The Illinois Environmental Protection Agency (Illinois EPA) recently tested the City of Aurora drinking water supply for compounds known as Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) as part of a statewide study of community water supplies.  

Why is this important?

PFAS are a group of approximately 5,000 human-made substances that have been manufactured in the United States since the 1940s for their unique oil and water-resistant properties and have been utilized for a variety of applications ranging from water and stain-proofing to firefighting.  This has resulted in PFAS being released into the air, water, and soil.  Most people are exposed to PFAS compounds from water, food, and consumer products.

PFAS can be found in:

•    Food packaged in PFAS-containing materials (fast food containers, lunch meat paper, disposable plates and bowls), processed with equipment that uses PFAS, or grown in PFAS-contaminated soil or water.

•    Commercial household products, including stain- and water-repellent fabrics, nonstick coated cookware and products (e.g., Teflon), polishes, waxes, paints, and cleaning products.

•    Fire-fighting foams which are a major source of groundwater contamination at airports and military bases where firefighting training occurs.

•    Workplace, including production facilities or industries (e.g., chrome plating, electronics manufacturing, oil recovery) that use PFAS.

•    Clothing and textile fabrics which have stain- and water-resistant properties.

•    Cosmetics and personal care products such as shampoos, conditioners, sunscreens, cosmetics, and dental floss.

•    Living organisms, including fish, animals and humans, where PFAS have the ability to build up and persist over time.

Some PFAS have been phased out of production due to environmental and human health concerns, yet they persist in the environment and may contaminate surface and ground waters.  Production for two of the most common compounds within this class, perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS) was discontinued in the United States in the early 2000s.  PFAS are made up of chains of carbon and fluorine linked together.  The carbon-fluorine bond is one of the shortest and strongest bonds in nature and does not easily break down under natural conditions.  For this reason, PFAS are often referred to as “forever chemicals” due to their chemical bonding and persistence in the environment.

Neither the state Illinois EPA nor the federal United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) have yet developed enforceable drinking water standards for PFAS.  In the interim, the Illinois EPA has recently developed health-based Draft Guidance Levels for the small number of PFAS for which there is appropriate information to do so (shown in table below).  There is not enough information currently available for scientists to develop health-based Draft Guidance Levels for all PFAS.  Draft Guidance Levels for drinking water are intended to be protective of all people consuming the water over a lifetime of exposure.  It is important to understand that Draft Guidance Levels are not regulatory limits for drinking water.  Rather, the Draft Guidance Levels are benchmarks against which sampling results are compared to determine if additional investigation or other response action is necessary.  More information on the Illinois EPA’s health advisory can be found at the following:  https://www2.illinois.gov/epa/topics/water-quality/pfas/Pages/pfas-healthadvisory.aspx.

Illinois EPA Health Advisory Levels for PFAS