A group of North Carolina health and science leaders is calling on the Environmental Protection Agency to release a long-awaited toxicity report on PFNA, a “forever chemical” found in drinking water systems in North Carolina and nationwide.
The request comes after a ProPublica investigation reported that EPA scientists completed the PFNA toxicity assessment in April and prepared it for public release, citing internal documents and two agency scientists familiar with the report. The assessment has still not been published.
In a letter sent last month to Rep. Greg Murphy, R-N.C., researchers from UNC-Chapel Hill, Duke University, East Carolina University and several former EPA officials urged him to press the agency for transparency. The signatories wrote that without access to the findings, “families in North Carolina, and across the country, [cannot] know their water is safe.”
PFNA, part of the PFAS class of chemicals used in industrial and consumer products, has been linked in scientific studies to developmental effects, liver damage and reproductive harms. It has been detected in drinking water serving an estimated 26 million people, according to the Environmental Working Group.
Dr. Kathleen Shapley-Quinn, the executive director of Carolina Advocates for Climate, Health and Equity, is one of the dozens of North Carolina health experts who signed the letter.
“We know PFNA harms human health, and we need to understand where it is and how much of it is there,” Shapley-Quinn said. “Without that information, we’re swimming in a sea of unknowns.”
Shapley-Quinn, who is a family physician, says the lack of a public report leaves communities unsure whether their water poses a risk — and leaves health officials without the data needed to identify where cleanup or monitoring efforts should be focused.
“Communities that already know they’re affected are worried about what this means for their families,” Shapley-Quinn said. “And in places where we don’t have data, people don’t even know whether to be concerned.”
EPA did not answer specific questions from WRAL about the status of the assessment, when it would be released or what has contributed to the delay. In a statement, the agency said the “Trump EPA is committed to addressing PFAS to ensure that Americans have the cleanest air, land, and water,” and cited ongoing litigation over national PFAS drinking-water standards.
The agency said it intends to defend drinking-water limits for PFOA and PFOS, two of the most studied PFAS chemicals, but is asking a federal court to vacate limits for PFHxS, PFNA, GenX and several mixtures while it reconsiders how those regulations were issued.
The experts’ letter to Rep. Murphy notes that EPA scientists have already completed the work and argues that releasing the assessment is a basic matter of public transparency.
“We still don’t have the information that was rightfully asked for on behalf of the public, who funded this report,” Shapley-Quinn said.
PFAS contamination has been documented in hundreds of North Carolina communities, including extremely high levels in the lower Cape Fear region and areas near military installations. Researchers say the PFNA assessment would help determine whether additional protections are needed.
Rep. Murphy, who co-chairs the GOP Doctors Caucus and represents areas with known PFAS contamination, did not respond to multiple requests for comment.
“In the absence of information, it’s unsettling,” Shapley-Quinn said. “But with accurate data, we can make informed choices and reduce risks. That’s what this report is supposed to provide.”
(CNN) — Global rates of hypertension, or high blood pressure, in childhood and adolescence have nearly doubled since 2000, putting more kids at risk for poor health later in life.
“In 2000, about 3.4% of boys and 3% of girls had hypertension. By 2020, those numbers had risen to 6.5% and 5.8% respectively,” said Dr. Peige Song, a researcher from the School of Public Health at Zhejiang University School of Medicine in China. Song is one of the authors of a study describing the findings that published Wednesday in the journal The Lancet Child and Adolescent Health.
Children who have hypertension could be at greater risk later on of developing heart disease –– the No. 1 cause of death in the United States, said Dr. Mingyu Zhang, assistant professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School and Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center. He was not involved in the research.
“The good news is that this is a modifiable risk,” Song said in an email. “With better screening, earlier detection, and a stronger focus on prevention, especially around healthy weight and nutrition, we can intervene before complications arise.”
High blood pressure in kids can be addressed
The rise in hypertension in children is likely due to many factors.
Childhood obesity is a significant risk factor, because it is associated with factors like insulin resistance, inflammation and vascular function, Song said.
Dietary factors such as consuming high levels of sodium and ultraprocessed food can also contribute to hypertension risk, as well as poor sleep quality, stress and genetic predisposition, she said.
Many children also get less movement than past generations and spend more time on sedentary activities, like screen use, which may be affecting risk, she said.
“We are also starting to know that other factors, including environmental pollutants, can contribute,” Zhang added.
Zhang served as senior author on a previous study that showed a connection between prebirth exposure to chemicals called PFAS — a class of about 15,000 human-made compounds linked to cancers, endocrine-related conditions and developmental issues in children — and childhood hypertension. Short for perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances, PFAS are sometimes called “forever chemicals” because they don’t fully break down in the environment.
The biggest takeaway of this research for families is not to assume high blood pressure is only a problem for adults, Song said.
If you are worried about your child’s risk for obesity or hypertension, pressure, shame and restriction are not the best approaches.
Instead, focus on increasing healthy behaviors in a happy way, said Jill Castle, a pediatric dietitian in Massachusetts, in a previous CNN article.
“The goal of the food pillar is really to embrace flexibility with food and to emphasize foods that are highly nutritious and … to allow foods also that might be minimally nutritious within the diet in ways that can be fully enjoyed and flexible,” Castle said.
Try to prioritize sitting down as a family for meals and avoid labeling foods as “good” or “bad,” said Castle, author of “Kids Thrive at Every Size.”
“The clean plate club or rewarding with sweets — they might work in the moment, but they don’t do a good job of establishing the self-trust and an intuitive, good relationship with food as kids grow up,” Castle said.
Masked hypertension in children
The study didn’t just track rates in the United States. Instead, researchers analyzed data from 96 studies across 21 countries.
Another important consideration the study team made is how blood pressure differs in and outside the doctor’s office. Some children might have normal blood pressure at home, but a higher reading in the office, while others might have a lower blood pressure in the office than they normally would.
By including data from both office visits and at-home blood pressure readings, the researchers were able to include hypertension rates that are “masked,” or wouldn’t be caught in a doctor’s visit, Zhang said. Masked hypertension was found to be the most common kind, according to the data.
“This is important because it means that many children with true hypertension could go undetected if we rely only on office blood pressure readings,” he said.
The result show that one reading may not be enough, and there may be a need for more scalable solutions for better monitoring and care of hypertension around the world, Song added.
California lawmakers voted to ban a group of chemicals known as PFAS, which are often called “forever chemicals,” in cookware. The move has pulled in celebrity chefs on one side and environmentalists, including actor Mark Ruffalo, on the other.
The proposal, Senate Bill 682, would prohibit PFAS in cookware, cleaning products, dental floss, ski wax, food packaging and certain children’s products. Lawmakers approved the bill in a 41-19 vote, late on Friday, with 20 assembly members not voting. The bill quickly passed amendments in the Senate and is now headed to Gov. Gavin Newsom’s desk for his signature.
It’s the latest move to limit PFAS, which are a class of thousands of chemicals that have been around for more than 70 years and are widely used in a variety of consumer, commercial and industrial products due to their ability to withstand heat and repel water and stains. They are called “forever chemicals” because they are extremely persistent in the environment and can accumulate in humans and animals.
Exposure to PFAS is linked to many negative health effects, including but not limited to kidney and testicular cancer, liver and kidney damage, and harm to the nervous and reproductive systems.
Newsom has until Oct. 12 to sign the bill into law. If he does, there is time period for manufacturers and retailers to comply with the legislation. Cookware must be compliant by 2030, 2031 for certain cleaning products, and 2028 for all other products covered in the bill.
The legislation specifically points to health risks as the reason for phasing out PFAS from cookware and other products. “Exposure to PFAS poses a significant threat to the environment and public health,” the bill states.
Nearly everyone in the United States has been exposed to PFAS and has it in their blood, according to the Centers for Disease and Control and Prevention. California and more than a dozen other states have in recent years taken a more cautionary stance by limiting PFAS in other products, including textiles, certain children’s products, firefighting foam, and cosmetics.
California has already banned PFAS in carpets, textiles and firefighting foam. Now, the latest debate centers on nonstick pans. Many are treated with a chemical compound called PTFE, a type of PFAS better known as Teflon, which coats millions of pans.
Chefs push back
The Cookware Sustainability Alliance, which describes itself as a group of cookware manufacturers, designers and engineers, has rallied high-profile culinary stars to oppose the bill. Chefs including Rachael Ray, Thomas Keller of the famed French Laundry restaurant in Napa, Marcus Samuelsson of Red Rooster in Harlem, and David Chang of Momofuku in New York City all submitted letters to lawmakers arguing nonstick pans are safe when manufactured and used correctly.
