A forever chemical recently declared carcinogenic is allowed in Australia’s tap water at 140 times the maximum level the United States now considers safe after the Biden administration dramatically lowered its safe limits for drinking water.
In a press conference on Wednesday, the White House also paid tribute to young Minnesota woman Amara Strande, who led a deathbed crusade to outlaw forever chemicals before she died from liver cancer at the age of 20.
Amara Strande speaking at Tartan High School’s Relay For Life cancer fundraiser in 2018, a year after she was diagnosed with liver cancer.Credit: David Bowman
Strande began her lobbying efforts in 2018, after she was featured in a world exclusive investigation by The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age, which uncovered 21 cancer cases in students from her high school at Oakdale in America’s Midwest, where the water was heavily polluted with forever chemicals.
The same 3M factory that poisoned Amara’s high school has also contributed to the contamination of 98 per cent of the world’s population with the forever chemicals, also known as PFAS or per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances
Strande died from liver cancer at the age of 20.
Amara’s story and the shocking global spread of the contaminants feature in the upcoming Stan documentary Revealed: How to Poison a Planet.
On Wednesday, Brenda Mallory, the chair of the White House Council on Environmental Quality, said the new drinking water limits were about sparing families from the tragedy the people of Oakdale had endured.
“Today’s action is a critical step in striving to ensure that no child or community, no family, no parent experiences the devastation that Oakdale has seen,” she said.
“I want to highlight the personal story of Amara Strande, who spent her final months calling for action after years of battling tumours and more than 20 surgeries.
“Amara passed away one year ago this month, just before her 21st birthday.”
The changes mean Australia is now willing to expose the public to significantly higher levels of forever chemicals in drinking water when compared to the United States.
Under the US EPA’s new rules, water providers must ensure levels of the forever chemicals PFOS and PFOA in drinking water do not exceed 4 parts per trillion.
It’s a stark comparison to Australia’s drinking water guidelines, which allow 70 parts per trillion of PFOS and 560 parts per trillion of PFOA.
A spokeswoman for the Department of Health said Australia’s drinking water guidelines for forever chemicals were currently being reviewed by the National Health and Medical Research Council.
“This independent review will consider recent guidance and reviews from international and national jurisdictions and determine whether they are suitable to adopt or adapt for Australia,”
PFOA (perfluorooctanoic acid) was used for decades in the manufacture of Teflon frying pans until it was pulled from the market and was recently declared carcinogenic by the World Health Organisation.
PFOS (perfluorooctane sulfonate) was formerly a key ingredient in food packaging and Scotchgard fabric protector. In the early 2000s, it was found in the blood of the Australian public at 20 times the level its manufacturer, 3M, considered safe.
The US EPA estimates the new rules, which restrict six different types of forever chemicals, will cost about $1.5 billion to implement each year.
The agency says they will prevent nearly 10,000 deaths over decades and significantly reduce serious illnesses, including cancer, heart attacks, strokes and birth complications.
“We are one huge step closer to finally shutting off the tap on forever chemicals once and for all,” EPA Administrator Michael Regan said.
Known as forever chemicals because they never break down in the environment and stay for years in the human body, PFAS chemicals have an extraordinary capacity to repel stains, water and grease and are still used in dozens of ordinary household products, including makeup, contact lenses and deodorant.
They have been tied to some types of cancer, immune suppression, high cholesterol and endocrine disruption by the US government and the European Union.
The US EPA’s position has dramatically changed as scientific research has evolved, and the agency now says no amount is safe.
While they don’t have conclusive proof, Amara’s family blame forever chemicals for her death last year and have carried on her legacy by lobbying state and federal officials.
“We couldn’t ask for a better standard,” Amara’s sister Nora said, appearing at the White House press call.
“It’s a very ambitious goal, but anything higher than that is endangering lives.”
The 2018 investigation by this masthead brought to international attention the cancer toll at Tartan High School on the doorstep of 3M’s global headquarters, where Strande has become at least the sixth student to die from cancer before their 21st birthday.
Before the investigation was published, locals had not dared to openly question whether the Fortune 500 company that had delivered the area its prosperity could also be responsible for the spate of childhood cancers.
Amara’s efforts led to the passing of a bill that will see Minnesota become the first place in the world to ban all non-essential uses of forever chemicals, known as “Amara’s Law”.
Australia has banned only three of the 14,000 forever chemicals in circulation.
The documentary explores allegations manufacturers like 3M knew decades ago that forever chemicals were dangerous but concealed the evidence from the general public.
American attorney Robert Bilott, who features in the documentary, told the New York Times on Wednesday that he alerted authorities to the dangers of forever chemicals as early as 2001.
“It has taken far too long to get to this point, but the scientific facts and truth about the health threat posed by these man-made poisons have finally prevailed,” Bilott said.
3M has announced it will exit all forever chemicals manufacturing by the end of next year and has extended its deepest condolences to Amara’s friends and family.
The Stan Original Documentary Revealed: How to Poison a Planet premieres on April 28, only on Stan.
With AP
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