Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) – “forever chemicals” –  are a threat to our health and our environment. Initial studies conducted by the Virginia Department of Health (VDH) and the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) have confirmed PFAS contamination in surface waters, groundwater, and drinking water throughout the state.^1,2 To address this pollution and public health problem, Virginia should use existing authority under the federal Clean Water Act to require disclosure and control of the discharge of these chemicals into our waters.

Commonly called “forever chemicals,” PFAS are a class of over 9,000³ synthetic chemicals that do not easily break down but instead build up and persist in our bodies, soil, water, and wildlife.⁴ PFAS, even at very low levels, can cause significant human health harms, including cancer, harm to fetal and infant development, and reduced immune function.^5,6 The public can come into direct contact with PFAS via everyday items like waterproof and stain-resistant fabrics and materials, food packaging, and non-stick cookware.⁷

Communities are at risk of significant exposure to PFAS from concentrated streams of these chemicals released into our environment in firefighting foams, industrial wastewater discharges, landfills, and land-applied sewage sludge biosolids.⁸ Importantly, conventional water treatment systems do not remove PFAS from drinking water or wastewater and PFAS discharges can contaminate drinking water, surface water, soil, crops, and forage.⁹ Studies have found that members of low-income communities and communities of color are more likely to live within five miles of a PFAS-contaminated site and that these communities may be disproportionately exposed to PFAS in drinking water.^10,11

Unfortunately, Virginia does not require polluters to disclose or control these chemicals in their discharges or land-applied sewage sludge biosolids. This leaves downstream communities, private well owners, and farmers at risk or on the hook for costly cleanups. In Virginia, initial studies have found PFAS contamination in public drinking water supplies, private wells, near the Richmond International Airport, and near military bases.^12,13 The full extent of PFAS contamination in Virginia is unknown due to limited funding available for testing and data management.

Conventional water treatment systems do not remove PFAS from drinking water

Drinking water standards are an important component of protecting public health, but ultimately PFAS pollution must be stopped at its source. Using existing authority, the Commonwealth should identify and control pathways of PFAS pollution and put the responsibility on polluters—not communities—to clean up their waste. Specifically, the federal Clean Water Act as applied through Virginia’s Pollution Discharge Elimination System (VPDES) authorizes the Commonwealth to both monitor for and restrict discharges of PFAS into surface waters.¹⁴ States like North Carolina¹⁵, Michigan¹⁶, and Colorado¹⁷ are already using such authority to require industries to limit their PFAS discharge and help stop PFAS pollution at its source.

¹ “Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS),” Virginia Department of Environmental Quality. https://www.deq.virginia.gov/get-involved/the-environment-you/per-and-polyfluoroalkyl-substances-pfas.

² “Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) in Drinking Water,” Virginia Department of Health. https://www.vdh.virginia.gov/drinking-water/pfas/.

³ “PFAS,” National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences. https://www.niehs.nih.gov/health/topics/agents/pfc/index.cfm#:~:text=PFAS%20are%20used%20in%20hundreds,9%2C000%20PFAS%20have%20been%20identified.

⁴ “Toxicological Profile for Perfluoroalkyls,” Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (May 2021). https://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/ToxProfiles/tp200.pdf.

⁵ Arlene Blum, Simona A. Balan, Martin Scheringer, Xenia Trier, Gretta Goldenman, Ian T. Cousins, Miriam Diamond, et al, “The Madrid Statement on Poly and Perfluoroalkyl Substances (PFASs),” Environmental Health Perspectives 123 no. 5 (May 1, 2015). https://doi.org/10.1289/ehp.1509934.

⁶ “Toxicological Profile for Perfluoroalkyls.”

⁷ “Our Current Understanding of the Human Health and Environmental Risks of PFAS,” US EPA (March 16, 2023). https://www.epa.gov/pfas/our-current-understanding-human-health-and-environmental-risks-pfas.

⁸ “Our Current Understanding of the Human Health and Environmental Risks of PFAS.”

⁹ Kazwini, Tayma, Sudesh Yadav, Ibrar Ibrar, Raed A. Al-Juboori, Lovdeep Singh, Namuun Ganbat, Elika Karbassiyazdi, Akshaya K. Samal, Senthilmurugan Subbiah, and Ali Altaee, “Updated Review on Emerging Technologies for PFAS Contaminated Water Treatment.” Chemical Engineering Research and Design (2022). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cherd.2022.04.009.

¹⁰ Genna Reed, “PFAS Contamination Is an Equity Issue, and President Trump’s EPA is Failing to Fix It,” Union of Concerned Scientists (October 30, 2019). https://blog.ucsusa.org/genna-reed/pfas-contamination-is-an-equity-issue-president-trumps-epa-is-failing-to-fix-it.

¹¹ “Communities of Color Disproportionately Exposed to PFAS Pollution in Drinking Water,” Press Release, Harvard University T.H. Chan School of Public Health (May 15, 2023). https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/news/press-releases/communities-of-color-disproportionately-exposed-to-pfas-pollution-in-drinking-water/.

¹² “Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS).”

¹³ “Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) in Drinking Water.”

¹⁴ “Addressing PFAS Discharges in National Pollution Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) Permits and Through Pretreatment Programs and Monitoring Programs,” Environmental Protection Agency (December 6, 2022), https://www.epa.gov/newsreleases/epa-issues-guidance-states-reduce-harmful-pfas-pollution.

¹⁵ “DEQ Approves Permits to Reduce PFAS Contamination in the Cape Fear River,” Press Release. North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality (September 15, 2022). https://www.deq.nc.gov/news/press-releases/2022/09/15/deq-approves-permit-reduce-pfas-contamination-cape-fear-river.

¹⁶ “PFAS Information Related to NPDES”, Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy, https://www.michigan.gov/egle/about/organization/Water-Resources/npdes/pfas-related-to-npdes.

¹⁷ “List of Colorado Discharge Permit System (CDPS) Permits and General Permit Certifications with PFAS Monitoring and Limits Based on Policy 20-1#,” last visited June 12, 2023, https://docs.google.com/document/d/1KyRl6b-t1o73jK7mlZ8mhHn8ubbBbgZL-2hk6A1PyaA/edit.