Baltimore’s water system contains PFAS chemicals at levels above new EPA health advisory

By Scott Dance | The Baltimore Sun | June 24, 2022

Read the full article by Scott Dance (The Baltimore Sun)

“Baltimore’s water system, which serves 1.8 million homes and businesses in the city and Baltimore County, contains measurable levels of so-called ‘forever chemicals’ that the federal Environmental Protection Agency said last week pose health risks even at minute levels.

The chemicals known as PFAS, used in firefighting foams and in consumer products for their nonstick and stain-resistant properties, were found in the system at a concentration of 4.93 parts per trillion, according to a city Department of Public Works report.

That level is well below a previous health advisory threshold, and below PFAS concentrations recently found at dozens of other sites around Maryland.

But the EPA said last week that any measurable level of PFAS chemicals — they currently cannot be detected at levels below 4 parts per trillion, officials said — suggests water utilities should increase monitoring for the substances and explore technologies and strategies that can reduce them.

In its annual drinking water report, released Thursday, the public works department said that ‘no additional actions are planned at this time’ to address PFAS. The department said it expects EPA to issue federal regulations ‘in the near future’ that would require the additional monitoring.

Public Works officials could not be reached late Thursday for further comment.

The EPA announced last week that it was replacing a previous health advisory on PFAS suggesting that concentration below 70 parts per trillion could be considered safe. The new standard, while still not enforceable, sets PFAS health risk thresholds at concentrations near zero, suggesting that the chemicals pose health risks even at levels so low that they cannot be detected.

PFAS, short for per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances, are a collection of thousands of compounds with chemical bonds so strong they do not degrade, or do so only very slowly, in the environment and remain in a person’s bloodstream indefinitely. They are found in everything from nonstick frying pans to stain-resistant rugs to cosmetics to firefighting foam. They are associated with health risks including cancer and low birth weight.

As more is learned about the chemicals’ prevalence and potential harms, some states have moved to better monitor them and limit their use. Several states have set their own drinking water limits to address PFAS contamination that are tougher than the federal guidance. The Maryland General Assembly passed legislation this year to ban use of PFAS in firefighting foams, paper products for food packaging, and rugs and carpets.

The Maryland Department of the Environment began monitoring for PFAS in drinking water systems around the state in 2020 with money from an EPA grant, and released results in a pair of reports last July and in April.

In an initial phase of 129 water treatment plants serving 4.3 million Marylanders, 75% of samples had quantifiable levels of PFAS, including 21% at levels of 10 parts per trillion or greater.

Wells in Hampstead and Westminster in Carroll County had the highest levels found in the survey, about 240 parts per trillion, and removed from use.

In a smaller survey of aquifers around the state, more than half of samples contained measurable PFAS.”…

This content provided by the PFAS Project.