“I respect and share the desire to protect Californians and our planet, but I urge you to look closely at the science before moving forward with legislation that could unintentionally do more harm than good,” Ray wrote. “PTFEs, when manufactured and used responsibly, are proven to be safe and effective.”
Some chefs also argue that banning nonstick pans could make cooking more difficult and costly for families. “Alternatives often do not perform with the same consistency, which can undermine the very goal of helping people cook nourishing meals at home,” chef Einat Admony of Balaboosta in New York City wrote in her letter.
“We base everything on chemistry, on science,” Steve Burns, executive director of the Cookware Sustainability Alliance, said in an interview with CBS News. “The Teflon coating around a nonstick pan is a fluoropolymer. Technically it falls under the PFAS family, but fluoropolymers have been shown for decades to be inert and non-harmful.”
The cookware industry says the bill unfairly targets a material that regulators, like the Food and Drug Administration, have repeatedly approved and deemed safe. “Since the 1960s, the FDA has authorized PTFE and other fluoropolymers for use in food-contact applications,” Burns said. “As recently as early 2025, the FDA reaffirmed that PTFE in nonstick coatings remains approved.”
The environmental community responds
Environmental groups including the Natural Resources Defense Council and the Environmental Working Group have pushed back against the industry, saying everyday use of Teflon-coated cookware can release PFAS particles or fumes, especially when pans are scratched or overheated.
“PTFE is basically a plasticized version of PFAS,” said Anna Reade, the NRDC’s director of PFAS advocacy.
She disagrees with industry claims that Teflon is safe because when nonstick cookware is overheated, she says, PFAS emissions come off the pans and can be inhaled or absorbed by the food cooking in the pan. A small scientific study supports Reade’s claim, as well as additional scientific studies that recommend limiting the use of Teflon in production and use because of the potential risks it poses to human health.
“The other concern is that when you flake off and scrub off PTFE, you’re breaking it into really small pieces,” Reade said. Studies also suggest scratched pans may shed microplastics that could end up in food.
Actor Mark Ruffalo, who starred in the 2019 film “Dark Waters” about PFAS contamination and is an outspoken critic of “forever chemicals,” weighed in on social platform X with an open letter to Ray. “Independent science shows that the PFAS in cookware can wind up in our food,” Ruffalo wrote. He went on to urge her to support the bill “from the bottom of my heart.”
California state Sen. Ben Allen, a Democrat from Southern California who proposed the legislation, was grateful the bill passed.
“PFAS pose a level of serious risks that require us to take a measured approach to reduce their proliferation and unnecessary use throughout the marketplace,” Allen said in a statement. “With SB 682, California can take another strong step toward responsibly phasing out these toxins to prioritize our health and wellbeing over corporate profits.”
Allen emphasizes that the legislation aims to phase out PFAS in cookware and other items where substitutes exist. There are already PFAS-free options available for all the products referenced in the bill. In place of nonstick cookware, stainless steel and cast-iron pans are possible replacements because they do not include Teflon coatings.
CHELMSFORD — Officials broke ground Wednesday on a major project to build the Crooked Spring PFAS Treatment Facility for the Chelmsford Water District.
The Crooked Spring facility is Phase 1 of the water district’s larger PFAS remediation project, which also includes a new PFAS treatment facility at the Riverneck Treatment Plant, and a new water main line to connect the Smith Street Treatment Plant. The $43 million project was approved by voters in the water district in the spring of 2024, and the Massachusetts Clean Water Trust Board of Trustees approved a 0% interest loan for the entire project cost. It is being funded through the Massachusetts State Revolving Fund along with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, and is estimated to take about two years to completion.
Officials at the groundbreaking included state Reps. Rodney Elliott and Jim Arciero, a representative from state Sen. Michael Barrett’s office, Chelmsford Select Board member Pat Wojtas, members of the Board of Water Commissioners and officials from AECOM Engineering and Design, Waterline Construction and ResilientCE, the owner’s project manager.
The treatment for PFAS, which is shorthand for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, will consist of three process trains of pressurized vessels 12 feet in diameter filled with granular activated carbon, which will remove PFAS chemicals to meet state and federal water quality standards. In 2022, PFAS levels of more than 20 parts-per-trillion were detected in the district’s water.
The project will also include upgrades to the Crooked Springs Water Treatment Plant’s main building and the building of a two-celled spent wash tank with a floating decanting system and recycling pumps.
The Chelmsford Board of Water Commissioners retained legal counsel in May 2021 to prosecute legal claims related to negligence resulting in PFAS contamination in the town’s water supplies. The water district would eventually join a larger, multi-district litigation over PFAS contamination discovered across the country.
PFAS chemicals, sometimes called “forever chemicals,” are manmade substances that do not easily break down in nature, and can build up over time in the environment and in our bodies, causing a wide range of possible health complications. The lawsuits the water district joined allege that corporations like 3M, DuPont, Tyco and BASF knew about the dangers of these chemicals, but concealed them anyway.
In April 2024, 3M settled for $12.5 billion in their case, and a $1.185 billion settlement was preliminarily approved for DuPont earlier that year. In November, a $750 million settlement was approved for Tyco, as was a $316.5 million settlement for BASF.
The Chelmsford Water District received its first payment of $401,951.24 from its gross $4.2 million award in the 3M settlement in June, while the district’s awards from the other settlements are yet to be disbursed. The district separately filed a $44.5 million special needs claim against 3M and DuPont for the expenses related to this PFAS treatment project, as well as an $83,622 special needs lawsuit against Tyco and BASF.
Firefighters with the 27th Special Operations Civil Engineer Squadron test hose water pressure before an exercise Aug. 14, 2015, at Cannon Air Force Base, N.M. In January, New Mexico environment officials cited the base for a spill of wastewater containing firefighting foam with PFAS which soaked into the aquifer after a retaining pond leaked. (U.S. Air Force photo/Staff Sgt. Alex Mercer)
In mid-July, Neil Dolly left Albuquerque near dawn and headed to Clovis. Under the New Mexico Hazardous Waste Act, he and his co-workers with the New Mexico Environment Department have the authority to conduct surprise inspections of hazardous waste sites, take samples and shoot photos.
Parked at a gas station near Cannon Air Force Base, Dolly called the base to confirm names and email addresses. About 30 minutes later, he emailed officials to say he was arriving.
Once inside, base officials and attorneys told Dolly and his assistant they wouldn’t be allowed to collect soil and water samples to test for PFAS. According to Dolly, they cited ongoing litigation between the state and the Pentagon.
No one paying attention to New Mexico’s PFAS saga should be surprised that the military kept Dolly from doing his job. But we should all stay alert to how the U.S. government thwarts the ability — indeed, the right — of states to protect their lands, waters and people.
Patented in the 1940s, PFAS, or Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances have been used since then in cookware, clothing, food wrappers, furniture and firefighting foams. The same qualities that make them useful — water and sunlight don’t destroy their molecules of joined carbon and fluorine atoms — also make them hard to clean up. Instead of breaking down over time, they move up the food chain, persisting in soils and waters and accumulating in the bodies of animals and humans. Some people refer to this toxic family as “forever chemicals.”
In 2018, the Air Force notified New Mexico officials that tests at Cannon — and Holloman Air Force Base in Alamogordo — detected perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS) and perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA). Firefighting foams the military started using in the 1970s had contaminated groundwater with PFOA and PFOS, just two of the thousands of compounds in the PFAS family.
When New Mexico called for cleanup, the U.S. Department of Defense sued, challenging the state’s authority. Currently, the state is part of a multi-district federal lawsuit seeking past and future clean-up costs and all natural resource damages at Cannon Air Force Base, Holloman Air Force Base, Kirtland Air Force Base, White Sands Missile Range and Fort Wingate. And in June, the state filed another lawsuit, ordering the Pentagon to clean up the plume at Cannon under a new law that clarifies the state’s ability to regulate hazardous PFAS, even if the federal government has neglected to set standards for the chemicals.
By now, the contaminated plume is roughly six miles long, and New Mexicans have spent about $12 million on litigation. We’ve spent millions more testing well water and residents’ blood and connecting rural Curry County residents to a public water system because they can’t safely drink their well water.
“I spend a lot of time battling the PFAS monster that is just omnipresent every day with some new filing or some new denial of access or whatever it is,” NMED Secretary James Kenney told me in an interview. “There is no single more recalcitrant polluter, that is more litigious, than the Department of Defense.”
