The Manager's report back on a request for an update on City efforts related to PFAS concerns

PFAS are an incredibly complicated public health issue that require scientific rigor, new regulations, and an understanding and evaluation of risk. City staff are engaged in numerous areas, but much of the regulatory environment is driven by federal and state research and regulations. This is a quickly moving conversation, which staff are following closely and will continue to engage in.

This report provides an overview of

1. BACKGROUND ON PFAS 2. EPA’S PFAS STRATEGIC ROADMAP 3. NEW FEDERAL REGULATIONS 4. CAMBRIDGE DRINKING WATER 5. CAMBRIDGE FIRE FIGHTING PRODUCTS 6. CAMBRIDGE TURF FIELDS 7. CAMBRIDGE WASTE STREAMS 8. ADDITIONAL OUTREACH TO RESIDENTS

1. BACKGROUND ON PFAS1 What is PFAS and why are they used? Per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are comprised of a class of thousands of synthetic chemical compounds containing a carbon-fluorine bond (C-F), among the strongest bonds in chemistry. These compounds as a group have highly valued properties like resistance to degradation at high temperatures and capacity to create low-friction (non- stick) surfaces used in hundreds of industrial processes, fire retardants, fabrics, cosmetics, consumer packaging and many other products.

PFAS compounds have been manufactured and used in a wide range of industries since the 1940s, and many are still in use today. After greatly increased concerns about human health effects in the late 1990s a major industry- wide agreement with EPA resulted in the termination of production of several of the most hazardous compounds (PFOS and PFOA) by the early 2000s. Since that time the measured presence of these long-chain PFAS in US residents has declined between 70% to 85%. However, as PFOS and PFOA are phased out and replaced, people may be exposed to other PFAS. 2

Because of its environmental persistence, high mobility in groundwater and wide use in many sectors, PFAS can be found in surface water, groundwater, soil, and air – from remote rural areas to densely-populated urban centers across the US.

A growing body of scientific evidence shows that exposure even at very low exposures to certain PFAS compounds can bind with cellular proteins and have been shown to cause suppression of reproductive and immune systems, developmental effects, elevated cholesterol, reduced vaccine efficacy and some cancer risk in humans and other mammals. Despite these concerns, substituted PFAS compounds are still used in a wide range of consumer products and industrial applications.

While we wait for a clearer picture of the risks posed by exposure to many of these substitute PFAS compounds, the EPA has finally passed a series of new regulations including establishing extremely low standards in drinking water, better regulating new PFAS compounds, and requiring testing of PFAS in solid waste and wastewater streams to protect residents from the historic releases dating back decades and to prevent their further spread in the environment.