would not , as some have said , grind to a halt ,” Republican Sens . Orrin Hatch of Utah and Jon Kyl of Arizona assured Americans in a New York Times op-ed in 1995 as the amendments were being debated .
Since then , the EPA has reviewed data on more than 35 unregulated contaminants , including sodium and the explosive RDX , through the primary process laid out in the 1996 amendments . None have yet been regulated .
In the vast majority of those cases , the agency decided there wasn ’ t enough evidence that the benefits of regulating a contaminant outweighed the costs . In one case — the chemical perchlorate — the agency initially decided in 2011 that it would set a maximum level , before reneging . ( A federal appeals court recently ordered the agency to go through with its rulemaking process and set a standard for this chemical .)
The EPA has developed other regulations since 1996 , including mandated treatment techniques and revisions to existing standards , the agency said in its statement to ProPublica . It also followed specific directives Congress made through the amendments to set limits for a handful of new contaminants using the law ’ s required cost-benefit analysis .
Steve Via , director of federal relations at the American Water Works Association , which represents utilities , said the agency is right to carefully consider costs before adopting new standards . Unnecessary regulations , he said , add a burden on systems that could lead to significant rate increases for customers .
“ We need to protect public health , but we need to focus available resources ,” he said , noting that the EPA was justified in not regulating some contaminants that weren ’ t widespread . “ The best way to make that call is through a benefit-cost analysis .”
One family of chemicals has caused such an outcry that the streak could end soon . The EPA proposed this year to regulate a small group of perfluoroalkyl substances , or PFAS , also dubbed “ forever chemicals .” The substances , which by some estimates number in the thousands and which got their nickname because they may may persist for centuries in the environment , were used in firefighting foam on military bases and nonstick materials like frying pans . They first garnered mainstream attention in the 2000s when residents in Parkersburg , West Virginia , sued DuPont , alleging the company knew that the chemicals it used at its Teflon plant there were toxic and had still exposed workers , livestock and locals to them . The company settled the lawsuit , which was portrayed in the 2019 film “ Dark Waters .”
Studies have shown that prolonged exposure to PFAS in water may lead to cancer , decreased fertility , developmental delays in children , immune system suppression and other adverse health effects .
The agency first gathered data on the prevalence of six PFAS chemicals from 2013 to 2016 , during the same time it was testing for TCP . It found at least one PFAS chemical in the water of 17 million people , according to an analysis of EPA data .
It turns out that was a vast underestimate , in large part because the tests used at the time weren ’ t sensitive enough to detect PFAS at very low concentrations . Follow-up testing has
uncovered additional contamination : A 2020 study based on data from all 50 states estimated that the chemicals were likely present in the water of more than 200 million people .
Amid this heightened scrutiny , the Biden administration committed to take action , leading the EPA to announce in March that it would limit six chemicals from the PFAS family . For those who have been pushing for stricter drinking water standards , the proposal has provided some hope that the agency will act on other tap water threats , though this situation was unique because of the public scrutiny around the chemicals in recent years .
Waiting For Action
Of the more than 60 other “ contaminants of concern ” the EPA has identified , about 20 , including TCP , are possible or likely carcinogens , and nearly 30 may have reproductive and developmental impacts .
For many of those contaminants , however , there is still uncertainty about the exact human health impacts . Scientists can ’ t do randomized controlled experiments on humans — the gold standard used to establish cause and effect — because it is unethical to expose people to substances that might cause serious health issues . Instead ,
The Trial Lawyer x 39