EPA grapples with potential health threat in drinking water
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Scott Pruitt is starting to grapple with a class of chemicals used in manufacturing that has been found in drinking water in recent years.
Pruitt convened a summit this week with state officials, industry representatives, environmental advocates and others to discuss the presence of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in the water supply. He labeled the issue a “national priority” and promised certain steps toward potentially regulating the chemicals' presence in water.
Among other steps, Pruitt said the EPA would formally consider whether to set national limits on the drinking water concentration of two of the thousands of chemicals in the family: perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS).
The chemical industry even endorsed the actions, though cautioned that the EPA has to use “sound science” as it moves forward.
But some in Congress, along with environmental and public health advocates, are skeptical that Pruitt will take strong action on PFAS. They point to the Trump administration’s deregulatory bent and an email uncovered last week in which a White House aide said an as-yet-unreleased federal study on the chemicals could be a “public relations nightmare.”
“At this point, it really just seems like a public show, with no action to really to back it up,” said David Andrews, a senior scientist at the Environmental Working Group.
Pruitt’s actions on PFAS were also overshadowed by an uproar over the EPA barring journalists from much of the summit and allegations that a security guard shoved a reporter out of the building when she tried to cover it.
http://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/389297-epa-grapples-with-potential-health-threat-in-drinking-water?userid=229233