U.S. limits ‘forever chemicals’ in drinking water. What about Canada?

Canada should swiftly adopt enforceable limits on 'forever chemicals' found in drinking water, experts say, as the United States imposed strict new regulations.

Canada should swiftly adopt enforceable limits on “forever chemicals” found in drinking water, experts say, as the United States imposed strict new regulations on these widely used, harmful substances.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) finalized on Wednesday what it said were the first-ever national drinking water standards on per-and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS).

Sébastien Sauvé, a professor of environmental chemistry at the University of Montreal, said the U.S. limits are a “major step” in regulating PFAS, known as “forever chemicals,” in drinking water, adding that Canada should follow suit fast.

“It certainly puts a lot of pressure to do something because some drinking water or some aqueduct are above the proposed guidelines and it makes for a weird situation where people have water that’s being distributed that would be above a recommended Health Canada guideline,” Sauvé told Global News in an interview.

“So, we need to move ahead and solve that very quickly,” he said.

It has been over a year since Health Canada released in February 2023 a draft objective, recommending a maximum level of 30 nanograms per litre for total PFAS in drinking water.

Health Canada told Global News that a final version of the objective will be published this year that will guide provinces and territories on PFAS levels in drinking water.

“Once the final objective is published later this year, it will replace current guidelines and remain in place until the reassessment of the PFAS guidelines is completed, and new guidelines are adopted,” said Mark Johnson, a spokesperson for Health Canada.