Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) Pose a Serious Health Threat to Humans
Dr. Keith Cooper has been serving as the Chairperson for the NJ Drinking Water Quality Institute (NJDWQI) and a member of the Health Effects subcommittee while developing drinking water Maximum Concentration Levels (MCLs) for PFNA, PFOS and PFOA. For more information, please visit the NJDWQI website.
These compounds have been in commercial use since the 1950s and have made their way into drinking water supplies and wildlife around the country and in New Jersey. The fluorine-carbon bonds make these compounds highly resistant to breakdown and in the NHANES studies a number of these compounds have been found in blood. Both epidemiology studies and traditional toxicology studies have revealed many adverse health effects associated with several of the PFAS compounds. These effects range from developmental effects, altered cholesterol homeostasis, decreased vaccine efficacy and cancer.
State actions have resulted in promulgation of MCLs for drinking water and fish advisories. Treatment options, activated carbon, RO and others due exist to remove multiple PFASs to levels at or below the proposed MCLs. Recent actions proposed by the USEPA to further study these compounds and delay a federal MCL promulgation has resulted in the states having to initiate and adopt their own MCLs.
Watch the news report at NJTV Online.