EPA moves to limit "forever chemicals" in drinking water

• Jacob Knutson

A scientist from the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency collecting samples of treated Lake Michigan water for PFAS testing in Wilmette in July 2021. Photo: Erin Hooley/Chicago Tribune/Tribune News Service via Getty Images

The Environmental Protection Agency proposed drinking water regulations on Tuesday for certain types of "forever chemicals," a pervasive group of industrial chemicals that have affected drinking water quality across the U.S.

Why it matters: If the proposals become official, it'd be the first time the federal government would require utilities to remove the dangerous chemicals from drinking water before they reach households and businesses.

How it works: The proposed standards apply to six compounds of a family of over 12,000 types of chemicals collectively called per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS).

• The proposal would limit perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS) and perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), the two most widely used PFAS, at 4 parts per trillion (ppt) in drinking water. One ppt is the equivalent of one drop of contaminant in 21 million gallons of water, according to the U.S. Navy.

The EPA also proposed regulations on four other PFAS chemicals — PFNA, PFHxS, PFBS, and GenX.

• There are currently no active national drinking water standards for PFAS or specific federal mandates for testing in drinking water.

Between the lines: The proposed limits through the Safe Drinking Water Act come months after the EPA unveiled another proposal to designate two of the forever chemicals as hazardous substances under the 1980 Superfund law and issued a drinking water health advisory.

Zoom in: PFAS, also called forever chemicals for their durability, resist degradation by repelling oil and water and withstanding high temperatures.

• They are used in several nonstick, water- and oil-repellent and fire-resistant industrial and consumer products, but have extensively bioaccumulated in people, livestock, wildlife and fish after entering the environment.
• Certain levels of the chemicals have been linked to adverse health effects in both animals and humans, per the EPA and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Yes, but: Reducing levels of PFAS in drinking water or switching to other distributors will likely require municipalities to invest millions of dollars into new infrastructure and incur ongoing maintenance costs, studies show.

• For example, Brunswick County, North Carolina, allocated $46 million and a recurring annual operating cost of $2.9 million to upgrade and run a treatment plant designed to filter PFAS from drinking water sourced from the Cape Fear River, which was polluted by decades of PFAS discharges by Chemours and DuPont.
• Most uses of PFOS and PFOA were voluntarily phased out by U.S. producers, but they are the most well-studied and are the most widespread in the environment, according to the EPA and the National Institutes of Health.

• The six compounds targeted by the proposed regulations are just a few in class made up of thousands of chemicals. Manufacturers may have turned to newer but understudied PFAS that could pose similar health risks.

What they're saying: "This action has the potential to prevent tens of thousands of PFAS-related illnesses and marks a major step toward safeguarding all our communities from these dangerous contaminants," EPA administrator Michael Regan said in a statement.

The big picture: Since the health effects and prevalence of PFAS pollution have become more widely understood, several companies have announced intentions to phase out certain PFAS products, including major fast food companies.

• 3M, one of the original companies that developed and manufactured PFAS, announced last year it would stop producing and using the chemicals by the end of 2025 in part because of proposed regulations on them.

Go deeper: Chemists discover new method to destroy "forever chemicals"

Biggest test of Iran-Saudi deal will be in Yemen

• Dave Lawler, author of Axios World

The aftermath of a car bombing in Aden in 2021. Photo: Wael Shaif Thabet/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images.

The testing ground for the Iran-Saudi normalization deal, announced on Friday and brokered by China, will be in Yemen.

Why it matters: The truce that halted fighting in Yemen expired in October, though diplomacy has continued and full-scale warfare hasn't resumed. The Saudis seem desperate to pull out after eight years fighting the Houthi rebels, who ousted a Saudi-allied government from the capital in 2015.

• Iran has allegedly armed and aided the Houthis, who have in turn carried out dozens of missile and drone strikes across the border into Saudi Arabia.
• While few details have been released publicly, analysts believe Saudi Arabia wouldn't have signed an agreement to restore relations with Iran without a promise that Tehran would stop arming the Houthis (which they've long denied doing) and perhaps pressure them to stop the cross-border attacks.
• With Saudi-Houthi negotiations well underway, Friday's news sparked cautious hopes for a more durable peace in Yemen.

Yes, but: The Saudi-Houthi talks exclude many of the key players in Yemen. The UN hopes they'll set the stage for intra-Yemeni talks — an uncomfortable echo of the failed peace process in Afghanistan. It remains to be seen whether the detente between Saudi Arabia and Iran will change the course of the conflict.

• "Iran might be able to encourage the Houthis to escalate," says Veena Ali-Khan, a Yemen researcher at the International Crisis Group. "Whether or not they have the ability to encourage the Houthis to de-escalate is a whole different story."
• A deal to extend the truce collapsed in October when the Houthis demanded the Saudis pay the salaries not just of government workers but also of soldiers in the areas they control — effectively insisting Riyadh fund the opposing army.
• The Houthis are sticking with their maximalist demands and are likely willing to resume fighting to consolidate control. Some within the movement have already noted that they don't take their orders from Tehran.

• With their Saudi allies searching for the exits, meanwhile, Yemen's internationally recognized government is divided about the path forward.

State of play: While the pause in fighting has brought some relief for civilians, Yemen's economy remains shattered, travel within the country is difficult and dangerous, and the humanitarian crisis is far from over.

• "There's a huge psychological impact in people not knowing whether there's going to be a return to conflict or a peace agreement which they have really no say in. I think this limbo period is, psychologically, very torturous for people," says Ali-Khan, who just returned from visiting three cities in Yemen.