In 2002, the French multinational Saint-Gobain
boosted production of chemically weatherproofed fabrics that it
produced in its Merrimack, New Hampshire, plant. Soon after,
serious health problems began hitting residents living near the
facility.
The Merrimack Citizens for Clean Water (MCCW) advocacy group
says people there suffer from high levels of cancer,
cardiovascular issues, autoimmune disorders, kidney disease and
developmental disorders. That includes an alarming number of
children facing rare and aggressive cancers, said MCCW’s Laurene
Allen, who lives in the city of about 30,000 that sits an hour
north of Boston.
Residents suspected Teflon and other PFAS used in Sant-Gobain’s
fabrics were to blame, and testing appears to confirm that:
officials have identified 34 PFAS in concentrations as high as
70,000 parts per trillion (ppt) throughout a 65-mile area around
the plant. New Hampshire’s groundwater limit is 12ppt.
MCCW has been pushing for Saint-Gobain to fund a clean-up, but
Allen said the state and company’s responses have been
inadequate. The situation, she added, amounts to “insanity”.
“Over and over people are asking: ‘Why was this allowed to
happen?’ ‘Why does it continue to happen?’” Allen said.
But similar fights are now playing out around America as
residents, environmental groups and officials at all levels are
confronted with a grim and ever-growing public health crisis
fueled by PFAS, known as “forever chemicals” for their immense
longevity in the environment.
Throughout 2019 and now in 2020, the staggering scope of the new
American health crisis has come sharply into focus. About 700
PFAS-contaminated sites have been identified nationwide, while
more than 110 million people may now be drinking contaminated
water. More recent testing found high PFAS levels in drinking
water in 34 major US cities. Some researchers say nearly every
source of surface water in the country is contaminated.
Recent tests revealed dangerous levels in rain, a range of foods
and sewage sludge that farmers spread on cropland as fertilizer.
It is estimated that PFAS are in 99% of Americans’ blood, and
the chemicals have been found in Arctic animals.
In short, “it’s nearly impossible to escape contamination”, said
David Andrews, senior scientist for the Environmental Working
Group.
“The more you try to study it, the more you try to understand
how widespread this contamination is, the more you realize how
the entire globe and all of our drinking water and food systems
are contaminated,” he said.
PFAS, or per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, are a class of
about 5,000 fluorinated compounds whose nickname as “forever
chemicals” comes because they don’t naturally break down and
there is no known way to destroy them. The ubiquitous compounds
are used to make products water- and stain-resistant, and are
commonly found in Teflon, Scotchgard, waterproof rain gear,
dental floss, eyeliner, food packaging, carpeting, firefighting
foam and a wide range of textiles.
The chemicals are particularly dangerous because they are water
soluble and easily move through the environment. Landfills,
military bases and industrial sites frequently contaminate soil
from which the chemicals move into groundwater and aquifers,
then pollute nearby wells or municipal drinking sources.
“When they’re released into world there’s no standard
environmental process that breaks them down – they don’t break
apart in sunlight or heat,” Andrews said. “They mostly just
disperse, and they can build up in concentration, especially in
water supplies.”
Those exposed to enough PFAS can face devastating and diverse
health consequences. The chemicals are linked to issues that
include a variety of cancers, thyroid disorders, kidney disease,
autoimmune disruptions, liver disease, high cholesterol,
developmental problems in fetuses, Parkinson’s disease, bone
disease and more.
Though some parts of the federal government and chemical
companies deny that PFAS are responsible for health problems, a
wave of independent, academic and government research in recent
years contradicts that claim.
In the largest epidemiological study ever conducted, the
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in 2012 found a probable
link to six diseases afflicting West Virginia residents who were
exposed to high levels of PFAS in their drinking water. The
culprit was a nearby DuPont chemical plant. Though chemical
companies claim it isn’t medically proven that PFAS have caused
any deaths, thousands of people poisoned by the compounds have
died from diseases linked to them.
It’s clear that PFAS are “as a class harmful to so many parts of
the body”, said Sonya Lunder of the Sierra Club.
“The chemicals are uniquely problematic because they don’t break
down in any meaningful way and take up a long residence in the
human body … and the scope of the damages it causes are pretty
unusual and unprecedented,” she added.
Chemical companies have introduced new generations of PFAS that
they claim are safer and less accumulative in the environment,
but recent testing has found them to be as dangerous and perhaps
more mobile than the older chemicals.
Still, PFAS production continues unabated. Those calling for a
ban charge that the Trump administration is putting chemical
companies’ financial interests first – Chemours, DuPont’s PFAS
arm, recorded $6.6bn in revenues last year.
Donald Trump has threatened to veto the PFAS Action Act, which
the House passed with bipartisan support in January. Among other
provisions, the act would require the EPA to limit two types of
PFAS discharges in drinking water and emissions, place a
five-year moratorium on new PFAS production and authorize
hundreds of millions of dollars for clean-up.
The federal Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry in
2017 recommended dropping the “minimal risk level” from 70ppt to
12ppt for some PFAS chemicals after finding that greater
exposure “could be dangerous for sensitive populations like
infants and breastfeeding mothers”.
However, the Trump administration spiked the report, fearing a
“public relations nightmare” and increased cleanup costs for the
federal government. The advisory level remains at 70ppt.
States such as Washington, New York and New Hampshire have
banned some products made with PFAS, while Michigan and New
Jersey have lowered drinking water limits. But states are facing
criticism for only lowering limits for the two most common
varieties of PFAS. That leaves the rest of the nearly 5,000
chemicals in their class unaccounted for.
But more legislation is expected to be approved in 2020 as
governments are facing mounting pressure to act in a meaningful
way, Andres said. “At some point there’s going to be a backlash,
and I think we’re starting to see that now.” |
