XPost: talk.politics.guns, wi.general, alt.checkmate   
   XPost: alt.global-warming   
   From: ban_fracking@nytimes.com   
      
   MADISON - The federal government on Wednesday released a host of   
   new recommended health limits for "forever chemicals," with   
   numbers drastically lower than standards Wisconsin passed this   
   week.   
      
   In its announcement, the Environmental Protection Agency invited   
   states and territories to apply for the $1 billion in funding   
   made available to address PFAS by the Bipartisan Infrastructure   
   package passed earlier this year.   
      
   The new interim standards are 0.004 parts per trillion for PFOA,   
   0.02 parts per trillion for PFOS, 10 ppt for GenX chemicals and   
   2,000 ppt for PFBS.   
      
   PFOA and PFOS are two of the most well-researched and well-known   
   compounds in the PFAS family. GenX chemicals were created   
   following the phase-out of PFOS and PFOA.   
      
   By contrast, Wisconsin is set to implement standards for   
   drinking water set at 70 parts per trillion for PFOA and PFOS.   
   Those limits matched the federal guidance put in place in 2016.   
      
   The new federal recommendations for PFOA and PFOS were created   
   based on human studies in populations exposed to the compounds,   
   according to a news release from the agency.   
      
   "Human studies have found associations between PFOA and/or PFOS   
   exposure and effects on the immune system, the cardiovascular   
   system, human development, and cancer," the release said.   
      
   The recommendations for the other two compounds were based on   
   animal studies.   
      
   The new recommended standards aren't binding laws, meaning the   
   EPA can't enforce them. The standards are meant to provide   
   information to state agencies and other public health officials   
   about health impacts, analytical methods and treatment   
   technologies associated with PFAS contamination, according to a   
   release by the agency.   
      
   PFAS — or per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances — are a family of   
   man-made chemicals used for their water- and stain-resistant   
   qualities in products like clothing and carpet, nonstick   
   cookware, packaging and firefighting foam. The family includes   
   5,000 compounds, which are persistent, remaining both in the   
   environment and the human body over time.   
      
   The chemicals have been linked to types of kidney and testicular   
   cancers, lower birth weights, harm to immune and reproductive   
   systems, altered hormone regulation and altered thyroid   
   hormones. The chemicals enter the human body largely through   
   drinking water.   
      
   The compounds have been found in a number of Wisconsin   
   communities over the last several years, including Marinette,   
   Peshtigo, Wausau, Eau Claire, Milwaukee, Madison and Mosinee.   
      
   The new federal recommendations leave a wide gap with the   
   state's standards for how much contamination is acceptable for   
   drinking water in the state.   
      
   Lawmakers Wednesday let the standard of 70 parts per trillion   
   for drinking water stand, and the rules could go into effect as   
   early as mid-July, with testing of large public water systems   
   being required starting as early as November.   
      
   But it remains to be seen if policymakers will go back to the   
   drawing board to create new standards that look more like the   
   federal recommendations.   
      
   Check back for updates to this developing story.   
      
   Laura Schulte can be reached at leschulte@jrn.com and on Twitter   
   at @SchulteLaura.   
      
   https://www.jsonline.com/story/news/2022/06/15/epa-   
   recommendations-pfas-drinking-water-far-below-   
   wisconsins/7633267001/   
      
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