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> The EPA has set drinking water levels for PFOA and PFOS of 70 parts per trillion. Per trillion? Seems like pretty nasty stuff.
by zaroth 8y ago
> The EPA has set drinking water levels for PFOA and PFOS of 70 parts per trillion.
Per trillion? Seems like pretty nasty stuff.
- jcranmer 8y agoBy LD50, it's 1/10th as toxic as Vitamin D, which is to say you'd need 10× as much PFOS to kill you as Vitamin D. Part per trillion isn't particularly impressive for drinking water standards. There is one chemical where the standard is 30 parts per quadrillion.
- daveguy 8y agoAcute lethality is not the problem. The problem is the developmental effects on children, the cancer risk, immune system risks and liver damage risks: https://www.epa.gov/ground-water-and-drinking-water/supporting-documents-drinking-water-health-advisories-pfoa-and-pfos https://www.epa.gov/ground-water-and-drinking-water/supporti... Also: https://www.epa.gov/ground-water-and-drinking-water/drinking-water-health-advisories-pfoa-and-pfos https://www.epa.gov/ground-water-and-drinking-water/drinking...
- rhizome 8y agoSo you're saying that some substances are more dangerous than others, by volume.
- jcranmer 8y agoActually, by weight, not by volume.
- 08-15 8y agoSounds like they set it just above the detection level, "just to be careful".