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SALT LAKE CITY — While Utah is following the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's rules for how many of certain types of chemicals are in drinking water, critics say the standard is too lax and states could do more.
So-called "forever chemicals" are everywhere, including in your body, and at least one study says the concentration of these persistent chemicals, also known as per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, have increased in human concentration by 400% to 500% from a decade ago.
Brian Moench, president of the Utah Physicians for a Healthy Environment, said both the federal government and states need to do more when it comes to these chemicals because they are ubiquitous and permeating every aspect of people's live while presenting undue public health risks.
These "forever chemicals," which the organization said are found in 12,000 products — including fast-food wrappers, rain and snow-repellant clothing and certain pesticides and herbicides — elevate the risk of breast cancer and immune and developmental damage to infants and children.
In April, the EPA announced the first-ever regulations on these chemicals in drinking water to four parts per trillion. Along with the new rule, the Biden-Harris administration announced that nearly $1 billion would be made available for testing and treatment at public water treatment systems.
At a press conference Tuesday at the Capitol in Salt Lake City, Moench said that action is not enough and the federal government, as well as states, need to step up their game to address these forever chemicals in other products, such as pesticides.
"As biologic poisons, pesticides have always been controversial, causing harm far beyond their intended targets. Every year has seen a growing body of research demonstrating their hazard to human health. But recent evidence has verified that many pesticides are also forever chemicals, that moves their hazard into an entirely new and dangerous category," Moench said. "Because of the unique persistence of these chemicals, every month we delay taking action, more harm, much of it irreversible, is being done to Utah residents."
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said in January it was recommending that doctors test the blood of their patients to determine exposure levels.
"Over 90% of people in this country have bee exposed to PFAS and in many, many communities around the country … there have been very high exposures. And we've learned more and more in recent years about how exposures to PFAS may increase risk for many diseases," Aaron Bernstein, director of CDC's National Center for Environmental Health and the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry, told ABC News.
Because of this extreme health hazard, the doctors' group is sending a letter signed by over 100 physicians and other health care professionals to all state and local government agencies, calling on the state of Utah to follow the examples of Maine and Minnesota, and require testing of all herbicides and insecticides used or sold in the state for per- and polyfluoroalkyl compounds and to prohibit the distribution or use of any pesticides that are either contaminated with these chemicals or contain any compounds in their formula that fall under the "forever chemical" category.
The group said even the applicators of the pesticides cannot tell if they are using these chemicals because the labeling is so vague.
With that in mind, Moench said it is up to Utah to step in. He added there are about a dozen pesticide manufacturers that use these compounds in pesticides.
The issue of per- and polyfluoroalkyl chemical contamination came on the public scene in 2019 with the release of "Dark Waters," a movie that portrayed the controversy of actions by giant chemical manufacturer DuPont and the attorneys who tried to reveal the truth.
