Continuing to Provide You with the Latest News on PFAS and Emerging Contaminants
As SGS joins the rest of the globe in navigating the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic and providing services related to cleaning verification for buildings and ships, the health and safety of our clients, staff, families and communities is always our top priority. As we offer you news on PFAS and emerging contaminants, we wish you and yours the best of health.
We started offering this online newsletter in July 2018 and now present our twentieth PFAS Update. In this time, we’ve covered scores of stories affecting the entire United States, Canada and around the world, and specifically in 33 states! What’s changed in the almost two years? Intensity – more stories all the time in more places that detail PFAS and emerging contaminant research, detections, legal actions and community sentiments.
This edition covers a variety of issues from studies on PFAS affecting children’s thyroid function, to possible PFAS in Maryland oysters, to more stringent governments standards on PFAS and so much more.
SGS is your one stop for the capacity, expertise, facilities and track record needed to provide fast and accurate analysis on PFAS and emerging contaminants analysis. We’re always here to help.
Click on SGS PFAS/emerging contaminants analysis capabilities, and see why SGS delivers what you need every step of way.
Better Together: Integrating New Capabilities
SGS offers the full complement of environmental, health and safety analytical services at multiple laboratories across the United States and Canada for soil, water, air, and bulk materials. SGS is your one-stop for all your environmental analytical needs.
To find out how we can best help you with your PFAS analysis, call +1 800 329 0204 or email PFAS.Expert@sgs.com. We look forward to hearing from you soon.
The SGS PFAS Team
U.S.
EPA Issues Final Rule Giving It Authority Over Manufacturing, Sale of Products Containing PFAS
As part of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA’s) Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) Action Plan, the agency announced on June 22 that it is issuing a final rule giving it the authority to review an expansive list of products containing PFAS before these products could be manufactured, sold or imported in the U.S.
PFAS in Food Packaging: A Hot, Greasy Exposure
First, there was DDT. Then came BPA. The latest chemical acronym to become a household name is PFAS, short for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances. The chemicals in this class are valued as strong surfactants and for their ability to repel water, grease, and stains. Among other uses, PFAS are added to paper products designed to hold hot, greasy foods. A recent study in Environmental Health Perspectives delves into how such foods might contribute to people’s exposures to PFAS.
Serum PFAS Levels Associated with Thyroid Function in Early Childhood
Early exposure to perfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) affects thyroid function in preschool-aged children, according to the results of a prospective cohort study published in Thyroid.
With $3 Billion PFAS Cleanup Price Tag Looming, Pentagon Looks to Industry for Ideas
Staring down a $3 billion — and growing — tab to clean up water sources at military installations across the country that are contaminated with cancer-causing chemicals linked to firefighting foam, the Defense Department is now in discussions with private firms about potential cleanup solutions that might reduce the cost.
Study: PFAS Exposure May Cause Early Menopause in Women
Exposure to PFAS might cause menopause to occur two years earlier, according to a new study published in the Endocrine Society’s Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism.
California
San Francisco Bay Region Issues Risk-Based Screening Levels for PFAS at Cleanup Sites
California continues to develop tools for evaluating PFAS substances at cleanup sites. In May 2020, the San Francisco Bay Regional Water Quality Control Board issued an “Interim Final Environmental Screening Levels (ESLs) for PFAS: Perfluorooctane Sulfonate (PFOS) and Perfluorooctanoate (PFOA)” Memorandum setting groundwater and soil ESLs addressing direct exposure, ecotoxicity and ingestion risk levels for PFOS and PFOA.
Delaware
Results of PFAS Exposure Study Show New Castle Residents’ Blood Levels Above National Average
Residents around the New Castle Air National Guard base were exposed to public drinking water contaminated with chemicals used in firefighting foam on the base. Now some are finding out how much of these long-lasting chemicals — known as PFAS— they have in their blood, as part of a study of eight similarly exposed communities across the country the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) started last year.
Indiana
Gear Treated With ‘Forever Chemicals’ Poses Risk to Firefighters
Firefighters face occupational hazards on a daily basis. Now, new research shows they face additional risk just by gearing up. Fabric used for firefighter turnout gear tested positive for the presence of PFAS, according to the study by a professor of physics at the University of Notre Dame.
Maryland
Maryland to Begin Testing Water, Chesapeake Bay Oysters for Harmful ‘Forever Chemicals’ Known as PFAS
Maryland regulators say they plan to test drinking water and Chesapeake Bay oysters for the presence of what are known as “forever chemicals” — a step toward potential regulation of a class of harmful human-made substances that some fear are ubiquitous.
Michigan
PFAS Bills Sent to Whitmer’s Desk
LANSING, Mich. (AP) — Fire departments that use a foam containing a group of chemicals known as PFAS would be required to report its use within 48 hours of ending a fire under legislation sent to Gov. Gretchen Whitmer. The bill won unanimous approval from the Michigan House on Tuesday.
