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For the first time in more than a decade,

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the Environmental Protection Agency is

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looking to create a new regulation for

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toxins in drinking water. They're planning

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to target so called forever chemicals,

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which are also known as

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PFAs. Well, Gabriela Emmanuel of

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member station WBR is here

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to fill us in. And I want you

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to start Gabriela by just explaining what

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exactly these are and

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why we should be concerned about them. Sure.

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So PFAS chemicals were

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invented in the 1930s and they're

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really good at repelling water,

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oil, grease And so they're used

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in tons of different consumer products.

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So think about your raincoat or stain

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resistant spray on a couch or your

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rug. They're used in dental floss, certain

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types of lotion. The problem

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is that the PFAS chemicals that have been

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studied are linked to a bunch of health concerns.

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The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

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say they may cause kidney cancer,

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increased cholesterol, decreased response

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to childhood vaccination, among

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many other things. I spoke with

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Linda Bernbaum, who is the former head

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of the government's National Institute of

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Environmental Health Sciences. I'm

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not sure I know a tissue or

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an organ system where effects haven't

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been reported. So these

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chemicals are in all of us

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everyone, and they're

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everywhere. Now she did say people

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shouldn't freak out. Most of us

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won't have these health consequences. PFAs

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we should look for ways to limit our exposure.

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Howard Bauchner: Which is where the EPA's

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proposed regulations come in, I guess. Tell

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me more about them. Yeah, so there are thousands

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of types of PFAS chemicals, the proposed

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regulations focus on just six in

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drinking water. Two are

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PFAs PFOS which are two of

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most prevalent and well studied. These

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used to be used in Teflon and Scotchgard.

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They've now been phased out, but PFAs

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chemicals don't really break down naturally,

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so they're still around us. Here

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is Michael Regan, Head of the EPA

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speaking earlier today. What began

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as a so called miracle groundbreaking

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technology meant for practicality

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and convenience quickly devolved

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into one of the most pressing environmental

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and public health concerns in the modern

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world. Regan says he hopes to finalize

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the rule by the end of the year, but

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some expect legal challenges ahead.

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Okay. So bring us back around to drinking

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water and what this could mean for

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water systems, I guess, nationwide?

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Yes, so they will all be required to

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do testing and mitigation PFAs well

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as public information about what

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their results are. And the reality

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is this is going to be expensive. Both

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academic and industry estimates

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say it will likely cost many billions

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of dollars. Now, the federal government

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has some funds for this, but experts say

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it's likely more is needed. And

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many would like to see the polluters, the industries

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that use these chemicals to pay for some of

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it. It is also worth noting

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that the proposed regulations do not

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cover the one in eight Americans who

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get their water from private wells. So

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for them, they are generally responsible

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for their own testing and any

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needed filtration. Okay. So what the

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reaction been to this so far? It has been

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mixed. The group that represents chemical

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manufacturers expressed quote,

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serious concerns with the underlying science

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and called the EPA's approach overly

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conservative. The group points out that

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these chemicals are critical to things like

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renewable energy and medical devices.

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But on the flip side, activists and

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many scientists say more needs to

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be done. They like to see regulations

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that cover all types of PFAS and

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limit them at the

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source.

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Right? Because it sounds like if they're everywhere

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and they last forever or something close,

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to it. Cleaning up our drinking water is

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a start, but it's not gonna fix the problem. That's

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exactly right. For some, drinking

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water is their primary exposure, but for

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others, it's their diet and for

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other people it's in the air and the dust

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in their home. One expert that

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I spoke to called the proposed drinking water regulations,

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a really good start that said it's

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just the tip of the

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iceberg. It's

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Gabriela Emmanuel

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of WBR. Thank you. Thank

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you.