On June 15, 2022, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released four drinking water health advisories for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in the latest action under President Biden’s and the EPA’s PFAS Strategic Roadmap.
The EPA had previously established the health advisory levels at 70 parts per trillion for combined concentrations of PFOA and PFOS.
The new HALs are as follows:
| Substance | Health Advisory Level (parts per trillion or ppt) |
| PFOA | 0.004 (interim) |
| PFOS | 0.02 (interim) |
| PFBS | 2,000 (final) |
| GenX chemicals | 10 (final) |
These health advisory levels are orders of magnitude lower than before, and are likely to trigger lower state-specific standards across the U.S. These interim health advisories will remain in place until EPA establishes a National Primary Drinking Water Regulation, with a goal of issuing the final standards by the end of 2022. These interim standards for PFOA and PFOS are currently well below laboratory detection limits, which creates a whole new challenge. Brickhouse Environmental’s scientists have continued to hone their expertise in PFAS sampling & analysis, as well as source identification and migration studies in soil, wastewater, and groundwater. If you have questions on PFAS or related topics, contact David Farrington, P.G. at dfarrington@brickhouse-environmental.com.
