The federal government is listing several carcinogenic industrial compounds as hazardous waste in response to a petition Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham sent to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency urging them to give states more leverage to instruct military bases to clean up contamination .
The EPA will continue listing four of the compounds – known as PFAS – under the Federal Hazardous Waste Act.
The four PFAS chemicals the EPA will include on the list are PFOA and PFOS – both under health advice – as well as PFBS and GenX.
In a statement, Lujan Grisham applauded EPA Administrator Michael Regan for supporting her petition that will enable New Mexico and other states to hold PFAS polluters accountable.
“But the fight is not over yet,” said the governor. “New Mexico will continue to lead the way on PFAS contamination – everyone deserves to live in a pollution-free community.”
PFAS consist of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances. PFAS is called “forever chemicals” because it takes thousands of years for them to decompose and hold in the bloodstream indefinitely. PFAS can cause high cholesterol, reproductive problems, and cancer.
The listing comes after the Biden government announced more aggressive regulation, testing, and cleaning of PFAS used in fire extinguishing foam, carpets, non-stick cookware, and other popular household products.
The PFAS chemicals would be listed under the Federal Resource Conservation and Reclamation Act. The EPA aims to propose a second rule that clarifies the power of states to order the disposal of waste that meets the criteria of this law.
Regan admitted that the agency acted at Lujan Grisham’s insistence.
“We can only make progress for communities suffering from PFAS pollution if we work together at all levels of government and use our collective resources and authority,” Regan said in a statement. “I thank Governor Lujan Grisham for her dedication and leadership in better protecting the people of New Mexico and across the country.”
The governor’s petition had asked the EPA to classify all PFAS chemicals – of which there are thousands – as hazardous waste or to list some individually, the governor’s office said.
PFAS are increasingly appearing in public drinking water, private wells, and food. PFAS are so common that they have been found in the blood of virtually every American who has been tested for them, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The EPA wants to designate PFAS as dangerous substances under the Superfund Act to force polluters to pay for the cleanup or to do it themselves.
The EPA is also trying to set limits for aggressive drinking water for PFAS under the Safe Drinking Water Act and requires PFAS manufacturers to report on the toxicity of their products.
In the meantime, the U.S. Department of Agriculture will step up efforts to combat PFAS that spoil food, while the Food and Drug Administration expands food supply testing to include PFAS.
The Department of Defense announced plans to assess and clean PFAS contaminated sites across the country.
New Mexico has not seen such cleanups at the two air bases and remains in litigation with the military over PFAS discharges into the groundwater in Clovis and Alamogordo.
The state sued the Air Force in 2019, saying the federal government was responsible for clearing clouds of toxic chemicals left behind from previous military firefighting activities.
New Mexico Secretary of the Environment James Kenney has beaten up the military for refusing to clean up the contamination.
In an email, he wrote that the EPA’s listing of the chemicals will force the military to finally deal with the pollution it is causing.
“The EPA’s actions confirm that states can use their hazardous waste laws to legally mandate the purification of these PFAS chemicals,” Kenney wrote. “The Department of Defense is inconsistent with the Biden government’s PFAS roadmap.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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