Kenney says he’s frustrated that the Pentagon keeps trampling the rights of states like New Mexico that are grappling with PFAS contamination. “Where is this notion of cooperative federalism, that states rights are supreme when implementing federal law?” he asks. “I feel like the Department of Defense is giving the middle finger salute to Congress, and they’re OK with it.”
Meanwhile, the toxic chemicals have traveled beyond Cannon into the Ogallala Aquifer, and into the blood of people working on and living near the base. A few years ago, Art Schaap, whose dairy farm overlooks Cannon, euthanized 3,500 cows because their blood — and milk — was poisoned.
More recently, the state released test results for 628 people who worked on or lived near Cannon, all but two of whom had at least one type of PFAS in their blood, and more than 90% of whom tested positive for multiple types of the toxic chemicals.
PFAS’ threat to human health is well known.
Beginning in the 1960s, manufacturers like 3M and DuPont knew from testing workers and nearby water supplies that different PFAS chemicals caused reproductive and development problems; birth defects; liver and kidney disease; and immune system problems. Additional studies have linked exposure to high cholesterol, low infant birth weights, and certain cancers, along with thyroid and hormone disruption.
As a longtime environment reporter, I have witnessed generations of state officials try to protect public health and rein in legacy pollution from federal installations. Despite the massive amount of money American taxpayers invest in the Pentagon — more than a trillion dollars this year alone — the federal government continues to punt on cleanup and put people, and our precious waters, at risk.
At Kirtland Air Force Base, for example, 24 million gallons of jet fuel leaked into the aquifer — and still hasn’t been cleaned up. Los Alamos National Laboratory has long polluted tributaries of the Rio Grande, and few people want to consider what lies in the sediment at the bottom of Cochiti Lake. At White Sands Test Facility, the U.S. Army and NASA have contaminated groundwater with multiple pollutants. Confirmed PFAS contamination also has been established at Fort Wingate Depot, the Santa Fe Army Aviation Support Facility, the Army National Guard’s Roswell Field Maintenance Shop and White Sands Missile Range.
New Mexico will become increasingly arid, and our water challenges will only get tougher. We can all see the parched forests and fields, shallow reservoirs and drying riverbeds. We should also be clear-eyed about the legacy of federal pollution, and what all that contaminated water means for the state’s future. That is water lost to farms, families and the future. And the recently renamed U.S. Department of War isn’t likely to prioritize cleanup anytime soon.
As the federal government openly challenges — or just ignores — the authority of states to protect their own lands, waters and people, New Mexicans can’t be kept in the dark about what we face from legacy or emerging pollutants. And New Mexicans on opposite sides of the political aisle should at least align with one another to protect the state’s waters. No matter what else is happening in the country, our water future here in New Mexico depends on transparency and unity.
California lawmakers are weighing whether to ban a group of chemicals known as PFAS, which are often called “forever chemicals,” in cookware. The move has pulled in celebrity chefs on one side and environmentalists, including actor Mark Ruffalo, on the other.
The proposal, Senate Bill 682, would prohibit PFAS in cookware, cleaning products, dental floss, ski wax, food packaging and certain children’s products. The state Senate has already passed the bill and sent it to the state Assembly for consideration. Lawmakers face a Friday deadline to finalize the measure and send it to Gov. Gavin Newsom.
It’s the latest move to limit PFAS, which are a class of thousands of chemicals that have been around for more than 70 years and are widely used in a variety of consumer, commercial and industrial products due to their ability to withstand heat and repel water and stains. They are called “forever chemicals” because they are extremely persistent in the environment and can accumulate in humans and animals.
Exposure to PFAS is linked to many negative health effects, including but not limited to kidney and testicular cancer, liver and kidney damage, and harm to the nervous and reproductive systems.
The legislation specifically points to health risks as the reason for phasing out PFAS from cookware and other products. “Exposure to PFAS poses a significant threat to the environment and public health,” the bill states.
California has already banned PFAS in carpets, textiles and firefighting foam. Now, the latest debate centers on nonstick pans. Many are treated with a chemical compound called PTFE, a type of PFAS better known as Teflon, which coats millions of pans.
Chefs push back
The Cookware Sustainability Alliance, which describes itself as a group of cookware manufacturers, designers and engineers, has rallied high-profile culinary stars to oppose the bill. Chefs including Rachael Ray, Thomas Keller of the famed French Laundry restaurant in Napa, Marcus Samuelsson of Red Rooster in Harlem, and David Chang of Momofuku in New York City all submitted letters to lawmakers arguing nonstick pans are safe when manufactured and used correctly.
“I respect and share the desire to protect Californians and our planet, but I urge you to look closely at the science before moving forward with legislation that could unintentionally do more harm than good,” Ray wrote. “PTFEs, when manufactured and used responsibly, are proven to be safe and effective.”
Some chefs also argue that banning nonstick pans could make cooking more difficult and costly for families. “Alternatives often do not perform with the same consistency, which can undermine the very goal of helping people cook nourishing meals at home,” chef Einat Admony of Balaboosta in New York City wrote in her letter.
“We base everything on chemistry, on science,” Steve Burn, executive director of the Cookware Sustainability Alliance, said in an interview with CBS News. “The Teflon coating around a nonstick pan is a fluoropolymer. Technically it falls under the PFAS family, but fluoropolymers have been shown for decades to be inert and non-harmful.”
The cookware industry says the bill unfairly targets a material that regulators, like the Food and Drug Administration, have repeatedly approved and deemed safe. “Since the 1960s, the FDA has authorized PTFE and other fluoropolymers for use in food-contact applications,” Burn said. “As recently as early 2025, the FDA reaffirmed that PTFE in nonstick coatings remains approved.”
The environmental community responds
Environmental groups including the Natural Resources Defense Council and the Environmental Working Group have pushed back against the industry, saying everyday use of Teflon-coated cookware can release PFAS particles or fumes, especially when pans are scratched or overheated.
“PTFE is basically a plasticized version of PFAS,” said Anna Reade, the NRDC’s director of PFAS advocacy. She disagrees with industry claims that Teflon is safe because when nonstick cookware is overheated, she says, PFAS emissions come off the pans and can be inhaled or absorbed by the food cooking in the pan. A small scientific study supports Reade’s claim.
“The other concern is that when you flake off and scrub off PTFE, you’re breaking it into really small pieces,” Reade said. Studies also suggest scratched pans may shed microplastics that could end up in food.
Actor Mark Ruffalo, who starred in the 2019 film “Dark Waters” about PFAS contamination and is an outspoken critic of “forever chemicals,” weighed in on social platform X with an open letter to Ray. “Independent science shows that the PFAS in cookware can wind up in our food,” Ruffalo wrote. He went on to urge her to support the bill “from the bottom of my heart.”
California state Sen. Ben Allen, a Democrat from Southern California who proposed the legislation, has also been vocal on social media pushing back against criticisms of the bill. “PFAS have invaded every part of the world around us, including our very bodies and the food and water we consume,” he told CBS News. “SB 682 is a modest attempt to phase out more PFAS in California by focusing only on products which already face bans across the nation because safer alternatives widely exist in the marketplace.”
Allen emphasizes that the legislation aims to phase out PFAS in cookware and other items where substitutes exist. In place of nonstick cookware, stainless steel and cast-iron pans are possible replacements because they do not include Teflon coatings.
CALHOUN, Ga., July 9, 2025 (Newswire.com)
– A recent study looking at PFAS in turf fields installed at two Northern California high schools found they contained no detectable PFAS above State and EPA soil screening levels. At one of the fields, no PFAS were detected at all.
“Our Proof is in the ground” isn’t just a tagline-it’s a foundational principle at FieldTurf. We show you the numbers behind the words because we believe true impact comes from transparency.
As PFAS remains a topic of public and regulatory concern, FieldTurf commissioned this study, led by environmental consulting firm Gradient, to help organizations and communities navigate the conversation on field options with facts and transparency, not flashy claims that have led experts to question the deceptive tactics of some manufacturers. While others talk about what they plan or can do, FieldTurf is delivering results.
Summary of the study and results
Gradient’s study of PFAS compounds used US EPA Method 1633 to evaluate 40 individual PFAS compounds in these fields before and after construction of new FieldTurf fields. One field was originally natural grass, and the other, an older synthetic system with SBR rubber. Both high schools replaced their aged surfaces with new FieldTurf fields, installed using natural infills like cork, sand, and olive pits. Testing results showed one new FieldTurf field with no detectable PFAS compounds, and trace levels at the other new field.
All results (visible at the link below and in the accompanying image) were below EPA and/or US State soil screening limits and/or within normal background ranges.
