Friday, January 16, 2009

EPA Issues Provisional Health Advisory on PFOA/PFOS in Drinking Water

The feds have issued a health advisory for C8 in drinking water.

This week, the Environmental Protection Agency issued a provisional health advisory of 0.4 parts per billion for C8, slightly stricter than the temporary benchmark of 0.5 parts per billion which had been established for drinking water in the Mid Ohio Valley.

Though epidemiological studies are inconclusive as to health effects for humans, the agency formula takes into account the uncertainty over the safety of the manufacturing chemical for humans.

The health advisory issued this week includes the substances PFOA and PFOS, which are both known for their durability and water and grease resistant properties. The provisional health advisory for PFOS, also familiar as the Scotchgard chemical, was set at 0.2 parts per billion.

1 comment:

Reinhold Mainz said...

The provisional health advisory (risk assessment of a scientific committee) in Germany for the sum of all PFCs (PFOS + PFOA + ...) at the moment is 0.1 parts per billion, which seems not to be strict enough.
Scientists do not know the long term effects of a cocktails of different PFCs and other chemicals.
Reinhold A. Mainz, Balve, Germany