The Environmental Protection Agency is proposing that nine PFAS, also known as “forever chemicals,” be categorized as hazardous to human health.
The EPA signed a proposal Wednesday that would deem the chemicals “hazardous constituents” under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act.
For the agency to consider a substance a hazardous constituent, it has to be toxic or cause cancer, genetic mutation or the malformations of an embryo.
The agency cited various studies in which forever chemicals were found to cause a litany of “toxic effects” in humans and animals, including, but not limited to cancer, a decreased response to vaccinations, high cholesterol, decrease in fertility in women, preeclampsia, thyroid disorders and asthma, the EPA said.
Last summer, a study by the U.S. Geological Survey found that the man-made chemicals are present in nearly half the country’s tap water supply.
The proposed rule will be open for public comment once it is uploaded to the Federal Register, under docket number EPA-HQ-OLEM-2023-0278.
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