The EPA's first-ever regulations governing levels of "forever chemicals" in drinking water are a good first step toward protecting the environment and communities, but equally are a signal that more needs to be done to rein in the discharge of these toxic chemicals, the N.C. Sierra Club said.
EPA Administrator Michael Regan unveiled the regulations today (April 10) in Fayetteville, where residents landed on the front lines of the fight against PFAS, or per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances, when it was revealed that the Chemours facility had been discharging them into the Cape Fear River for decades.
N.C. Sierra Club Acting Director Erin Carey, who attended the announcement, noted that the agency's action, while laudable, only addresses a small part of the hazards posed by PFAS in the environment – not the source of the emissions.
"Any step to protect people from toxins in their drinking water is a welcome step, but it's akin to treating only the symptoms of an illness – not the illness itself," Carey said. "Our efforts to contain PFAS pollution must remain focused on the source: companies like Chemours that are spewing these poisons into the environment."