Local water systems prepare to deal with stricter regulations for ‘forever chemicals’ – By Rich Cholodofsky (Triblive) / Jan 28, 2023
New regulations that place stricter limits on the presence of “forever chemicals” in Pennsylvania’s public drinking water are not expected to heavily impact the local water supply, officials said.
While the revised standards dramatically reduce the levels of two forms of the toxic chemicals that collectively are known as PFAS, local water companies said routine testing has found the amount of the substances in the water is below what the state will allow starting in 2024.
The new standards sets the limit for perflouroctanic acid at 14 parts per trillion and perfluorooctane sulfonic acid at 18 parts per trillion.
Both manmade chemicals are considered toxic at elevated levels. They’re considered byproducts of commonly used in products such as nonstick cookware, carpets, firefighting foam and fast-food wrappers.
