EPA Regulatory Alert: PFOA and PFOS in Biosolids

January 15, 2025

Alert for industry to changes in regulations it must comply with.

EPA Releases Draft Risk Assessment to Advance Scientific Understanding of PFOA and PFOS in Biosolids

 

On January 14, 2025, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released a draft risk assessment, or scientific evaluation of the potential human health risks associated with the presence of toxic per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) chemicals in biosolids, also known as sewage sludge.

According to EPA the findings for the draft risk assessment show that there may be human health risks associated with exposure to the “forever chemicals” PFOA or PFOS with all three methods of using or disposing of sewage sludge – land application of biosolids, surface disposal in landfills, or incineration. Once finalized, the assessment will help EPA and its partners understand the public health impact of forever chemicals in biosolids and inform any potential future actions to help reduce the risk of exposure.

Draft Risk Assessment

The EPA’s draft risk assessment focuses on a specific and narrow population of people that EPA considers most likely to be exposed to PFOA or PFOS from the land application of biosolids or through consumption of products from land where biosolids were used as fertilizer. The draft risk assessment scientifically models hypothetical human health risks for people living on or near sites impacted by PFOA or PFOS or for people relying primarily on those sites’ products (e.g., food crops, animal products or drinking water). The preliminary findings of the draft risk assessment indicate that there can be human health risks exceeding EPA’s acceptable thresholds, sometimes by several orders of magnitude, for some scenarios where the farmer applied biosolids containing 1 part per billion (ppb) of PFOA or PFOS (which is near the current detection limit for these PFAS in biosolids).

These modeled scenarios include farms with one application of biosolids at a rate of 10 dry-metric-tons per hectare and 40 consecutive years of biosolids land application at this same rate. The modeling in this assessment also finds human health risks exceeding the EPA’s acceptable thresholds in some scenarios where biosolids containing 1 ppb of PFOA or PFOS are placed in an unlined or clay-lined surface disposal unit. Once finalized, EPA will use the risk assessment to help inform future risk management actions for PFOA and PFOS in sewage sludge.

For the incineration scenario, risk is not quantified due to significant data gaps. EPA recognizes that certain “hot spots” and specific farming operations may have higher levels of PFOA or PFOS if contaminated sludge was applied, and that further collaboration with impacted operations and other federal agencies will be important to fully understand risks and support impacted farmers. The actual risks from exposure to PFOA or PFOS will vary at farms that land-apply biosolids or at biosolids disposal sites based on the amount of PFOA or PFOS applied, as well as geography, climate, soil conditions, the types of crops grown and their nutrient needs and other factors.

Under EPA’s PFAS Strategic Roadmap, the agency has provided tools to restrict PFAS from entering the environment and to hold polluters accountable, including increasing reviews of new PFAS before they enter commerce and encouraging states to use their Clean Water Act permitting authorities and industrial pretreatment programs to require industrial dischargers of PFAS to remove them before sending their effluent to the environment or to wastewater treatment plants. Moving forward, EPA is working to set technology-based limits on discharges from several industrial categories—including PFAS manufacturers, electro- and chrome-platers and landfills—under the agency’s Effluent Limitations Guidelines program.

Where Do PFOA and PFOS End Up?

Landfills and the solid waste industry face the larger challenge of being held accountable even though they are not PFAS or PFOS generators, because these products used by consumers or manufactured with the substances ultimately end up in landfills or wastewater treatment plants.

  • Municipal wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) may receive PFOA or PFOS from manufacturers and other facilities that use, or historically have used, these PFAS and release contaminated wastewater to WWTPs.
  • Households and businesses are also sources, as PFAS from consumer products (e.g., cookware, clothing or cosmetics that may contain certain PFAS) are washed down drains and make their way to a WWTP.
  • Landfills may have PFAS in wastewater or landfill leachate as a result of consumer products that end up in landfills.

EPA and State Actions on Forever Chemicals

Under EPA’s PFAS Strategic Roadmap, the agency has made progress in establishing some standards to protect communities from PFAS pollution. These actions include finalizing the nation’s first drinking water standards for PFAS, holding polluters accountable to clean up PFAS across the country and declaring PFOA and PFOS hazardous substances under the Superfund law.

Several states have begun monitoring for PFAS in sewage sludge and published reports and data that are publicly available. Some states continue to collect additional sewage sludge PFAS monitoring data.

Where to Find the Sludge Risk Assessment

Draft Sewage Sludge Risk Assessment for Perfluorooctanoic Acid (PFOA) and Perfluorooctane Sulfonic Acid (PFOS), will be available for public comment for 60 days following announcement in the Federal Register. Learn more about the draft risk assessment and how to comment on it. Also read about other recent EPA actions to help address PFAS in Biosolids. EPA will hold a public webinar on Wednesday, January 15, 2025 at 12:00pm ET. Register for the webinar using the webinar registration link.

PFOA and PFOS Removal or Destruction

While this blog is an alert to upcoming regulatory policy or discussion, there are a number of proven methods to remove PFOA and PFOS from effluent liquids, wastewater, landfill leachate, and biosolids. Please use our free resources to learn more.

 

 

Posted by Diane Samuels at 6:00 am