Protecting Communities from Exposure to Harmful PFAS Chemicals: The Urgent Need for Safe Drinking Water Standards in the Absence of Federal Action
1:00 pm US Eastern Time
Slides & Resources
Dr. Alissa Cordner and Dr. Laurel Schaider: Guideline Levels for PFOA and PFOS in Drinking Water
Dr. Anna Reade: The Urgent Need for Safe Drinking Water Standards in the Absence of Federal Action
Dr. Katherine Pelch: Incorporating New Exposure Model in Drinking Water Calculations
In light of the Dunleavy Administration's recent announcement to delay Alaska Department of Conservation health protective PFAS contamination cleanup guidelines, this teleconference will focus on how other states are moving forward to establish protective, enforceable standards for PFAS, including drinking water standards.
Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are highly persistent, highly mobile, and highly toxic. As communities across the U.S. discover that their drinking water is contaminated by PFAS (originating from industrial facilities, airports, military installations, landfills, and other sites), state agencies and the EPA are responding in different ways. On this call, you will hear why numerous states are taking action to establish their own enforceable PFAS contamination guidelines to protect drinking water safety and address this public health crisis rather than wait for the EPA to regulate PFAS through the Safe Drinking Water Act. We have a terrific line up of environmental health and policy experts for our April 24th teleconference. Please join us at 9am Alaska/ 10am Pacific / 1pm Eastern!
Our speakers will discuss:
- Evidence supporting the need for stringent, health-protective drinking water standards for both well-studied PFAS and the PFAS class of chemicals.
- Why current or proposed state drinking water guidelines for PFOA and/or PFOS (the most widely studied and monitored PFAS) vary so widely, ranging from 13 ppt to 1000 ppt, compared to the EPA’s health advisory of 70 ppt for PFOS and PFOA individually or combined.
- The multiple scientific, technical, and social factors that influence the development of these drinking water guideline levels.
- Why the traditional water guidance paradigm is inadequate to address maternal-to-infant transfer of accumulated levels of PFAS through placental transfer and breastfeeding, how the Minnesota Department of Health developed models to take these exposure pathways into account to assist in risk assessment, and how these models are being applied to various states’ proposed Maximum Contaminant Levels (MCLs) for PFOA, PFOS, PFHxS and PFNA.
- How the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality has conducted the most comprehensive PFAS monitoring in the country and why these data are so important for developing policies to protect public health.
Featured Speakers
Alissa Cordner, PhD, Assistant Professor of Sociology, Whitman College
Katie Pelch, PhD, Senior Scientist, The Endocrine Disruption Exchange
Anna Reade, PhD, Staff Scientist, Healthy People & Thriving Communities program, Natural Resources Defense Council
Laurel Schaider, PhD, Research Scientist, Silent Spring Institute
This call was hosted by the CHE-Alaska Partnership, which is coordinated by Alaska Community Action on Toxics (ACAT). It was a 60 minute call and was recorded for the call and webinar archive.
