chemicals" in the state’s largest waterways.
“As part of the H2Ohio Rivers program, Ohio will undergo a statewide survey to measure its large rivers for the existence of per- and polyfluoroalkyl (PFAS) substances," the program's website said.
The results are expected this fall.