Guideline levels for PFOA and PFOS in drinking water: the role of scientific uncertainty, risk assessment decisions, and social factors
Guideline levels for PFOA and PFOS in drinking water: the role of scientific uncertainty, risk assessment decisions, and social factors
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DOI：
10.1038/s41370-018-0099-9
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发表时间：
2019-03-01
影响因子：
4.5
通讯作者：
Brown, Phil
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Cordner, Alissa;De la Rosa, Vanessa Y.;Brown, Phil
美国各地的社区正在发现被全氟烷基和多氟烷基物质（PFAS）污染的饮用水，并决定采取适当的行动。目前没有联邦PFAS饮用水标准，尽管广泛的饮用水污染，无处不在的人口水平的暴露，以及毒理学和流行病学证据的不利健康影响。在没有联邦PFAS标准的情况下，美国多个州已经制定了自己的基于健康的水指南水平，以指导有关污染场地清理和饮用水监测和处理的决策。我们检查了美国环境保护署（EPA）和州机构制定的全氟辛酸（PFOA）和全氟辛烷磺酸（PFOS）水指南水平，以保护饮用水的人们，并总结了这些水平的差异以及原因。我们参考了州际技术和监管理事会（ITRC）于2018年6月发布的文件和表格，以确定饮用水和地下水中PFOA和/或PFOS指导水平与EPA健康标准（HA）不同的州。我们还从州网站上收集了评估文件，并联系了州环境和卫生机构，以确定和确认当前的指导方针。七个州已经制定了自己的全氟辛酸和/或全氟辛烷磺酸水指南水平，范围从13到1000纳克/升，而美国环保局的HA为70纳克/升，这两种化合物单独或组合。我们发现，通过暴露和危害评估决策制定PFAS指南水平受到多种科学，技术和社会因素的影响，包括管理科学不确定性，技术决策和能力，以及相关利益相关者的社会，政治和经济影响。多个州和学术科学家的评估表明，EPA的HA没有足够的保护作用。各州制定自己的指导水平和标准的能力为其他州和联邦监管机构提供了不同的风险评估方法，而一个充分保护、科学合理和可执行的联邦标准将提供更一致的保护。
Communities across the U.S. are discovering drinking water contaminated by perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) and determining appropriate actions. There are currently no federal PFAS drinking water standards despite widespread drinking water contamination, ubiquitous population-level exposure, and toxicological and epidemiological evidence of adverse health effects. Absent federal PFAS standards, multiple U.S. states have developed their own healthbased water guideline levels to guide decisions about contaminated site cleanup and drinking water surveillance and treatment. We examined perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) water guideline levels developed by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and state agencies to protect people drinking the water, and summarized how and why these levels differ. We referenced documents and tables released in June 2018 by the Interstate Technology and Regulatory Council (ITRC) to identify states that have drinking water and groundwater guideline levels for PFOA and/or PFOS that differ from EPA's health advisories (HAs). We also gathered assessment documents from state websites and contacted state environmental and health agencies to identify and confirm current guidelines. Seven states have developed their own water guideline levels for PFOA and/or PFOS ranging from 13 to 1000 ng/L, compared to EPA's HA of 70 ng/L for both compounds individually or combined. We find that the development of PFAS guideline levels via exposure and hazard assessment decisions is influenced by multiple scientific, technical, and social factors, including managing scientific uncertainty, technical decisions and capacity, and social, political, and economic influences from involved stakeholders. Assessments by multiple states and academic scientists suggest that EPA's HA is not sufficiently protective. The ability of states to develop their own guideline levels and standards provides diverse risk assessment approaches as models for other state and federal regulators, while a sufficiently protective, scientifically sound, and enforceable federal standard would provide more consistent protection.