Illinois EPA Drinking Water Sampling (PFAS)

Updated March 17, 2023

EPA Releases Proposed National Primary Drinking Water Regulation (NPDWR) for PFAS

On March 14, 2023, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) proposed a National Primary Drinking Water Regulation (NPDWR) to establish legally enforceable levels, called Maximum Contaminant Levels (MCLs), for six per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) known to occur in drinking water. The six PFAS are PFOA, PFOS, PFNA, PFHxS, PFBS, and GenX Chemicals. An MCL protects public health by setting a maximum level of a contaminant allowed in drinking water which can be delivered to users of a public water system. Additionally, EPA is proposing health-based, non-enforceable Maximum Contaminant Level Goals (MCLGs) for these six PFAS. An MCLG is the maximum level of a contaminant in drinking water where there is no known or anticipated negative effect on an individual’s health, allowing for a margin of safety. 

Specifically, EPA is proposing: 

• An enforceable MCL for PFOA and PFOS. EPA is proposing to regulate PFOA and PFOS at a level that they can be reliably measured, which is 4 parts per trillion (4.0 nanograms/Liter). 
• An enforceable limit on a combination of PFNA, PFHXs, PFBS, and GenX Chemicals. The proposed rule also would place limits on any mixture containing one or more of PFNA, PFHxS, PFBS, and/or GenX Chemicals. For these PFAS, water systems would use an approach called a hazard index to determine if the combined levels of these PFAS pose a potential risk. This approach protects communities from the additive effects of multiple PFAS when they occur together. 
• EPA is proposing requirements for monitoring for the six PFAS that build upon EPA’s long established monitoring frameworks where monitoring frequency depends on previous results. The proposal also includes flexibilities allowing systems to use some previously collected data to satisfy initial monitoring requirements. 
• Public water systems would be required to notify the public if monitoring detects these PFAS at levels that exceed the proposed regulatory standards. 
• Public water systems would be required take actions to reduce the levels of these PFAS in drinking water if they exceed the proposed regulatory standards. This could include removing these chemicals through various types of treatment or switching to an alternative water supply that meets the standard. 

Available technologies exist to monitor and treat these six PFAS. Technologies capable of reducing PFAS in drinking water include granular activated carbon (GAC), anion exchange resins (AIX), reverse osmosis (RO), and nanofiltration (NF). 

The EPA proposal does not require any actions for drinking water systems until the rule is finalized, and water systems will be required to meet the MCLs after a specified implementation time period. EPA anticipates finalizing the rule by the end of 2023.

EPA Releases Drinking Water Health Advisories for PFAS
On June 15, 2022, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released updated Health Advisories (HA) for four PFAS. Drinking water health advisories provide information on contaminants that may cause health effects and are known or anticipated to occur in drinking water. They are non-enforceable and non-regulatory and include information on analytical methods and treatment. HA levels provide information that indicates the safe levels of exposure through drinking water over the course of a person’s lifetime to avoid adverse health effects. These levels are calculated to offer a margin of protection that also takes into account exposure through other sources beyond drinking water. It is important to note the HA for PFOA and PFOS is below the Minimum Reporting Level (MRL). (See EPA fact sheet.)

The HAs are:

Final Lifetime Health Advisories 

Hexafluoropropylene oxide dimer acid (GenX) - 10 ng/L

Perfluorobutanesulfonic acid (PFBS) - 2,000 ng/L

Interim Lifetime Health Advisories

Perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOA) - 0.004 ng/L

Perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS) - 0.020 ng/L

The interim lifetime PFOA and PFOS HAs replace the previous 70 ppt advisory value released in 2016. 

Illinois EPA Drinking Water Sampling (PFAS)

The Illinois Environmental Protection Agency (Illinois EPA) recently tested our water system for compounds known as Perfluoroalkyls and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) as part of a statewide investigation of community water supplies. PFAS are a group of thousands of manmade chemicals that have been produced in the United States since the 1940s and utilized for a variety of applications ranging from non-stick cookware, water-repellant and stain-resistant fabrics to firefighting foams. Some PFAS have been phased out of production in the U.S. due to environmental and human health concerns, however they are considered “forever chemicals” because they persist in the environment. 

Neither the Illinois EPA nor the U.S. EPA have yet developed enforceable drinking water standards for PFAS. In the interim, the Illinois EPA has developed health-based guidance levels for the small number of PFAS for which there is appropriate information to do so. The health-based guidance levels are intended to be protective of all people consuming the water over a lifetime of exposure. It is important to understand that health-based guidance levels are not regulatory limits for drinking water. Rather, the health-based guidance levels are benchmarks against which sampling results are compared to determine if additional investigation or other response action is necessary. 

