By Skylar Laird
COLUMBIA — Companies and wastewater treatment plants must disclose whether the waste they discharge into bodies of water contains toxic “forever chemicals” under a new South Carolina rule announced Tuesday, Dec. 12.
“The more data we collect and understand from the possible sources will result in better informed decisions,” by the Department of Health and Environmental Control, agency spokesman Ron Aiken said in a statement.
Any industrial facility or wastewater treatment plant dumping pollutants into state waterways is required to get a permit. To get one, the company must say what’s in the waste. But per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, often called PFAS or forever chemicals, were not included in that disclosure.
After environmental groups pushed back, the agency added the chemicals to the list in September. The change will allow the state to hold companies and utilities accountable for dumping large quantities of forever chemicals into state rivers, Southern Law Center attorney Carl Brzorad said in a news release.
“Industrial polluters should not be allowed to poison rivers behind a veil of secrecy,” Brzorad said. “We’re heartened to see DHEC start to peel back the veil.”
The change comes as the federal Environmental Protection Agency considers regulations that would limit the amount of the chemicals allowed in drinking water. The agency has yet to finalize the rule, which it proposed in March.
Most often found in fast food wrappers and non-stick coatings on pots and pans, forever chemicals can cause cancer and other long-term health problems in people exposed to them over long periods of time. For example, a person drinking two liters of contaminated water every day for 70 years would be at risk of related health issues, state environmental officials have said.
About 20% of people’s exposure to the chemicals comes from drinking water, according to the state environmental agency. The remaining 80% comes from day-to-day products such as cosmetics and cookware.
Wastewater facilities will also be required to disclose whether waste spread on land, often known as sludge, contains forever chemicals. The sludge can harm farmland, and rain can wash the chemicals into nearby water sources.
The amount of forever chemicals in water sources varies across the state. Water sources near military bases tend to have higher concentrations because the bases often use firefighting foam made using the chemicals.
State testing done in 2020 and 2021 found that 47% of the state’s surface water treatment plants, which draw from lakes, streams and rivers, had higher levels of the chemicals than would be allowed under the proposed federal guidelines. Only around 8% of the groundwater treatment plants were over the limit, the state environmental agency found.
Skylar Laird covers the South Carolina Legislature and criminal justice issues. Originally from Missouri, she previously worked for The Post and Courier’s Columbia bureau.