As part of its ongoing transition in fiber production, FieldTurf is seeing clear outcomes. The testing results highlight the progress made through material innovation and purpose-led design-with no detectable PFAS found in recently extruded fibers and only trace levels present in legacy materials. It’s further proof that FieldTurf systems are safe, and the company continues to change the game-not just in performance but in product leadership and sustainable innovation.
A Closer Look at PFAS in Natural Grass Playing Fields
Natural grass is not immune to the presence of PFAS. In fact, a 2024 self-funded white paper by environmental consulting firm Woodard & Curran titled PFAS in Massachusetts Background Soils assessed the background occurrence of PFAS in soil. This study analyzed 100 surface soil samples across undeveloped sites in Massachusetts, finding measurable concentrations of PFAS in 88% of samples-nine PFAS compounds were detected, and over half exceeded the strictest state soil screening levels. This study, and many others, show that atmospheric transport of PFAS has the potential to impact soil, even in remote areas.
The results of this background soil study are consistent with Gradient’s high school field study, which found that prior to replacement, the natural grass field at the Northern California high school contained higher PFAS levels than both the existing synthetic turf and the two newly installed replacement systems. This reinforces the finding that natural grass fields may contain higher levels of these PFAS compounds than a FieldTurf system.
Committed to investing in extensive testing & expert consultants
FieldTurf has made significant investments in research, laboratory testing, and third-party consultation to ensure our systems are grounded in science and transparency. This commitment isn’t new-it’s a foundational part of how we operate and how we’ve earned our customers’ trust over the past 25 years.
In addition to the Gradient study, FieldTurf has conducted extensive lab testing across its key products to identify possible PFAS compounds that could be present as pre-installation ingredients. The accredited third-party lab tested FieldTurf products for more than 70 PFAS compounds, with results showing:
No key products contained detections above U.S. EPA screening levels.
Most PFAS detections were below reporting limits or could be attributed to lab background.
A simulated worst-case exposure test (TOP assay) also had no detections above U.S. EPA screening levels, confirming product integrity.
“We’re here to help communities make informed decisions with real data and expert support. For over 25 years, we’ve invested in doing things the right way, and this study is a powerful validation of that approach,” said Darren Gill, Executive Vice President of FieldTurf. “Our holistic approach to Protect People & Planet is stitched into the fabric of how we do business and sits at the heart of our day-to-day decision-making.”
Leading solutions delivered by leading builders. FieldTurf is part of Tarkett Sports, a world leader in sports construction and surfacing. Providing architectural design, full-scope construction services, and a comprehensive portfolio of industry-leading sports surfacing solutions.
PERSES System Delivered to Lake Elmo Facility to Destroy PFAS Waste
SAN DIEGO, June 9, 2025 (Newswire.com)
– General Atomics Electromagnetic Systems (GA-EMS) announced today that Minnesota Congresswoman Betty McCollum (D-MN) and other members of state and local government attended a real-time demonstration of the complete destruction of per- and polyfluoroalkyl (PFAS) waste streams using GA-EMS’ PERSES™ waste destruction system at a site located in Lake Elmo, MN on Friday, May 30. The PERSES system is on-site at the Lake Elmo facility for a four-week period to demonstrate the system’s industrial-scale capabilities to destroy a wide variety of PFAS and PFAS contaminated waste. The PERSES system will be shipped to other suitable test sites for additional on-site PFAS destruction testing and demonstrations.
“This is an exciting day as we learn how to break down the toxic chemical bond of PFAS. Through Department of Defense investment and private-sector innovation, General Atomics has achieved an extraordinary scientific breakthrough by completing a successful PFAS remediation in a controlled setting,” said Congresswoman McCollum. “But there’s still work to be done. Now, we must focus on scaling this technology so that it can be a solution for communities and military installations at large to eliminate the threat of PFAS pollution.”
GA-EMS is conducting the on-site demonstrations under a contract award by Bay West LLC, an environmental and remediation company leading a research program funded by the U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center (ERDC) to deliver, install, and operate PERSES for multiple project demonstrations to destroy PFAS and PFAS contaminated waste.
“We are extremely pleased to be working with Bay West and ERDC in welcoming Congresswoman McCollum, state, regional and local officials to witness the effectiveness of PERSES in the destruction of PFAS,” said Scott Forney, president of GA-EMS. “On-site demonstrations such as this bring the power of PERSES directly into a community to demonstrate in person the system’s capabilities to safely and efficiently eliminate PFAS from a broad range of waste media including landfill leachate, biosolid “sludge”, soils and sediment, firefighting foam, and granular activated carbon and resin beads from filtration treatment systems. PERSES is the most effective tool in the waste remediation toolkit that can help bring an end to the forever cycle of PFAS contamination.”
PERSES utilizes GA-EMS’ proven industrial Supercritical Water Oxidation (iSCWO) technology which has been in commercial use for more than a decade to effectively destroy PFAS and more than 200 hazardous and non-hazardous types of waste with 99.99% and greater efficiency. In a single process, PERSES destroys PFAS and PFAS waste with co-contaminants leaving behind only water, salts, and carbon dioxide which can be safely released into the environment with no post-treatment requirement.
Bay West is a nationally recognized environmental consulting and remediation company headquartered in St. Paul, MN that provides solutions to government and commercial enterprises to navigate complex environmental concerns and ongoing remediation challenges. ERDC is an integral component of the Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering and helps solve the nation’s most challenging civil and military engineering, geospatial sciences, water resources, and environmental sciences for the Army, DoD, civilian agencies.
SAN DIEGO, March 10, 2025 (Newswire.com)
– General Atomics Electromagnetic Systems (GA-EMS) today introduced PERSES™, the new name for the company’s commercial waste destruction system formerly known as the iSCWO (industrial Supercritical Water Oxidation) system. PERSES builds on GA-EMS’ decades of experience utilizing its proven iSCWO technology to effectively destroy PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl) and more than 200 hazardous and non-hazardous waste medias with 99.99% and greater efficiency.
“We are excited to introduce the PERSES brand name in recognition of our system’s highly effective capability to efficiently and sustainably destroy PFAS and numerous hazardous and non-hazardous waste streams,” stated Scott Forney, president of GA-EMS. “We specifically chose the name PERSES to exemplify the system’s transformational technology and destructive force to destroy PFAS with no harmful side effects to the environment. In a single process, PERSES destroys PFAS and PFAS waste with co-contaminants leaving behind only water, salts, and carbon dioxide which can be safely released into the environment with no post-treatment requirement.”
PERSES systems are scheduled for shipment to two sites this year for installation and industrial-scale destruction demonstrations of a variety of government and commercial-sourced PFAS and PFAS-impacted waste streams. GA-EMS was awarded contracts to conduct testing and on-site PFAS destruction demonstrations from the Department of Defense (DoD) Environmental Security Technology Certification Program (ESTCP) through the Defense Innovation Unit (DIU) and from Bay West LLC, which is funded by the U.S. Army Engineering Research and Development Center by the Army Corps of Engineers.
GA-EMS is actively engaged with waste and remediation companies, interested agencies and waste facilities across the federal, state and local levels to deliver PERSES to communities looking to end the cycle of PFAS contamination for good.
PERSES offers greater throughput capacity and a proven ability to process impacted PFAS waste medias, including concentrated PFAS Aqueous Film-Forming Foam (AFFF), diluted feed “ground water”, biosolids, pure or concentrated leachate, and solid media including Granular Activated Carbon and resin beads from PFAS filters. Unlike many lab and prototype systems offered today, GA-EMS has had commercial systems in the field since 2012 and has successfully tested the system to destroy more than 200 waste streams.
NORTHGLENN, Colo — Denver-area church members are working with the Colorado Department of Health to help create a cleaner environment. Volunteers at the World Mission Society Church of God helped clean up several Colorado parks Sunday morning.
The volunteers worked at Jaycee Park in Northglenn before eventually moving to parks in Aurora.
“If we can assist in any way to make this world a better place through community service, then we’re all hands in,” said Murray Whitaker, a volunteer.
The volunteers have held several cleanups in Colorado this year. Earlier, the group was in Colorado Springs for a river cleanup. Due to heavy pollution issues, the church says there is significant emphasis on river and lake cleanups.
“We need to clean up rivers, to clean up lakes,” said Whitaker. “It’s all a really big puzzle can actually be can be fixed.”
Water cleanup efforts in Colorado are underway after new federal regulations. In April, the Environmental Protection Agency established new thresholds for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), a group of chemicals known to cause major health issues.
Denver-area church works with state to help clean up Colorado parks and water
Alarmingly, 300 of Colorado’s 900 water districts still aren’t testing for PFAS, according to the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment.
