NEWPORT NEWS, Va. — Federal regulations that will restrict the amount of forever chemicals in drinking water recently passed.
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will now begin regulating six forever chemicals; two of which have to be regulated at the lowest levels detected in a laboratory - 4 parts per trillion.
“These are chemicals that have been around for decades, they are used in cookware, they are used in cosmetics, they’re used especially in fire fighting foam," said Newport News Waterworks Director Yann Le Gouellec.
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Le Gouellec told News 3 his department is in the process of redesigning its systems to catch forever chemicals. Ron Harris is leading the team who will implement new technology, and build the structures necessary to get into compliance.
Harris says they will be trying a variety of methods.
“Some of those will involve where we pump our water from, how we mix it and how we deliver it to the treatment plants, the other changes will occur here in the treatment process, we will be adding additional treatment that we will start testing this summer,” said Harris.
Sherry Williams handles regulation compliance for Waterworks. She said she typically is in the lab doing quality control on testing for bacteria, trace metals and other organic materials. Soon she will add testing for forever chemicals to her list.
Watch previous forever chemical coverage: Concerns growing over PFAS chemicals dumped in Cape Fear River
“There’s cancers, there can be impacts on pregnancies,” said Williams, referencing the harmful effects of forever chemicals.
The EPA says it would take drinking two liters of water with forever chemicals a day for 70 years to have the health issues mentioned above.
All water treatment facilities in the United States have to abide by the new water quality standards by 2029.
Newport News Waterworks recently released their annual water quality report; click here to read it.
