We welcome the EPA’s action plan for firefighting chemicals

The Alaska Departments of Environmental Conservation and Transportation, in partnership with the Department of Health and Social Services, have been working on the identification of and response to sites contaminated with polyfluoro alkyl substance (PFAS) chemicals. We are very pleased that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has recently announced a PFAS Action Plan that includes a commitment by EPA to make a regulatory determination within the year about whether to establish a Maximum Contamination Level (MCL) for drinking water for the PFAS chemicals PFOA and PFOS.

PFAS are chemicals that have been used since the 1950s in a wide range of consumer and industrial products. A PFAS-based product known as aqueous film-forming foam puts out petroleum and chemical fires far more safely and effectively than water, leading the Federal Aviation Administration to require its use for fires and regular drills at airports around the country, including 23 state-owned airports in Alaska. Regular equipment testing is required and DOT will use the foam for responding to real fires, but foam will not be discharged into the environment unless necessary to save lives during an actual aircraft emergency.

Recent studies have shown that PFAS may adversely impact human health, but the exact effects and at what levels of exposure are not fully known. This makes it difficult when PFAS is found in soil, groundwater, or drinking water wells. Is any contamination harmful, or is there a level at which we should be concerned and take action? For other regulated drinking water contaminants, the EPA has set maximum levels, but they have not yet done so for PFAS. Rather than wait, DEC and DOT pressed forward to protect the health of Alaskans. The agencies undertook a risk-based review of the state owned airports in Alaska, identifying sites where runoff of firefighting foam could have impacted nearby drinking water wells. To date, well users in Fairbanks, North Pole, King Salmon, Dillingham, and Gustavus have been provided with alternate drinking water based on test results.

States have responded in different ways to the PFAS issue, with most choosing to do nothing at all. Some, including Alaska in 2016, took regulatory action to set cleanup levels. In August 2018, DEC added three additional PFAS compounds in a technical memo to create a DEC action level, and began the process of promulgating new regulations based on this change. During the public comment period for the draft regulations, DEC received comments across the spectrum, including comments strongly urging the Department to leave the 2016 regulations in place and postpone setting revised cleanup levels until better toxicity data and EPA standards are available.

EPA’s recent announcement that it would take the lead on this important issue is welcomed. It will bring much-needed consistency as a national strategy for addressing the health risks of PFAS contamination is developed. The EPA will use its team of scientists, toxicologists and other experts to study PFAS when setting an maximum contaminant level. These experts will take into account the contribution from other exposures such as those from stain-resistant carpeting, waterproof outwear, food wrappers and non-stick cookware. Once a maximum level is set by the EPA, states including Alaska would be required to adopt it.

Given the EPA’s forthcoming efforts, DEC has placed its draft regulations on hold. We will continue to voluntarily test according to the EPA’s Lifetime Health Advisory level of 70 parts per trillion of PFOS and PFOA when addressing contaminated sites, as these are the two most studied PFAS compounds. DEC and DOT will be proactive and continue to sample water in other communities near state-owned airports to determine whether drinking water has been impacted and to provide alternative drinking water as a precaution. DEC will continue to require other responsible parties to test for PFAS and provide alternative drinking water as a precaution as well.

We will actively participate in EPA’s process and closely monitor future toxicology and epidemiology studies on PFAS. In the meantime, both agencies have posted information about PFAS on our respective websites. We encourage those who have questions regarding PFAS and the state’s response to visit informational websites hosted by DEC and DOT.

Jason Brune and John MacKinnon are the commissioners of the Alaska Departments of Environmental Conservation and Transportation, respectively.

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