CSC EHS Newsletter: April 2023 - Resources to Support the EPA’s Proposed First-Ever PFAS National Drinking Water Standard + More

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Environmental Newsletter

April 2023

Every day, Clark Seif Clark professionals are deployed across the nation helping both large and small customers resolve health & safety, industrial hygiene, environmental and indoor air quality issues.

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Resources to Support the EPA’s Proposed First-Ever PFAS National Drinking Water Standard

Last month, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) proposed the nation’s first-ever national drinking water standard for six per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances. EPA reports that through this action, it is taking a major step towards protecting public health from PFAS pollution, complementing state efforts to limit PFAS by proposing to establish legally enforceable levels for six PFAS known to occur in drinking water.

PFAS are described by the agency as a group of man-made chemicals that include PFOA, PFOS, GenX and many other chemicals. PFAS have been manufactured and used in a variety of industries around the globe, including in the United States since the 1940s. PFOA and PFOS have been the most extensively produced and studied of these chemicals. Both chemicals are persistent in the environment and in the human body – meaning they don’t break down and can accumulate over time. EPA also states that there is evidence that exposure to PFAS can lead to adverse human health effects.

“PFAS can be found in so many commonly-used household products including stain- and water-resistant fabrics, nonstick products like Teflon, polishes, cleaning products and fire-fighting foams,” said Jeff Bannon, PG, Vice President of Environmental Services at Clark Seif Clark (CSC). “They are also commonly associated with certain industries and facilities such as chrome plating, electronics manufacturing, oil recovery, landfills, wastewater treatment and firefighter training facilities.”

According to the EPA announcement, the proposal, if finalized, would regulate PFOA and PFOS as individual contaminants, and will regulate four other PFAS – PFNA, PFHxS, PFBS and GenX Chemicals – as a mixture.

PFOA and PFOS: EPA is proposing to regulate PFOA and PFOS at a level they can be reliably measured at 4 parts per trillion.
PFNA, PFHxS, PFBS and GenX Chemicals: EPA is proposing a regulation to limit any mixture containing one or more of PFNA, PFHxS, PFBS and/or GenX Chemicals. For these PFAS, water systems would use an established approach called a hazard index calculation, defined in the proposed rule, to determine if the combined levels of these PFAS pose a potential risk.

“To help protect against exposure to PFAS, the environmental and industrial hygiene professionals at CSC offer testing, consulting and monitoring services for these and many other potential contaminants,” Mr. Bannon added. “Our experts are available to help companies, water utilities and regulatory agencies identify PFAS contamination to protect the public and assist with health and safety compliance efforts.”

Several years ago, CSC sponsored an educational video about PFAS and potential exposure risks that can still be seen below:

PFAS: Pre- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances and Exposure Risks

To learn more about this or other indoor air quality, industrial hygiene, environmental, health and safety services, please:

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Protecting Building Occupants and Workers from Exposure to Mold and Other Common Asthma Triggers

Throughout the United States, asthma caused 5.8 million physician office visits and 1.6 million emergency department visits as recently as 2021. Tragically, there were also 4,145 deaths due to asthma the year before. These figures point to the toll asthma has on individuals and families, as well as lost time in classrooms, decreased productivity in the workplace and the tremendous medical costs associated with the disease.

In addition to receiving proper medical care, one of the best ways for asthmatics to manage the disease is to avoid asthma triggers, when possible. Asthma triggers are things that can cause asthma symptoms, cause an episode or attack, or make asthma worse.

One of the more common environmental asthma triggers is mold. While mold is a natural part of the environment, exposure to elevated levels of it in homes, schools, work environments and other places where people spend time can trigger asthma for some asthmatics, and cause various respiratory issues for others.

The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) states that studies indicate exposure to mold in the workplace can make pre-existing asthma worse. The agency also shares that inhaling or touching mold or mold spores can cause a person to become allergic to mold, and people who do not have allergies can also become irritated.

“Mold can grow or amplify in indoor environments if moisture conditions are uncontrolled. Moisture issues can include wet building materials, damp contents or even elevated humidity,” said Derrick A. Denis, Vice President of Indoor Environmental Quality for Clark Seif Clark (CSC). “Visible mold growth is generally defined as mold amplified to a size visible to the unaided eye. Visible mold growth may exist in readily accessible locations, but can also occur in obstructed inaccessible locations like inside wall cavities, behind furniture or under cabinets. This is why a thorough mold investigation often involves an experienced indoor environmental quality professional with a discerning eye, state-of-the-art tools, various sampling methods and qualified laboratory analysis. At CSC, our industrial hygiene and IEQ professionals offer testing, monitoring and consulting services to identify and mitigate exposure risks to mold and a wide range of other biological and chemical asthma triggers, respiratory irritants and allergens.”

CSC recently sponsored an educational video about mold as an asthma trigger that can be seen below:

To learn more about this or other industrial hygiene, indoor air quality, building science, environmental, health and safety services, please visit www.csceng.com, email csc@csceng.com or call (800) 807-1118.

About Clark Seif Clark: CSC was established in 1989 to help clients in both the public and private sectors address environmental issues. CSC is a leading provider of these services with multiple offices along the western seaboard and southwest. The company believes in science-based protocols and has a strong background in engineering making them the preferred environmental consultants to healthcare facilities, architects, schools, builders, contractors, developers and real estate professionals.