The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has denied a request from the Washington Department of Ecology to set tighter limits for harmful chemicals used in manufacturing that find their way into the state’s waterways.
Ecology petitioned the federal government last month to lower the allowable limit for polychlorinated biphenyls, or PCBs, in consumer products. The current federal standard for PCBs is less strict than Washington’s clean water standard, which businesses and manufacturers say is impossible to meet with current technology.
That can result in some chemicals leftover from manufacturing flowing into rivers and other waterways. Studies show PCBs can harm fish and pose health risks for humans.
State lawmakers passed a bill unanimously last year requiring Ecology to petition the EPA to reexamine the federal PCB limits under the Toxic Substances Control Act.
In its April 4 denial of the petition, the EPA said that though it shares Washington’s concerns about PCB pollution, the state’s request and the information it provided did not prove that changing the federal limits was necessary at this time.
“It’s disappointing but not completely surprising,” bill sponsor Senate Majority Leader Andy Billig, D-Spokane, told the Standard. “We were trying to do a wake-up call and get the federal government’s attention on this problem. I think we still achieved that.”
Although federal laws passed in the 1970s outlawed PCBs in many consumer products, some can still be present as a byproduct of some manufacturing processes, such as recycling newspapers or magazines with colored ink and making paint used on roads.
The federal Toxic Substances Control Act limits PCBs to 50 parts per million, while the water quality standard currently only allows for seven parts per quadrillion.
So, while environmentalists in Washington attempt to clean decades-old PCB pollution from waterways, a small amount of new PCB contamination still ends up in them.
PCB water pollution is particularly relevant in Spokane where manufacturers, environmentalists and business groups have all sought ways to keep PCBs out of the region’s water, including the Spokane River.
Manufacturers have argued the federal government’s water quality standards are almost impossible to meet with current chemical regulations that allow for some PCBs. In December, The Spokesman-Reviewreported that Washington business groups, including those located near the Spokane River, sued the EPA over its 2022 water quality standards.
Supporters of the state law passed last year, including environmentalists and business groups, said at the time that changing the federal chemical standard could begin to cut PCBs out at the source and make it easier to adhere to the stricter water standards.
In the EPA response denying the state’s petition, Michal Freedhoff, assistant administrator for the Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention, wrote the agency is continuing to research the “complex issue” of inadvertently generated PCBs.
Before proposing more stringent regulations on these chemicals, Freedhoff said the agency wants more information to understand how they end up in U.S. waters.
“The Agency continues to work towards better understanding and reducing exposures to PCBs,” Freedhoff wrote.
Although the EPA denied Ecology’s petition, the department said it is still committed to finding ways to reduce PCBs.
“We continue to believe that stricter PCB limits in consumer products are feasible,” the department stated on Thursday. “We strongly encourage manufacturers, retailers, and other regulatory bodies to reduce human health and environmental impacts by voluntarily reducing inadvertent PCBs in products.”
Billig, who will not be in the Legislature next year, said the state needs to find a way to regulate these products that doesn’t clash with the federal government’s authority.
Washington is already moving in the right direction by no longer purchasing yellow road paint, a common material where PCBs are found, Billig said. He added the state should do more to incentivize manufacturers to not use the chemicals in their products or packaging.
“If the federal government is not going to change their approach, then we as a state need to figure out a way to protect our waterways,” Billig said. “We’re not going to stop looking for solutions.”
Washington State Standard is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Washington State Standard maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Bill Lucia for questions: info@washingtonstatestandard.com. Follow Washington State Standard on Facebook and Twitter.