“There’s just so many gaps,” said Dr. Shere Walker-Ravenell, the executive director of the Black Parents United Foundation. His group has established Colorado air monitoring programs and pushes for clean water policies.
“These are forever chemicals,” said Walker-Ravenell. “We have to get the water tested.”
Water districts in Colorado have until 2026 to start testing for PFAS and 2029 to lower rates below acceptable thresholds.
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The Biden administration on Wednesday finalized strict limits on certain so-called “forever chemicals” in drinking water that will require utilities to reduce them to the lowest level they can be reliably measured. Officials say this will reduce exposure for 100 million people and help prevent thousands of illnesses, including cancers.
The rule is the first national drinking water limit on toxic PFAS, or perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances, which are widespread and long-lasting in the environment.
Health advocates praised the Environmental Protection Agency for not backing away from tough limits the agency proposed last year. But water utilities took issue with the rule, saying treatment systems are expensive to install and that customers will end up paying more for water.
Water providers are entering a new era with significant additional health standards that the EPA says will make tap water safer for millions of consumers — a Biden administration priority. The agency has also proposed forcing utilities to remove dangerous lead pipes.
EPA Administrator Michael Regan says the rule is the most important action the EPA has ever taken on PFAS.
“The result is a comprehensive and life-changing rule, one that will improve the health and vitality of so many communities across our country,” said Regan.
PFAS chemicals are hazardous because they don’t degrade in the environment and are linked to health issues such as low birth weight and liver disease, along with certain cancers. The EPA estimates the rule will cost about $1.5 billion to implement each year, but doing so will prevent nearly 10,000 deaths over decades and significantly reduce serious illnesses.
They’ve been used in everyday products including nonstick pans, firefighting foam and waterproof clothing. Although some of the most common types are phased out in the U.S., others remain. Water providers will now be forced to remove contamination put in the environment by other industries.
“It’s that accumulation that’s the problem,” said Scott Belcher, a North Carolina State University professor who researches PFAS toxicity. “Even tiny, tiny, tiny amounts each time you take a drink of water over your lifetime is going to keep adding up, leading to the health effects.”
PFAS is a broad family of chemical substances, and the new rule sets strict limits on two common types — called PFOA and PFOS — at 4 parts per trillion. Three other types that include GenEx Chemicals that are a major problem in North Carolina are limited to 10 parts per trillion. Water providers will have to test for these PFAS chemicals and tell the public when levels are too high. Combinations of some PFAS types will be limited, too.
Regan will announce the rule in Fayetteville, North Carolina, on Wednesday.
Environmental and health advocates praised the rule, but said PFAS manufacturers knew decades ago the substances were dangerous yet hid or downplayed the evidence. Limits should have come sooner, they argue.
“Reducing PFAS in our drinking water is the most cost effective way to reduce our exposure,” said Scott Faber, a food and water expert at Environmental Working Group. “It’s much more challenging to reduce other exposures such as PFAS in food or clothing or carpets.”
Over the last year, EPA has periodically released batches of utility test results for PFAS in drinking water. Roughly 16% of utilities found at least one of the two strictly limited PFAS chemicals at or above the new limits. These utilities serve tens of millions of people. The Biden administration, however, expects about 6-10% of water systems to exceed the new limits.
Water providers will generally have three years to do testing. If those test exceed the limits, they’ll have two more years to install treatment systems, according to EPA officials.
Some funds are available to help utilities. Manufacturer 3M recently agreed to pay more than $10 billion to drinking water providers to settle PFAS litigation. And the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law includes billions to combat the substance. But utilities say more will be needed.
For some communities, tests results were a surprise. Last June, a utility outside Philadelphia that serves nearly 9,000 people learned that one of its wells had a PFOA level of 235 parts per trillion, among the highest results in the country at the time.
“I mean, obviously, it was a shock,” said Joseph Hastings, director of the joint public works department for the Collegeville and Trappe boroughs, whose job includes solving problems presented by new regulations.
The well was quickly yanked offline, but Hastings still doesn’t know the contamination source. Several other wells were above the EPA’s new limits, but lower than those the state of Pennsylvania set earlier. Now, Hastings says installing treatment systems could be a multi-million dollar endeavor, a major expense for a small customer base.
The new regulation is “going to throw public confidence in drinking water into chaos,” said Mike McGill, president of WaterPIO, a water industry communications firm.
The American Water Works Association, an industry group, says it supports the development of PFAS limits in drinking water, but argues the EPA’s rule has big problems.
The agency underestimated its high cost, which can’t be justified for communities with low levels of PFAS, and it’ll raise customer water bills, the association said. Plus, there aren’t enough experts and workers — and supplies of filtration material are limited.
Work in some places has started. The company Veolia operates utilities serving about 2.3 million people across six eastern states and manages water systems for millions more. Veolia built PFAS treatment for small water systems that serve about 150,000 people. The company expects, however, that roughly 50 more sites will need treatment — and it’s working to scale up efforts to reduce PFAS in larger communities it serves.
Such efforts followed dramatic shifts in EPA’s health guidance for PFAS in recent years as more research into its health harms emerged. Less than a decade ago, EPA issued a health advisory that PFOA and PFOS levels combined shouldn’t exceed 70 parts per trillion. Now, the agency says no amount is safe.
Public alarm has increased, too. In Minnesota, for example, Amara’s Law aims to stop avoidable PFAS use. It’s been nearly a year since the law’s namesake, Amara Strande, died from a rare cancer her family blames on PFAS contamination by 3M near her high school in Oakdale, although a connection between PFAS and her cancer can’t be proven. Biden administration officials say communities shouldn’t suffer like Oakdale. 3M says it extends its deepest condolences to Amara’s friends and family.
Losing Amara pushed the family towards activism. They’ve testified multiple times in favor of PFAS restrictions.
“Four parts per trillion, we couldn’t ask for a better standard,” Amara’s sister Nora said. “It’s a very ambitious goal, but anything higher than that is endangering lives.”
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Associated Press data journalist Camille Fassett in San Francisco and reporter Matthew Daly in Washington, D.C., contributed to this story.
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The Associated Press receives support from the Walton Family Foundation for coverage of water and environmental policy. The AP is solely responsible for all content. For all of AP’s environmental coverage, visit apnews.com/hub/climate-and-environment
What are forever chemicals? Lead and similar harmful chemicals can stick around in drinking water and cause dangerous health disorders like cancer.
What are forever chemicals? Lead and similar harmful chemicals can stick around in drinking water and cause dangerous health disorders like cancer.
Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health held a presentation on the topic Thursday, telling participants what they can do to lower their risk of ingesting the chemicals.
“Even with adequate corrosion control and drinking water, when water sits in lead pipes, especially overnight, lead leeches into the water going undetected when the tap is turned on,” said Natalie Exum, an environmental scientist with the Bloomberg School of Public Health.
There are steps that you can take as a homeowner to protect you and your family, she said.
“A lot of utilities do not know where the lead lines lie,” she said.
If you think your home has lead pipes, Exum said to request a water report or reach out to plumbing professionals for an inspection. If it comes back saying your water contains lead, first run the water to flush the pipes.
“Flushing means running the cold water for about five minutes before drinking,” she said.
Then she said to clean the screens on your faucet, and, “only use cold water for cooking, drinking and especially for preparing baby formula.”
Why should you only use cold water? Exum said “hot tap water can dissolve lead into the pipes” and make higher lead levels more likely.
She said faucets and taps installed before 2014 can contain up to 8% of lead. New standards in place say that lead content needs to be below 0.25% for drinking water fixtures.
Carsten Prasse, an assistant professor of environmental health and engineering at the Bloomberg School of Public Health, said an estimated 98% of the U.S. population have detectable concentrations of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances or PFAs, also known as “forever chemicals,” in their blood.
Fast-food wrappers and packaging that contain so-called forever chemicals are no longer being sold in the U.S., the Food and Drug Administration announced Wednesday.
It’s the result of a voluntary effort with U.S. food manufacturers to phase out food contact packaging made with PFAS, the acronym for perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances, which do not degrade and can harm human health.
Starting in 2020, the FDA obtained commitments from U.S. food manufacturers to phase out PFAS in wrappers, boxes and bags with coating to prevent grease, water and other liquids from soaking through.
Many fast-food companies and other manufacturers, such as McDonald’s, stopped using wrappers containing PFAS before the original phase-out date, the agency added.
PFAS have been linked to health problems affecting cholesterol levels, the function of the liver and the immune system and certain kinds of cancer.