Illinois EPA testing in August and September 2021 determined that one or more PFAS were detected in the Glencoe water system at values greater than or equal to the Illinois EPA health-based guidance levels, as provided in the table below.

Based on these initial results, the Glencoe Water Utility began quarterly testing in December 2021. The Glencoe Water Utility will continue quarterly sampling and provide updates as needed. 

PFAS Testing

PFAS Analyte	Acronym	Collection Date	Level Detected (ng/L)	Health-Based Guidance Level (ng/L)
Perfluorooctanesulfonic acid	PFOS	8/3/2021	2.3	14
Perfluorooctanoic acid	PFOA	8/3/2021	2.3	2
Perfluorooctanesulfonic acid	PFOS	9/2/2021	2.5	14
Perfluorooctanoic acid	PFOA	9/2/2021	2.3	2
Perfluorooctanesulfonic acid	PFOS	12/6/2021	ND	14
Perfluorooctanoic acid	PFOA	12/6/2021	ND	2
Perfluorooctanesulfonic acid	PFOS	3/7/2022	ND	14
Perfluorooctanoic acid	PFOA	3/7/2022	ND	2
Perfluorooctanesulfonic acid	PFOS	6/6/2022	ND	.020*
Perfluorooctanoic acid	PFOA	6/6/2022	ND	.004*
Hexafluoropropylene oxide dimer acid	GenX	6/6/2022	ND	10*
Perfluorobutanesulfonic acid	PFBS	6/6/2022	ND	2000*
Perfluorooctanesulfonic acid	PFOS	9/12/2022	ND	.020*
Perfluorooctanoic acid	PFOA	9/12/2022	ND	.004*
Hexafluoropropylene oxide dimer acid	GenX	9/12/2022	ND	10*
Perfluorobutanesulfonic acid	PFBS	9/12/2022	ND	2000*
Perfluorooctanesulfonic acid	PFOS	12/5/2022	ND	.020*
Perfluorooctanoic acid	PFOA	12/5/2022	ND	.004*
Hexafluoropropylene oxide dimer acid	GenX	12/5/2022	ND	10*
Perfluorobutanesulfonic acid	PFBS	12/5/2022	ND	2000*
Perfluorooctanesulfonic acid	PFOS	3/6/2023	ND	.020*
Perfluorooctanoic acid	PFOA	3/6/2023	2.0	.004*
Hexafluoropropylene oxide dimer acid	GenX	3/6/2023	ND	10*
Perfluorobutanesulfonic acid	PFBS	3/6/2023	ND	2000*

Minimum reporting level (MRL) = 2.0 ng/L
ng/L: nanograms per liter or parts per trillion – or one ounce in 7,350,000,000 gallons of water.
ND: not detected
*Per Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) update June 2022

Glencoe’s water may contain other PFAS at concentrations greater than or equal to the lowest concentration the laboratory can reliably detect, known as the minimum reporting level. However, neither the Illinois EPA nor the U.S. EPA currently have health-based guidance levels for these additional compounds. Results can also be found on the PFAS Investigation Network Interactive Map webpage: 

https://illinois-epa.maps.arcgis.com/apps/dashboards/bd611162a7f74cfe88b6928c926416c3

PFAS are also present in many consumer goods, including food packaging and personal care products, and scientists have found trace amounts of PFAS in the blood of nearly all individuals tested. Exposure to high levels of PFAS may cause adverse health effects such as increased cholesterol levels, increased risk for thyroid disease, low infant birth weights, reduced response to vaccines, pregnancy-induced hypertension and increased risk of liver and kidney cancer as seen in studies of laboratory animals. Exposure to PFAS above the recommended health-based guidance levels does not necessarily mean that a person will get sick or experience any adverse health effects. Health-based guidance levels are conservative estimates. The possible health effects from PFAS are dependent on a number of factors including how much a person is exposed to and how long they are exposed to it. Exposure to PFAS above recommended health-based guidance levels for periods of time may mean that a person is at a greater risk of experiencing these adverse effects.

Additional information regarding PFAS, the statewide PFAS investigation network, and the impact to public health can be found in the attached fact sheet as well as on the Illinois EPA PFAS:  https://epa.illinois.gov/topics/water-quality/pfas.html

The confirmed sampling results for the Glencoe Water Utility are also available on Illinois EPA's Drinking Water Watch system:  http://water.epa.state.il.us/dww/index.jsp

If you have questions, please contact:

Village of Glencoe
Alex Urbanczyk, Water Plant Superintendent
aurbanczyk@villageofglencoe.org
(847) 461-1651

Illinois Environmental Protection Agency
Barb Lieberoff, Office of Community Relations
epa.pfas@illinois.gov 
(217) 524-3038

Illinois Department of Public Health
Brian Koch, Division of Environmental Health
Brian.Koch@illinois.gov
(217) 782-5830