DWQI Moves Forward on Strong Water Standards for PFOS and 1,2,3-TCP

Last week the Drinking Water Quality Institute (DWQI) met to discuss various toxins in our drinking water including PFOs and 1,2,3,-TCP. Their meeting agenda included Comment/Response on Draft Subcommittee Reports on PFOS. They also presented an NJDEP Report on 1,2,3-Trichloropropane PQL.

Set Standards on Perfluorooctane Sulfonate (PFOS): Sent to DEP

The DWQI adopted a Health-Based Maximum Contaminant Level (MCL) for Perfluorooctane Sulfonate (PFOS) at 13 ppt. An MCL is the standard for how much of a certain chemical can be in the drinking water before it poses a potential public health risk. The scientists are presenting the report and the Institute can go forward with making the recommendation for a PFOS MCL at 13ppt to the DEP for adoption. The substance has been used in foams used for firefighting and training, particularly in specialized firefighting foams at airports and military bases. These foams were used on the Joint Base where contamination was noted last year.

“The DWQI did an excellent job and moved forward with an important protection for public health and drinking water by setting a strong standard for PFOS. They were professional and thorough based on the best science available and came up with a solution to get it out of our drinking water. Meanwhile, we have to wait to see what the DEP will do to get the rule adopted. PFOS was found at the Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst and the surrounding areas in Burlington County. By setting the MCL at 13 ppt, the strictest of any state, they will be protecting the people of New Jersey. The longer we wait to develop stricter standards, the more people’s health is at risk. Repeated exposure to PFOS can lead to development defects in children and pregnant women, liver and kidney problems, and even tumors,” said Jeff Tittel, Director of the New Jersey Sierra Club. “The Institute voted to send the PFOs standard to DEP and now they must act to enforce it.”

In 2015, the DWQI released a study on Perfluorononanoic Acid (PFNA), finding that 2.5 percent of the public water systems tested was at levels that exceeded the guidance standard. That compared with just 0.2 percent nationwide. Another study found PFNA and related chemicals in 67 percent of 31 municipal systems tested in 20 counties during 2009 and 2010. PFNA levels seven times the newly proposed standard was found near the South Jersey town of Paulsboro where Solvay Specialty Polymers manufactured the chemical between 1985 and 2010.

“We’ve been waiting a year for the DEP to adopt PFNA standards recommended by the DWQI. They’re slowing things down putting people at risk. They haven’t even proposed a standard for PFOAs yet. PFNA is an endocrine disrupter that has been linked to some cancers in humans and to reproductive and developmental problems in animals. It has been pervasive in many New Jersey public water systems. The DEP must act to enforce the PFNA standards that the Institute sent to them over a year ago,” said Jeff Tittel. “We waited five years under Christie for the Institute to meet and now we’re waiting even longer for the DEP to stop dragging their feet and adopt the recommendations.”

Announced Upcoming Vote on Standard for 1,2,3-Trichloropropane (TCP)

1,2,3-Trichloropropane (TCP) is commonly used as an industrial solvent and new research points to the possibility of TCP having severe health effects including cancer. TCP is recognized in California as a human carcinogen. These chemicals have been found in wells in Moorestown and dozens of other places in New Jersey. Towns can put carbon mesh filters on the wells to filter these chemicals and protect the public’s health. The Senate Environment and Energy Committee held S74 (Singleton) because the DEP opposed the level of 15 ppt and instead recommend 30 ppt. California has a limit of 5 ppt. The bill requires DEP to establish maximum contaminant level for 1,2,3-trichloropropane in drinking water. This type of inaction is putting people at risk.

“The DWQI is also standing up to the DEP to protect us against 1,2,3-TCP in our drinking water. The DEP was using a weaker standard, 30 ppt, based on faulty science and the DWQI is standing up to them by recommending by an MCL and PQL of 5 ppt. The DEP wouldn’t even support a compromise standard of 15 ppt. The DEP is saying they’re using a weaker standard of 30ppt because our lab’s ‘don’t have the ability’ to detect the PQL. This is false because any good lab can test for that level and California has a standard of 5ppt. This excuse is merely cover for polluters. More importantly, New Jersey’s Safe Drinking Water Act requires a MCL of 5ppt and the DEP was going against that,” said Jeff Tittel. “TCP is a known carcinogen that impacts public health and we need to keep it out of our drinking water. The DEP must act on the findings of the DWQI and set the strictest standards for contaminates in our drinking water because the longer they wait, the more people are put in danger.”

The Drinking Water Quality Institute is responsible for setting the standards of acceptable limits for toxins and carcinogens in our drinking water. They look at health-based risk assessment to ensure that the water we drink is safe.

“The DWQI is doing work based on science and we need the DEP not to do their work based on political science. Commissioner McCabe said the rules would be out this summer, but it could still take years for them to be adopted. We need standards for all of the dangerous materials found in our drinking water and we need them to be as strong as possible based on strict science,” said Jeff Tittel, Director of the New Jersey Sierra Club. “The DWQI has been very thorough with using good science and creating strong recommendations. Now we need the DEP to act and stop delaying these important standards.”