Ridding packaging of the chemicals is a “great step in the right direction,” said Dr. Sheela Sathyanarayana, a pediatrics professor at the UW School of Medicine in Seattle, who has studied PFAS chemicals found in breast milk and elsewhere.
Removing the packaging from the U.S. market eliminates “the primary source of dietary exposure” from certain food contact uses, the FDA said, but Sathyanarayana noted there are “many sources of PFAS in our environment.”
Drinking water is a key one, Sathyanarayana said. Consumers concerned about PFAS levels can look at maps maintained by the Environmental Protection Agency to see if their water is affected and obtain filters to remove the chemicals.
PFAS also accumulates in meat and dairy, she said, and advises people to cut back on those foods. She also recommended avoiding certain indoor cleaning solvents or products treated with water-resistant chemicals, as well as removing shoes indoors to keep from tracking PFAS into the house and washing your hands before eating or preparing food.
NEW ORLEANS, January 10, 2024 (Newswire.com)
– Last month, multiple cities in 5 states across the country including the states of Kentucky, Louisiana, New York, New Jersey, and Maryland filed suits in the PFAS national litigation. The suits allege significant damages including to the water systems, airports, and other critical areas of these cities and towns from PFAS chemicals, also known as ‘forever chemicals.’ Mike Stag of the national environmental firm Stag Liuzza represents the cities and towns and has stated that “These PFAS and PFOS chemicals are one of the greatest threats to our environment. Our clients need significant money to remediate their water systems and other public areas from these chemicals. We will continue to file suits on behalf of additional municipalities we represent across the country. This issue is too important for our clients not to have aggressive, experienced counsel helping them obtain all money possible.” Stag and his firm also represent municipalities in California, Alabama, Colorado, Massachusetts, West Virginia, and Ohio, and Stag sits on the Executive Committee of the national suit filed in Federal Court in South Carolina.
In June, national class action settlements totaling over $12 Billion were proposed. These settlements only deal with public water systems and do not include payments for airports, fire training centers or other likely PFAS contaminated public areas. It is expected that public water systems and municipalities which file a proper and valid claim could receive payments as early Summer 2024. “We want our clients to be in the front of the line to receive any payments possible from the national settlement the minute it is approved,” said Stag. The amount a municipality may receive is based on complex formulas and include what is known as ‘baseline’ testing. “During data collection, we are finding that this is a process that takes multiple steps to gather the proper and best evidence for the claims process.”
More information about the national PFAS Public water system settlement, or filing suit to recover money for PFAS contamination, can be obtained by contacting Mike Stag or Ashley Liuzza at Stag Liuzza or by visiting https://www.cleangroundwater.com
General Atomics’ iSCWO System to Destroy PFAS and other organic waste in various waste streams
SAN DIEGO, December 18, 2023 (Newswire.com)
– General Atomics Electromagnetic Systems (GA-EMS) announced today that it has been awarded a contract by Bay West, LLC, an environmental remediation and industrial solutions firm, to destroy per-and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in multiple demonstration projects using GA-EMS’ industrial Supercritical Water Oxidation (iSCWO) system. PFAS destruction will be conducted at GA-EMS’ dedicated testing facility in San Diego using a full-scale iSCWO system. GA-EMS will deliver, install, and operate a transportable iSCWO system in the first quarter of 2024 to conduct on-site demonstrations of PFAS destruction at a yet to be identified government facility.
“We continue to expand our testing program to support waste management and remediation companies like Bay West as they begin navigating state and federal guidance to eliminate PFAS from a myriad of waste streams,” said Scott Forney, president of GA-EMS. “Testing and results analysis is the first step to document the proven 99.99% and greater destruction effectiveness of our iSCWO system to eliminate PFAS and other organic waste. We look forward to working with Bay West and ERDC as they gain a better understanding of GA-EMS’ iSCWO system’s capabilities, use, and effectiveness to support future remediation projects.”
Bay West is under applied research contract with the U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center. The US Army Engineer Research and Development Center (ERDC) is an integral component of the Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering and helps solve our Nation’s most challenging problems in civil and military engineering, geospatial sciences, water resources, and environmental sciences for the Army, Department of Defense, civilian agencies, and our Nation’s public good.
Under this contract, GA-EMS’ iSCWO system will destroy PFAS and other organic waste in waste streams including aqueous film-forming foam (AFFF) and other aqueous remediation waste, fire pit water, landfill leachate, biosolid “sludge”, soils and sediment, and granular activated carbon (GAC) and resin beads from filtration treatment systems. Test results and analysis will be provided by Bay West to support the team’s evaluation and reporting to ERDC regarding iSCWO’s effectiveness and efficiency in eliminating PFAS.
GA-EMS’ iSCWO system is uniquely designed to process organic waste with water in a high-temperature (650°C) and high-pressure (4,000 psi) environment. No toxic chemicals are used in the process, no harmful by-products are created, and no post-treatment is required.
Bay West, LLC is a nationally recognized environmental consulting and remediation company headquartered in St. Paul, Minnesota. The company provides solutions to government and commercial enterprises to navigate complex environmental concerns and ongoing remediation challenges.
SAN DIEGO, December 11, 2023 (Newswire.com)
– General Atomics Electromagnetic Systems (GA-EMS) announced today that it has been awarded a contract funded by the Department of Defense’s (DoD) Environmental Security Technology Certification Program (ESTCP) through the Defense Innovation Unit (DIU) to demonstrate the company’s iSCWO (industrial Supercritical Water Oxidation) system’s capabilities to destroy per-and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in a variety of impacted waste streams. GA-EMS will deliver and install a commercial-scale iSCWO system at a DoD-identified site to conduct on-site PFAS destruction testing starting in early 2024.
“ESTCP is focused on accelerating the adoption of leading commercial technologies to solve various operational challenges across the U.S. military,” stated Scott Forney, president of GA-EMS. “The DoD is committed to identifying and addressing the issues concerning the complex cleanup actions required to remove PFAS waste, including aqueous film-forming foam used to fight fires. We look forward to demonstrating and validating our commercial iSCWO system as a solution to accelerate the destruction of PFAS and PFAS-impacted waste streams from military installations.”
GA-EMS’s iSCWO system is uniquely designed to process organic waste with water in a high-temperature (650°C) and high-pressure (4,000 psi) environment to destroy PFAS and any co-occurring chemicals of concern present in the waste stream. No toxic chemicals are used in the process, no harmful by-products are created, and no post-treatment is required.
“The presence of co-occurring chemicals of concern in the waste streams severely degrades other available technologies’ destruction processes and their ability to effectively destroy PFAS,” continued Forney. “Our unique iSCWO reactor design is resistant to corrosion and salt buildup and provides the ability to treat a broad range of hazardous and non-hazardous waste, including high-salinity feedstocks and wastes containing co-occurring chemicals of concern, with greater than 99.99% destruction efficiency. The system is easy and safe to operate, environmentally sound, cost-effective, and transportable.”
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued a detailed report documenting the first-ever test and verification of PFAS destruction using GA-EMS’s commercial iSCWO technology. Over the past decade, GA-EMS iSCWO systems have destroyed more than six million gallons of waste with a greater than 99.99% destruction efficiency and have been proven effective in destroying over 200 different types of hazardous and non-hazardous liquid, solids, and slurry wastes.
About General Atomics Electromagnetic Systems
General Atomics Electromagnetic Systems (GA-EMS) Group is a global leader in the research, design, and manufacture of first-of-a-kind electromagnetic and power generation systems. GA-EMS’s history of research, development, and technology innovation has led to an expanding portfolio of specialized products and integrated system solutions supporting aviation, space systems and satellites, missile defense, power and energy, and processing and monitoring applications for defense, industrial, and commercial customers worldwide. For further information, visit www.ga.com/hazardous-waste-destruction.
SAN DIEGO, August 21, 2023 (Newswire.com)
– General Atomics Electromagnetic Systems (GA-EMS) announced today that its industrial Supercritical Water Oxidation (iSCWO) system successfully destroyed per-and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in biosolids waste from samples provided by two Southern California waste management facilities. GA-EMS is providing the test analysis to both companies to evaluate the potential for utilizing an on-site iSCWO system to destroy PFAS in biosolids. The test analysis will also be made available to other remediation companies upon request.
“Wastewater treatment plants provide nutrient-rich biosolids filtered from wastewater to help amend and fertilize soil. PFAS is a unique class of forever chemicals that cannot be eliminated from biosolids using existing treatment processes,” said Scott Forney, president of GA-EMS. “Putting these contaminated biosolids back into the soil allows the PFAS to reenter the environment, perpetuating a constant cycle of contamination. Our proven iSCWO system offers remediation companies an effective solution to eliminate PFAS and other organic waste completely from biosolids, landfill leachate and wastewater before these toxic forever chemicals have another chance to be cycled back into our environment.”
