Posts made in August 2023

In the June 9, 2023 Federal Register (Fed Reg_EPA Extend Public Comment Period on PFAS as Hazardous Substances) EPA is extending the public comment period for providing “input and data” on designating seven PFAS as hazardous substances under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA or Superfund). The original June 12, 2023 deadline to submit comments to EPA has been extended sixty days until August 11, 2023.

Background
On September 6, 2022 EPA published a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking to designate PFOA and PFOS as hazardous substances under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA or Superfund). That proposal is not yet final.

In the April 13, 2023 Federal Register (EPA Fed Reg Data Request PFAS as Hazardous Substances) EPA requested public “input and data” regarding whether to designate seven other PFAS as hazardous substances under CERCLA. The seven PFAS are as follows:

• PFBS
• PFHxS
• PFNA
• Gen X
• PFBA
• PFHxA
• PFDA

In the same Federal Register notice EPA is also considering designating (1) precursors to PFOA, PFOS and the seven PFAS listed above, and (2) groups or categories of PFAS as hazardous substances, and requested public input.

EPA Developing PFAS Enforcement Policy Under CERCLA
EPA is currently developing a PFAS Enforcement Policy under CERCLA. In March 2023 EPA held two public “listening sessions” on the enforcement policy. During those listening sessions, EPA staff stated that they do not intend to pursue CERCLA PFAS enforcement actions against public water systems or wastewater systems. The policy is not final…and it is not known if that will be EPA’s final position.

Link to the webpage with the recordings of EPA’s March 2023 listening sessions.
https://www.epa.gov/enforcement/cercla-pfas-enforcement-listening-sessions

Scroll down and click on the link for the March 14, 2023 recording. At about the 10 minute mark, EPA staff begin to comment that they do not intend to pursue enforcement of PFAS wastes under CERCLA against public water systems.

In the June 2, 2023 publication of the “Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report” the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) published an article titled: “Community Water Fluoridation Levels To Promote Effectiveness and Safety in Oral Health — United States, 2016–2021” MMWR Article on Fluoridation

Copied below are some statements from the article:

“Drinking water fluoridated at the level recommended by the U.S. Public Health Service (USPHS) reduces dental caries (cavities) by approximately 25% in children and adults. USPHS recommends fluoride levels to achieve oral health benefits and minimize risks associated with excess fluoride exposure. To provide the benefits of community water fluoridation, water systems should target a level of 0.7 mg/L and maintain levels ≥0.6 mg/L.”

“Water fluoridation promotes health equity through its proven effects on decreasing caries, reducing costs to families, and being readily available at the tap. In light of these benefits, Healthy People 2030, an ongoing initiative to improve popu¬lation health, set the objective to increase the proportion of U.S. residents served by optimally fluoridated water systems to 77.1% from 73.0% in 2018.”

“Maintaining and improving access to optimally fluoridated water remains a vital, safe, and successful method for reducing dental caries and their associated costs for communities and families.”

Status of Lawsuit To Ban Drinking Water Fluoridation: On November 23, 2016 a petition was filed under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) requesting that EPA prohibit the addition of fluoridation chemicals to US water supplies. The stated objective of the petition was to “protect the public and susceptible subpopulations from the neurotoxic risks of fluoride by banning the addition of fluoridation chemicals to water.’’ The petition was submitted by the following organizations: Fluoride Action Network, Food & Water Watch, Organic Consumers Association, the American Academy of Environmental Medicine, the International Academy of Oral Medicine and Toxicology, and several individuals. In a decision published February 27, 2017 EPA denied the petition. EPA concluded that the “petition has not set forth a scientifically defensible basis to conclude that any persons have suffered neurotoxic harm as a result of exposure to fluoride in the U.S. through the purposeful addition of fluoridation chemicals to drinking water or otherwise from fluoride exposure in the U.S.” In April 2017 the petitioners filed a lawsuit in a California District Court. A 7-day trial was held in June 2020, with no ruling by the Court. The trial will begin again on January 29, 2024. “The court has set aside two weeks to hear testimony and cross-examination of expert witnesses focused on new evidence and science published since the last trial dates in 2020, including the NTP’s [National Toxicology Program] 6-year systematic review of fluoride’s neurotoxicity