EPA Sets Legal Limits on PFAS 'Forever Chemicals' in Drinking Water

The new rule, the most significant PFAS regulation in the U.S. to date, could reduce exposure for 100 million Americans

By Lauren Kirchner

April 10, 2024

Source: EPA, Getty Images

The Environmental Protection Agency announced the first nationwide, legally enforceable limits on PFAS, or “forever chemicals,” on Wednesday.

Under the new rule—a version of which was proposed in March 2023—public drinking water systems must limit the levels of several PFAS compounds. Utilities will have five years to comply. About 100 million Americans will have their exposure to PFAS reduced, the EPA says.

There are over 14,000 per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), and many have been used for decades in consumer products like cookware and outdoor gear, firefighting foam, and more. Favored for their nonstick and stain-resistant properties, they are also called “forever chemicals” for their propensity to pervade and persist in both the environment and in humans. A new study of tens of thousands of water samples from around the world found that 31 percent of groundwater samples and 16 percent of surface water samples contained levels of PFAS that the EPA considers harmful to human health.

But despite mounting scientific evidence linking PFAS to health risks, including cancer and lowered immune responses, there were no federal rules limiting the chemicals in our drinking water or prescribing how often water utilities must test for them. The EPA has long had such rules in place to regulate other drinking water contaminants, like arsenic and lead.

The EPA estimates that between 6 and 10 percent of the 66,000 public drinking water systems in the U.S. will find PFAS once they start testing and will have to do something to address it.

The rule is “the most significant action on PFAS the EPA has ever taken,” EPA administrator Michael Regan said in a call with reporters on Tuesday afternoon. “This action will prevent thousands of deaths and reduce tens of thousands of serious illnesses.”

According to the new limits, the two “legacy” compounds PFOA and PFOS, which have been most definitively linked to health harms, must stay under 4 parts per trillion (ppt). This is a dramatic reduction from the agency’s previous (non-enforceable) recommendation that drinking water contain no more than 70 ppt of PFOA or PFOS.

The agency noted in a press release that the new limits of 4 ppt are “the lowest levels that are feasible for effective implementation.” However, based on the current science, the target should really be zero, the press release noted, because “there is no level of exposure to these contaminants without risk of health impacts, including certain cancers.”

The new rule announced on Wednesday also sets limits of 10 ppt each for the compounds PFNA, PFHxS, and “GenX chemicals.” There’s also a 10 ppt limit for any mixture of two or more of a list of four PFAS (PFNA, PFHxS, PFBS, and GenX chemicals) since they can often be found together in mixtures, and they can be harmful when combined.

Consumer advocates and environmental health experts lauded the announcement.

"These new standards are a significant step that will help address widespread PFAS contamination in the drinking water and protect millions of Americans who are unwittingly exposed to these dangerous forever chemicals every day,” says Brian Ronholm, CR’s director of food safety policy. “Every glass of water should not be seen as an ever-present and serious threat, and we should be able to drink tap water at home without endangering our health."

Michael Hansen, senior scientist at CR, applauds the EPA for “setting limits on six of the most hazardous PFAS chemicals,” and urges the agency to “move forward on setting limits on all other PFAS chemicals that may be contaminating our drinking water."

Owners of private drinking wells are not subject to the new rule, but they are eligible for financial help with PFAS testing and treatment, just as public utilities are. An additional $1 billion of funding for that program was announced alongside the new rule.

In the years before the EPA’s announcement on federal limits, several states passed their own laws. Many utilities have already had to grapple with the (often costly) challenge of lowering PFAS levels. The American Water Works Association has estimated that the cost of cleanup could exceed $2.5 billion to $3.2 billion every year for the next several decades. This cost will be only partially offset by the recent settlement of a massive court case between the manufacturers of PFAS-containing firefighting foam and the states, cities, and towns that have been contaminated by it.

See our advice for the best water filters for removing PFAS.

Regan announced the new rule at a press conference in Fayetteville, N.C., an area hit hard by PFAS contamination from a Chemours manufacturing plant. In Consumer Reports’ tests of 120 drinking water samples across the country in 2021, the highest PFAS levels came from a church in North Carolina.

“We’re holding polluters accountable; the taxpayers should not have to pick up the tab solely,” Regan said. “It’s time for these companies to pay.”

Several people at the press conference spoke with emotion when describing their relief at the passage of the new limits—which have been hotly debated and challenged since the EPA proposed them over a year ago.

One speaker was Emily Donovan, a mother who became a vocal advocate for clean water after learning about the high levels of PFAS in her community’s drinking water. She recalled how, when the PFAS contamination became public, officials said at the time that “our tap water meets or exceeds state and federal guidelines.”

“But we knew those words were worthless, because there were no state or federal drinking water guidelines for PFAS,” Donovan said. “Today I am overwhelmed with gratitude . . . knowing that the next time I hear the words ‘meets or exceeds federal and state drinking water guidelines,’ those words will actually mean something.”

If you are concerned about PFAS where you live, see CR’s advice on testing your drinking water and the water filters that can filter it out.

Lauren Kirchner

Lauren Kirchner is an investigative reporter on the special projects team at Consumer Reports. She has been with CR since 2022, covering product safety. She has previously reported on algorithmic bias, criminal justice, and housing for the Markup and ProPublica, and was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in Explanatory Reporting in 2017. Send her tips at lauren.kirchner@consumer.org and follow her on Twitter @lkirchner.