PFAS Forever Chemicals Used on Farms Could Significantly Raise Health Risks, EPA Draft Guidelines Warn [Video]

Toxic chemicals from sewage sludge used as fertilizer pose health risks to those who regularly consume products from farms that use it, in some instances raising cancer risk by “several orders of magnitude” over what is considered acceptable by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), federal officials said on Tuesday.

EPA’s draft risk assessment, Draft Sewage Sludge Risk Assessment for Perfluorooctanoic Acid (PFOA) and Perfluorooctane Sulfonic Acid (PFOS), is a scientific evaluation of potential health risks to humans associated with toxic per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) “forever chemicals” in biosolids, or “sewage sludge,” a press release from EPA said.

“EPA under President Biden’s leadership has taken unprecedented actions to advance research and science on PFAS and to protect people from these dangerous forever chemicals,” said Jane Nishida, EPA’s acting administrator, in the press release. “This draft assessment provides important information to help inform future actions by federal and state agencies as well as steps …