Officials Describe DOD's Efforts to Mitigate Impacts of PFAS Chemicals

December 13, 2021

Read the full article from The DoD

"Richard G. Kidd, deputy assistant secretary of defense for environment and energy resilience, and Laura Macaluso, the DOD's acting deputy assistant secretary for force safety and occupational health, testified about the DOD's ongoing measures to address PFAS at a Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee hearing.

The department has invested significant effort into understanding and addressing the challenges posed by PFAS, said Kidd. To date, the DOD has invested more than $1.5 billion in PFAS related research and cleanup activities.

It is estimated that over 98% of Americans have some form of PFAS in their blood today as a result of substances containing PFAS that are found in many products and firefighting foams, he said.

There is still a lot of uncertainty related to the effects of PFAS, and it's still unclear what exposure levels result in adverse health effects, Kidd said.

"The EPA has published analytic methods to detect fewer than 10% of the PFAS in [commercial products]. The lack of this clear set of measurable and objective health and environmental standards complicates our ability to take proactive actions," Kidd said."