Governor Hassan, State Officials Respond to EPA Lifetime Public Health Advisory for PFOA and PFOS

Press Release

Continuing efforts to protect public health and ensure clean, safe drinking water for New Hampshire residents, Governor Maggie Hassan, New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services (NHDES) Commissioner Tom Burack and New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services (NHDHHS) Commissioner Jeffrey Meyers responded to today's release by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) of new lifetime drinking water health advisory levels for perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS).

The U.S. EPA has set the health advisories for both PFOA and PFOS at 70 parts per trillion and has recommended that when these two chemicals co-occur in a drinking water source, the sum of the concentrations of PFOA and PFOS be compared to the health advisory of 70 parts per trillion.

While initial indications are that most households that fall in these categories are already receiving bottled water, NHDES is immediately taking steps to provide bottled water to other private drinking water well users whose wells show greater than 70 parts per trillion of PFOA or PFOS individually or in combination.

"The State of New Hampshire will take immediate action to expand distribution of bottled water in affected areas to those whose water supply falls under the new advisory, while working quickly to bring forward emergency rules for a new state standard on contaminated water and engaging in a longer-term process on setting state standards for these contaminants that will ensure full public input," Governor Hassan said. "Granite Staters who have been exposed to contaminated water understandably have many concerns about their own health and the health of their children, and helping them understand the risks posed by emerging contaminants and aggressively addressing those risks is critical to public health and the well-being of our families."

While NHDES and NHDHHS work to expeditiously review the scientific basis for these new health advisories, NHDES will move forward with emergency rule making to set a ground water cleanup and drinking water standard for these contaminants and will then work to establish permanent rules, with full public comment and engagement processes.

"NHDES welcomes the EPA's release of the new lifetime drinking water health advisory levels for PFOA and PFOS," said NHDES Commissioner Burack. "NHDES is working closely with the N.H. Department of Health and Human Services to promptly review the scientific basis for these new health advisory levels, and is already taking steps to provide bottled water to all known private drinking water well users whose wells show greater than 70 parts per trillion of PFOA or PFOS individually or in combination."

"I commend the EPA for providing the new Lifetime Health Advisory Level for PFOA and PFOS in drinking water," said DHHS Commissioner Meyers. "New Hampshire residents are concerned about the safety of their water and the potential health impacts of exposure to these chemicals. The EPA's action will provide greater clarity in how the State can help respond to the health concerns of communities whose water supplies have been contaminated by PFOA and PFOS."

"Ensuring that all of our residents and visitors have access to safe, clean drinking water and can better understand the risks posed by all emerging contaminants requires constant vigilance and ongoing action," Governor Hassan said. "Moving forward, I will continue working with state and local officials to aggressively address contaminated water, and we will continue pushing the EPA to look at other emerging contaminants and to work with the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on updated public health recommendations."
For more information regarding NHDES' investigation into perfluorochemicals in southern New Hampshire and NHDHHS' health recommendations, please visit: http://des.nh.gov/organization/commissioner/pfoa.htm and http://www.dhhs.nh.gov/dphs/pfcs/index.htm.

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