Bill introduced to limit discharges of toxic fire-foam chemicals into rivers, lakes, bays

Federal lawmakers have introduced more than two dozen bills this year to temper health risks from toxic chemicals once used in firefighting foams and of ongoing concern to some living near Patrick Air Force Base. 

One bill would provide blood testing for military firefighters exposed to the fluorinated foams once used to douse fires. Others would increase monitoring of the chemicals or help utilities remove them from drinking water supplies.

In the latest legislative installment, this week two democrats from New Hampshire, Rep. Chris Pappas and Rep. Annie Kuster, introduced a bill to regulate discharges of the toxic chemicals known as per- and poly fluorinated alkyl substances (PFAS) into rivers, lakes and bays.

The chemicals are currently unregulated in drinking water. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has guidelines. But clean-water advocates and a U.S. Department of Health and Human Services report released last year say that those current recommended levels for the compounds should be much lower.

Under the Pappas and Kuster bill, the EPA would develop limits on industrial discharges of the chemicals and require polluters to get permits before releasing them into drinking waters supplies. The bill also would force manufacturers to treat their PFAS pollution before sending it to water treatment plants.

The proposed legislation is among at least two dozen bills related to PFAS that have been introduced this year. The proposals come in the wake of cancer and other health concerns from drinking water at Camp Lejeune and other military bases nationwide, including residents at and near Patrick Air Force Base. 

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Workers and residents downstream of industrial plants that make the chemicals have been concerned about the health risks from the compounds for years. 

As part of a legal settlement, from 2005 to 2013 a scientific panel that studied health risks linked to Dupont's Washington Works Teflon® manufacturing plant in West Virginia found the chemicals are linked with increased kidney and testicular cancer risk, thyroid disease and higher cholesterol levels.

Science linking the compounds to other illnesses is emerging but less certain.

Tests last year found the chemicals in wells countywide and in the Indian River Lagoon. Some of the highest levels were in sewage pumped from Patrick Air Force Base to the city of Cocoa Beach's sewer treatment plant. The base used the chemicals for petroleum fire suppression until just a few years ago.

Health officials say drinking water at and near Patrick Air Force Base is safe, because for most beachside residents it comes from either the Cocoa or Melbourne city utilities, which tap mainland sources of water.

But tests last year still found the chemicals in Brevard beachside wells and in very trace levels of one fluorinated compound in tap water several beachside schools. That further complicated the mystery of what's behind a rash of local cancers near Patrick. The chemicals' widespread presence in the groundwater raised questions about what the level of concern ought to be throughout Brevard and what, if any, level of the compounds are safe in drinking water.

After residents raised concerns, Brevard Public Schools tested taps at 13 beachside schools last year. All but one of the chemicals were under detection limits. The district ran additional tap water tests after all nine of the beachside schools on Melbourne's drinking water system tested at trace levels of one fluorinated compound called perfluorobutanoic acid, or PFBA. None of the other four beachside schools on Cocoa's water system had the chemical in their tap water.

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Animal studies show exposure to high levels of PFBA causes increased thyroid and liver weight, changes in thyroid hormones, decreased cholesterol, and cellular changes in both organs, according to the Minnesota Department of Health.

Minnesota has heightened focus on PFBA because of past discharge of the chemical from industrial plants. While human studies are few, other suspected effects of PFBA include delayed development and decreased red blood cells and hemoglobin. 

When a local nonprofit group surveyed school districts statewide, none tested for the chemical, and many didn't test for lead or other heavy metals.

"No schools across the state of Florida tested for PFBA, which is very concerning," said Stel Bailey, executive director of the nonprofit Fight for Zero, which pushes for cleaner drinking water. "I'm hoping that this encourages each county to really take a look into the water quality in their schools."

Fight for Zero posted the results of their public records survey on Google Drive.

They surveyed colleges too. Out of six with fire training facilities on campus, only one, Chipola College, tested for the PFAS, in January, finding no detection of the chemical.

PFBA is a breakdown product of other fluorinated compounds used in carpets, stain-resistant fabric, paper food packaging, and manufacturing of photographic film. 

EPA does not have a maximum contaminant level for PFBA in drinking water.

Jim Waymer is environment reporter at FLORIDA TODAY.

Contact Waymer at 321-242-3663

or jwaymer@floridatoday.com.

Twitter: @JWayEnviro

Facebook: /jim.waymer

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