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PFAS and PFOS are a class of 14,000 chemicals that contaminate the
drinking water of more than 200 million Americans. The chemicals are
used in a wide variety of products, from non-stick pans and
stain-resistant treatments for clothing and furniture to
semiconductor coatings and firefighting foam.
Iyala Simba, city programs director at the Illinois Environmental
Council, says PFAS are miniscule chemical compounds that are
impossible to see and impossible to avoid.
“Food wrappers and pizza boxes contain PFAS to make them
grease-proof,” she told The Center Square.
The Illinois Environmental Council successfully lobbied for the
gradual phase out of firefighting foam, which contains heavy
concentrations of PFAS. The chemical compounds are known as “forever
chemicals” because they never break down. PFAS are linked to cancer,
kidney disease, liver problems and birth defects.
“This is an issue that we are going to be dealing with for decades,
if not hundreds of years because of how these chemicals are set up.
They are not meant to break down,” Simba said.
In 2021, Illinois received millions of federal dollars to mitigate
PFAS contamination. The new EPA drinking water guidelines are
expected to cost Illinois municipalities billions of dollars.
“This is something that a lot of water treatment plants are really
afraid of because they can’t begin to cover the costs,” Simba said.
Municipalities are expected to initiate lawsuits against PFAS
producers, including the U.S. military, which uses firefighting foam
at airports and training facilities, and chemical companies DuPont,
Chemours and 3M, which use PFAS in hundreds of applications from
non-stick cookware and rain gear to construction materials and
packaging.
Previous guidelines for forever chemicals in drinking water were 70
parts per trillion. The EPA set 4 parts per trillion as the new
guideline. Scientists say that 4ppt is a huge improvement, but they
emphasize that no traceable level of forever chemicals in drinking
water is “safe.”
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