Those Fracking "Forever Chemicals"

[patric]

The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has identified more than 120,000 locations around the US where people may be exposed to a class of toxic "forever chemicals" associated with various cancers and other health problems that is a frightening tally four times larger than previously reported, according to data obtained by the Guardian.

The list of facilities makes it clear that virtually no part of America appears free from the potential risk of air and water contamination with the chemicals known as per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS).



Colorado tops the EPA list with an estimated 21,400 facilities, followed by California's 13,000 sites and Oklahoma with just under 12,000. The facilities on the list represent dozens of industrial sectors, including oil and gas work, mining, chemical manufacturing, plastics, waste management and landfill operations. Airports, fire training facilities and some military-related sites are also included.

The EPA describes its list as "facilities in industries that may be handling PFAS". Most of the facilities are described as "active", several thousand are listed as "inactive" and many others show no indication of such status. PFAS are often referred to as "forever chemicals" due to their longevity in the environment, thus even sites that are no longer actively discharging pollutants can still be a problem, according to the EPA.

The tally far exceeds a previous analysis that showed 29,900 industrial sites known or suspected of making or using the toxic chemicals.

People living near such facilities "are certain to be exposed, some at very high levels" to PFAS chemicals, said David Brown, a public health toxicologist and former director of environmental epidemiology at the Connecticut department of health.

Brown said he suspects there are far more sites than even those on the EPA list, posing long-term health risks for unsuspecting people who live near them.

"Once it's in the environment it almost never breaks down," Brown said of PFAS. "This is such a potent compound in terms of its toxicity and it tends to bioaccumulate ... This is one of the compounds that persists forever."

A Guardian analysis of the EPA data set shows that in Colorado, one county alone – Weld county – houses more than 8,000 potential PFAS
handling sites, with 7,900 described as oil and gas operations. Oil and gas operations lead the list of industry sectors the EPA says may be handling PFAS chemicals, according to the Guardian analysis.

In July, a report by Physicians for Social Responsibility presented evidence that oil and gas companies have been using PFAS, or substances that can degrade into PFAS, in hydraulic fracturing ("fracking"), a technique used to extract natural gas or oil.

The EPA said in 2019 that it was compiling data to create a map of "known or potential PFAS contamination sources" to help "assess environmental trends in PFAS concentrations" and aid local authorities in oversight. But no such map has yet been issued publicly.

The new data set shows a total count of 122,181 separate facilities after adjustments for duplications and errors in listed locations, and incorporation and analysis of additional EPA identifying information. The EPA facility list was provided to the Guardian by the non-profit Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (Peer), which received it from the EPA through a Freedom of Information request. (Peer is currently representing four EPA scientists who have requested a federal inquiry into what they allege is an EPA practice of ignoring or covering up the risks of certain dangerous chemicals.)

"This shows how PFAS is permeating all industrial sectors," said Peer's executive director, Tim Whitehouse.

PFAS chemicals are a group of more than 5,000 man-made compounds used by a variety of industries since the 1940s for such things as
electronics manufacturing, oil recovery, paints, fire-fighting foams, cleaning products and non-stick cookware. People can be exposed through contaminated drinking water, food and air, as well as contact with commercial products made with PFAS.

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/oct/17/us-epa-pfas-forever-chemicals-sites-data

[patric]

(VISUAL) Illegal dumping is a big problem in Oklahoma. To see how close to home this hits, drive into the Fulton neighborhood on 41st Street and East 40th Place (near the BA westbound on-ramp) to see what may be evidence of illegal chemical disposal literally right down the middle of the street.  Ive seen these "trails" out in the sticks for years but this is the first time Ive noticed it in the city proper.

FWIW I dont believe the petroleum industry is the de-facto bad guy, but I believe there are some bad actors that drag everyone else down to their level. Letting toxic waste "leak out" all over a residential neighborhood in the middle of Tulsa would be a powerful example of that.