GA-EMS’ iSCWO system processes organic waste with water in an extremely high temperature (650°C) and high pressure (4000 psi) environment to efficiently destroy both PFAS and other hazardous and non-hazardous waste. The system is safe to operate, environmentally sound, and cost-effective. There is no post-treatment required, no gas and liquid emissions to deal with, and no hazardous by-products to store, transport, or dispose of.
Tests were conducted at GA-EMS’s dedicated iSCWO full-scale test facility in San Diego, CA. In 2022, the EPA issued a detailed report documenting the first-ever test and verification of PFAS destruction efficiency greater than 99.99% using GA-EMS’ industrial-scale SCWO technology. For further information, visit www.ga.com/hazardous-waste-destruction.
About General Atomics Electromagnetic Systems
General Atomics Electromagnetic Systems (GA-EMS) Group is a global leader in the research, design, and manufacture of first-of-a-kind electromagnetic and power generation systems. GA-EMS’ history of research, development, and technology innovation has led to an expanding portfolio of specialized products and integrated system solutions supporting aviation, space systems and satellites, missile defense, power and energy, and processing and monitoring applications for defense, industrial, and commercial customers worldwide.
Almost half of U.S. tap water contains forever chemicals that are hazardous to our health.
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“Nearly half of U.S. tap water has PFAs: Here’s Why ‘Forever Chemicals’ Are Dangerous,” read the July 6, 2023 Forbes.com headline from breaking news staff writer Molly Bohannon’s article. If headlines could shout, this one would surely assault eardrums around the country.
Bohannon covers the many known serious health risks in her article and the fact that concerns about these chemicals, found in a wide range of everyday products as well as in soil and water, are decades old. The fact that they’ve so extensively penetrated our water supply is seriously worrisome.
“The scope of the contamination is shocking,” declared Eric Yeggy, technical affairs director for the Water Quality Association, a trade organization representing the water treatment industry. “Having been broadly used and unregulated for decades, PFAS have found their way into every corner of the world, including very remote places like the North Pole, the Tibetan Plateau, Antarctica, and base camp at Mount Everest. Virtually every human that has been tested has been found to have a cocktail of various PFAS in their blood,” he added.
How do you know if the water coming into your home is safe, and what can you do about it if it’s not? I sent questions to experts in this area, including Yeggy, and am passing along their written responses, edited only for length and clarity, where needed.
Background
Tina Donda, vice president of water systems with the International Association of Plumbing & Mechanical Officials R&T product testing service, noted that these compounds are known as “forever chemicals” because they can last for thousands of years and are impossible to breakdown with currently available technology. “When products containing PFAS are disposed of or spilled into lakes and rivers, they have the potential to contaminate the water. Since these chemicals cannot be decomposed, they live there forever,” hence the moniker. (Note, some experts use PFAS, others PFAs.)
Originally invented in the 1930s, these compounds show up in hundreds of consumer products today, and in firefighting foams and industrial processes. “In March 2023, the US EPA proposed legally enforceable levels for six PFAS in drinking water that would require monitoring of public water supplies,” Donda commented. She further noted, “The USGS report [citing 45% presence] found more risk of PFAS in the drinking water in urban regions, but it comes with a big caveat that data is lacking for private wells. It is likely that far more people are impacted by PFAS in their drinking water.”
Health concerns with these compounds were recognized in the late 1990s to early 2000s, added David Purkiss, vice president of the water division of NSF (founded in 1944 as the National Sanitation Foundation). “These compounds are bio accumulative (concentrations build up in the body with continued exposure), mobile (spread easily) and persistent (do not degrade or are “forever”) in the environment.” Their widespread use was increasing the environmental burden and exceeding threshold levels for health concern, he added. This drove recent research and focus.
Testing
“Home water treatment systems designed to remove PFAS are widely available,” Yeggy commented. These include pitcher filters, refrigerator filters, under-counter filters, point-of-use reverse osmosis systems, all the way up to whole house systems. “Consumers should be aware that not all drinking water treatment systems are designed to remove PFAS, and many do not. The best practice is to ensure that a system has been independently certified to remove PFAS before making a purchasing decision,” he advised.
“Check with your water utility company to see if they conduct regular testing for PFAS or other contaminants,” suggested San Francisco-based plumbing contractor Phil Hotarek. “Some utilities test their water supplies for PFAS and may share the results with customers upon request.” Not all forever chemicals are the same, he cautioned. “Therefore, it’s advisable to consult local authorities, health departments, or [your state water board] for specific information about contamination in your area. They can provide guidance on water testing, mitigation efforts, and any associated health risks.”
If you don’t want to check yourself, you can hire an expert. Consumers can find a certified water treatment professional through a search tool on the WQA site, Yeggy said.
Private Wells
Since wells were not part of the testing sample used by USGS in reaching its 45% figure, (and are not routinely monitored by government agencies, as public water suppliers are), it’s unknown how many more households are affected. “For people on private wells – 15 million U.S. households, according to the CDC – they are responsible for their own testing,” Donda pointed out.
“Several states have requirements for well water quality,” she noted, and added that some might start requiring forever chemicals become part of their testing program. “People may have to contact their water supplier to see if they have any information on completed PFAS testing. If not, they will need to send their water to a laboratory.” Your county or state health department can direct you to local labs for kits and testing, Purkiss offered.
Filtration Solutions
One piece of good news, Donda shared, is that the technologies that can reduce or remove forever chemicals can also remove other contaminants, like lead. “To know for sure,” she cautioned, “verify that the product is certified to reduce the specific chemical of concern.” IAPMO provides a listing on its site of products that it has tested and certified, searchable by chemical acronym, (e.g., PFOA, PFAS).
“Water treatment devices that use activated carbon, reverse osmosis or ion exchange technology can be used to reduce the levels of PFAS compounds in treated water,” Purkiss noted, and they’re going to be equally effective for homes on private wells and municipal systems. “However,” he cautioned, “it is important to verify that the treatment units have been tested and certified by an accredited organization like NSF for the removal of PFAS compounds to ensure they meet the standard requirements.” Product packaging will show those certification marks, and organizations like IAPMO and NSF have online listings to verify those branding claims. (NSF’s can be found here). Look for perfluoroalkyl substances reduction on its page, he said.
Purkiss estimated that certified point of use filtration devices to treat the water coming out of your faucets will cost from $100 to several hundred dollars. “If you want to treat all the water in your house, you will need a point-of-entry device. However currently there are not many point-of-entry devices certified.” The important thing with all of these treatment devices is to replace them according to the manufacturer’s instructions, he advised.
Hotarek recommends whole house filtration systems as the best option to his Northern California clients, but cost sometimes limits them to point-of-use products, he noted. “Most whole house filters last between eight and 10 years (pending usage) and require no maintenance until the filter expires.”
When choosing a resource, the plumber suggested that you understand the installation process and requirements. “Consider factors such as available space, location of the filter, size of the pipe, and plumbing configuration. Ensure that the system can be properly installed in the home without significant modifications.”
Household Impacts
What if yours is one of the 45% of homes that has been impacted by forever chemicals? While your family’s health is the primary concern, there are other potential effects on your household, Hotarek cautioned.
“Significant damage can be caused to appliances. Internal parts will fail sooner, systems will have a shorter lifespan and performance is decreased.” The same is true for water heaters, the plumber warned. If you’re not concerned about those possibilities, point of use filters at your kitchen and bathroom sinks and refrigerator can work. (Don’t forget the faucets in your bathrooms where you take medicines, vitamins, brush and floss your teeth!) WQA’s Yeggy observed that only a tiny percent of a home’s water use is for cooking and drinking. More than 98% is for irrigation, toilets, laundry, dishwashing and other applications, he commented.
Wellness Disruptor
Many Americans are adding wellness features to their homes in the form of steam showers and bidet-style toilets. These too are impacted by the presence of forever chemicals, Hotarek observed. Steam showers’ heating elements fail faster and the steam quality is poor, the plumber pointed out. “Not to mention, it is simply not healthy to inhale those chemicals while sitting in a steam room. Better water quality not only enhances the quality of the steam experience, but prolongs the life of the system and reduces the frequency of service calls.”
When it comes to bidet functionality, their components are also affected by poor water quality and impacted valves can start leaking. On a hygienic level, introducing those chemicals to your intimate cleansing ritual isn’t ideal either.