Restrictions Expanded Near Former Wurtsmith Air Base After PFAS Found in Most Wildlife
State officials last year — too quietly, some contend — expanded hunting and fishing restrictions at Clark’s Marsh, near the former Wurtsmith Air Force Base in Oscoda, after scientific studies showed excessive levels of PFAS in virtually every living creature tested from the area.
Air Force to Clean Up Contamination of Oscoda Base After Pushes from Peters
The Air Force Civil Engineer Center announced it is awarding a contract in July that will expand capture zones to better control migration of PFAS contaminants from a former air force base in Oscoda following pushes from politicians.
Michigan Program Disposes More Than 30K Gallons of PFAS-Containing Foam
A Michigan program to collect and dispose of PFAS-containing firefighting foam has surpassed 30,000 gallons
New Hampshire
NH Lawmakers Advance PFAS Chemical Proposals in Omnibus Bill
A state Senate committee signed off this week on a package of bills designed to address PFAS chemical contamination.
Non Toxic Portsmouth raises Concerns about PFAS in High School Field
The organizer of Non Toxic Portsmouth says he will continue to ask city councilors to reconsider two planned synthetic turf fields after testing showed indicators of per- and polyfluoroalkyl contaminants in the high school’s synthetic field, which is used for football, soccer and lacrosse.
New Jersey
New Jersey’s Drinking Water to Get a Bit Cleaner with Stringent Standard on PFAS Chemicals
New Jersey formally adopted some of the most stringent standards in the nation for two chemicals found in drinking water across the state that have been linked to cancer and other ailments, officials said Monday.
Previously Unidentified Chemicals Discovered Across South Jersey Linked to Plant That Used PFAS
A team of scientists report in a new study that they have found a recently identified group of chemical compounds, likely used as a substitute for highly-toxic PFAS, in soil samples taken across New Jersey.
New York
Molecular Traps Could Remove Harmful PFAS
University at Buffalo chemists have shown that self-assembling molecular traps can be used to capture PFAS — dangerous pollutants that have contaminated drinking water supplies around the world.
Hundreds of Airports Nationwide are Still Using Firefighting Foam Linked to Cancer
ROCHESTER, N.Y. (SBG) – Firefighters at as many as 500 airports across the United States are being forced to battle more than just the danger of a potential fuel fire. They’re still using a toxic foam with links to cancer to handle aircraft fires. And because of a federal mandate, Spotlight on America found they likely won’t have an alternative option for potentially years to come.
North Carolina
PFAS-Making Plant Wasn’t Inspected for Years, US EPA Watchdog Says
For 8 years, the US Environmental Protection Agency relied solely on company reports to verify that a North Carolina factory controlled releases of the flurochemical GenX, the agency’s internal watchdog says in a report released May 28.
PFAS Present Throughout the Yadkin-Pee Dee River Food Chain
Researchers from North Carolina State University have found per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in every step of the Yadkin-Pee Dee River food chain, even though the river does not have a known industrial input of these compounds.
‘Forever Chemicals in Greensboro’s Water are Taking Forever to Be Regulated
According to state Rep. Pricey Harrison, legislators in Raleigh are not moving quickly or assertively enough in dealing with PFOS and other forever compounds.
NC State Receives $7.4 Million from NIEHS to Study PFAS Toxicity, Bioaccumulation and Remediation
Researchers from North Carolina State University have received a five-year, $7.4 million grant from the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) Superfund Research Program to establish a Center for Environmental and Human Health Effects of Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS).
Ohio
Local Business Awarded $400,000 to Combat PFAS
Local Englewood business, Faraday Technology, Inc. received $400,000 in funding as part of the EPA’s announced $3 million to support small businesses developing environmental solutions. The funding provided by EPA will allow these small businesses to pursue solutions to environmental challenges, including removing from water and soil and monitoring air quality during wildfires.
Pennsylvania
PFAS Bill Would Require Army Corps of Engineers Test Own Sites
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers might soon need to test all federal drinking water projects for the same perfluorinated chemicals at the center of mass water contamination in Bucks and Montgomery counties.
Vermont
More Testing After PFAS Found at Old Pownal Landfill
POWNAL, Vt. (AP) More testing, including drinking water samples, will be done around a former town landfill in Pownal after potentially toxic chemicals were found in surface and shallow groundwater at the site.
Wisconsin
Johnson Controls Pushes Back on DNR Order to Test More Wells For ‘Forever Chemicals
A Marinette-based company known for mixing and testing firefighting foams is once again under pressure from the state to test more drinking wells for “forever chemicals.”
Wisconsin Leads 22-State Coalition on PFAS
Attorney General Josh Kaul announced Wednesday that Wisconsin is leading a coalition of 22 states in supporting the U.S. EPA’s s preliminary decision to regulate so-called “forever chemicals” known as PFAS in drinking water. Attorneys general from other Midwest states, including Minnesota, Illinois and Iowa, were among those who submitted comments to the federal agency on Wednesday.
