At Veolia, we take great pride in our ability to provide you with drinking water that meets — and often surpasses — all the health and safety standards set by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and the Delaware Division of Public Health and Social Services, Office of Drinking Water (ODW).
What has happened?
For years, states and water providers have followed the EPA health advisory level (HAL) of 70 parts per trillion (ppt) for PFOA and PFOS in drinking water issued in 2016. Multiple laboratory tests have confirmed that Veolia had been well below the federal level for these substances in its New Castle County, DE water system averaging approximately 20 ppt, annually. In 2022, EPA updated these health advisories to interim levels of 0.004 ppt for PFOA and 0.02 ppt for PFOS.
According to the EPA, “drinking water health advisories provide information on contaminants that can cause human health effects and are known or anticipated to occur in drinking water”. They also provide “technical information to states agencies and other public health officials on health effects, analytical methods, and treatment technologies associated with drinking water contamination. EPA’s lifetime health advisories identify levels to protect all people, including sensitive populations and life stages, from adverse health effects resulting from exposure throughout their lives to these PFAS in drinking water. The health advisory levels were calculated to offer a margin of protection against adverse health effects.” For further information, visit the EPA fact sheet here.
In March 2023, the EPA proposed new enforceable standards of 4 ppt for PFOA and PFOS. EPA intends to finalize this new standard by the early 2024. It is anticipated that public drinking water systems, like Veolia’s Delaware Operations will have three years to comply once the new standard is finalized.
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