Smart Home Technology
When it comes to whole house filtration, tying into a wellness-focused smart home technology system is a viable option, and forever chemical filtration is an increasing client priority, one of the category’s leaders observed. “As early as 2018, we started tracking PFAS,” recalled Kelly Eager, an architect and wellness design team leader for Delos. “We became more focused on evaluating and curating our offering of water filtration technologies that can address forever chemicals in mid-2022.”
The wellness technology firm’s products are NSF-certified, Eager reported. “Depending on the requirements of the home, the residents, and the plumbing design, these water solutions can treat 100% of the water in the home (e.g., hot and cold water for all fixtures),” she added. The company also offers point of use filtration products.
Last Words
“Water is life,” Hotarek summarized. “Think about all the essentials in life that require water: cooking, cleaning, appliances, drinking, bathing, etc.” Keeping your water supply safer and healthier can reap health and household dividends.
John Dickerson reports on sweltering temperatures across the country, a new study on “forever chemicals” in tap water, and the competition between Twitter and Threads.
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A proposed federal rule calls for forcing companies to disclose whether their products contain toxic “forever” chemicals, the government’s first attempt at cataloging the pervasiveness of PFAS across the United States.
The Environmental Protection Agency rule would require manufacturers to report many products that contain perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances. They’re a family of chemicals that don’t degrade in nature and have been linked to cancer, birth defects, and hormone irregularities.
Companies would have to disclose any PFAS that have been manufactured or imported between 2011 and when the rule takes effect, with no exemptions for small businesses or for impurities or byproducts cross-contaminating goods with PFAS. Those disclosures would be available to the public, barring any trade secrets linked to the data. The EPA will finalize the rule in the coming months, agency spokesperson Catherine Milbourn said, then require companies to report back within 12 months.
The effort excludes pesticides, foods and food additives, drugs, cosmetics, or medical devices regulated under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, Milbourn said. It also is essentially a one-time reporting and record-keeping requirement — and companies wouldn’t need to provide updates.
Still, the chemical and semiconductor industries are grumbling about what the EPA estimated is a potential $1 billion cost to comply with the rule. The U.S. chemical industry says it generates more than $500 billion annually.
On the other side, environmental health activists say the data collection exercise would be flawed, as it accounts for only a tenth of the more than 12,000 PFAS chemicals, which are used in everything from nonstick cookware to kids’ school uniforms. Moreover, they say, it wouldn’t stop PFAS from making their way into the air, waste, or consumer products, nor would it clean up existing contamination.
Congress gave the EPA the power to track PFAS chemicals in 2016, when it revised the Toxic Substances Control Act. Then a bipartisan effort in 2019, which Republican President Donald Trump signed into law, called for the EPA to inventory PFAS. However, health activists warn that unless Congress overhauls U.S. chemical laws to give the EPA and other agencies more power, PFAS will continue to threaten humans and the environment.
These so-called forever chemicals went from marvel to bête noire in just 50 years. When PFAS debuted, they were revered for making Teflon pans nonstick and Gore-Tex jackets waterproof. They are effective at repelling water and oil yet so durable they don’t break down in the natural environment. That strength has become their downfall, as the chemicals accumulate in landfills, soil, drinking water supplies, and, ultimately, human bodies. As scientists learn more about PFAS’ toxic nature, governments around the world have set limits or imposed outright bans.
The Illinois Environmental Protection Agency collects samples of treated Lake Michigan water in a lab at the water treatment plant in Wilmette, Illinois, on July 3, 2021.
Erin Hooley/Chicago Tribune/Tribune News Service via Getty Images
Because PFAS are found in thousands of products — contact lenses, cosmetics, pharmaceuticals such as Prozac, paper plates, clothing, and dental floss, to name just a few — regulators are scrambling to gather data on the scope of the PFAS threat. The EPA data collection proposal is a move in that direction.
Milbourn told KFF Health News that 1,364 types of PFAS may be covered by the rule, and EPA officials are reviewing public comments they received to determine whether they should modify its scope to capture additional substances.
By contrast, the European Union is discussing banning or limiting 10,000 PFAS chemicals, according to Hanna-Kaisa Torkkeli, a spokesperson for the European Chemicals Agency.
“In the U.S., chemicals are innocent until proven guilty,” said Kyla Bennett, director of science policy at Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility, a nonprofit based outside Washington, D.C. “In the EU and Japan, chemicals are guilty until proven safe — and that’s why they have fewer PFAS.”
That lack of regulation in the U.S. is driving states to take matters into their own hands, pursuing PFAS bans as gridlock and industry lobbying in Washington thwart tougher federal laws. Minnesota’s crackdown on PFAS limits the chemicals in menstrual products, cleaning ingredients, cookware, and dental floss. Maine’s law will ban all avoidable uses of PFAS by 2030. Vermont and California ban PFAS in food packaging.
“The states are acting because our federal system doesn’t currently allow the government to say ‘no more use of PFAS,’” said Liz Hitchcock, director of the federal policy program at Toxic-Free Future, a national advocacy group. “And even if it did, that wouldn’t clean up the mess already made.”
U.S. courts are also weighing in on PFAS contamination. On June 22, 3M agreed to pay up to $12.5 billion to settle lawsuits by communities around the country that argued their drinking water was contaminated by the company’s PFAS-containing products.
The 3M plant in Cordova, Illinois, on May 10, 2022. 3M is one of the chief manufacturers of PFAS.
Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune/Tribune News Service via Getty Images
Just cleaning up PFAS waste at U.S. military bases could cost at least $10 billion. Removing it from U.S. drinking water supplies could add more than $3.2 billion annually to the bill, according to a report commissioned by the American Water Works Association.
“The CDC estimates that 99% of Americans have PFAS in their blood,” said Melanie Benesh, vice president of government affairs for the Environmental Working Group, a nonprofit that researches the ingredients in household and consumer products. “We estimate that 200 million Americans are exposed to PFAS in their drinking water right now.”
As ubiquitous as PFAS are, the reason they haven’t generated more outrage among the public may be that the damage from PFAS chemicals isn’t immediate. They affect health over time, with repeated exposure.
“People aren’t getting headaches or coughing from exposure to PFAS,” Bennett said. “But they are getting cancer a few years down the line — and they don’t understand why.”
Some environmental health advocates, such as Arthur Bowman III, policy director at the Center for Environmental Health, say the EPA’s data collection project could help. “It will be fairly straightforward for the EPA to gather PFAS information on cleaning products and other wet chemicals that contain PFAS,” Bowman said. “And this will lead to phaseouts of PFAS.”
Some retailers, such as Dick’s Sporting Goods and REI, have recently announced plans to remove the chemicals from many of their products.
But Bowman said it will be more difficult for manufacturers to remove PFAS used in the production of semiconductor chips and printed circuit boards, since alternative products are still in the research phase.
The Semiconductor Industry Association has asked the EPA for an exemption to the proposed reporting requirements because, it maintains, semiconductor manufacturing is so complex that it would be “impossible, even with an unlimited amount of time and resources, to discern the presence (if any) of PFAS in such articles.” Other industries have also asked for waivers.
The American Chemistry Council, which represents large PFAS manufacturers such as 3M, disagrees with those calling for the entire class of PFAS chemicals to be banned. “Individual chemistries have their own unique properties and uses, as well as environmental and health profiles,” said Tom Flanagin, a spokesperson for the trade group.
While the council’s member companies “support strong, science-based regulations of PFAS chemistries that are protective of human health and the environment,” Flanagin said, the rules shouldn’t harm economic growth “or hamper businesses and consumers from accessing the products they need.”
For their part, some environmental advocates welcome the reporting proposal, expecting it to reveal new and surprising uses of PFAS. “However, it’s going to be a snapshot,” said Sonya Lunder, the senior toxics policy adviser for the Sierra Club.
Lunder said even if PFAS were found in, for example, brands of baby bibs, pesticide containers, or pet food bags, it isn’t clear which federal agency would regulate the products. She said Americans should demand that Congress add PFAS and other harmful chemicals to all major environmental statutes for water, air, food, and consumer products.
And another worry: If the data does make it into the mainstream, will consumers simply tune it out — just as many do with California’s multitudinous cancer warning signs? Lunder doesn’t think so, since “the audience is scientists, regulators, and — for better or for worse — tort attorneys.”
Benesh, of the Environmental Working Group, said the disclosures could reach further and “embolden consumers to demand even more market change.”
KFF Health News, formerly known as Kaiser Health News (KHN), is a national newsroom that produces in-depth journalism about health issues and is one of the core operating programs at KFF — the independent source for health policy research, polling, and journalism.
