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California adopts health-protective goals for forever chemicals in drinking water

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                   

Contact: Amy Gilson
(916) 764-0955
Amy.Gilson@oehha.ca.gov

Public health goals reflect the best current science and will help guide drinking water standards

Today, the California Environmental Protection Agency’s Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA) adopted public health goals (PHGs) for perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and perfluorooctane sulfonic acid (PFOS) in drinking water, providing important guidance to the State Water Resources Control Board to inform future drinking water standards.

A PHG is the level of a drinking water contaminant that does not pose a significant risk to health with lifetime exposure from all uses of tap water. The final public health goal for PFOA is 0.007 parts per trillion (ppt), and 1 ppt for PFOS, reflecting the best current science on their cancer-causing potency.

“We know PFOA and PFOS can be harmful at low levels, and California is leading by adopting these scientifically rigorous and health protective goals to inform how water suppliers treat these chemicals in drinking water,” said OEHHA Director Lauren Zeise.

PFOA and PFOS are the most studied members of a large class of chemicals called per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS). The chemical structures of PFOA and PFOS make them stain- and water-repellent, which led to widespread use in commercial and consumer products. However, they are also associated with health effects such as cancer and can harm the liver and affect the functioning of our immune system over time. Although the use of PFOA and PFOS has significantly declined, they persist in the environment and are present in drinking water sources in the state.

The adoption of the PHGs for PFOA and PFOS culminates five years of a scientific and extensive public process, including external scientific peer review. The State Water Board will use the values to develop drinking water standards for PFOS and PFOA that are as close to the PHG as possible but still technically and economically achievable for drinking water systems.

“OEHHA’s adoption of these public health goals for PFOA and PFOS is an important step toward addressing the long-term effects of forever chemicals,” said Darrin Polhemus, Deputy Director for the State Water Board’s Division of Drinking Water. “The PHG values will enable us to develop standards that water systems will have to achieve to help minimize these chemicals in our drinking water.”

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