The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has announced $9.457 million in new grant funding for American Samoa to address PFAS or polyflouarokyll substances in local communities.
Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are a large group of synthetic chemicals used to make products resistant to heat, stains, grease, and water. Known as “forever chemicals,” they do not break down in the environment or the human body, and prolonged exposure can lead to serious health risks
“With this investment, EPA is demonstrating our commitment to the goal of every American having safe drinking water,” said Acting EPA Pacific Southwest Region Administrator Michael Martucci. “Providing funding, affordable financing, and technical assistance to help American Samoa communities get PFAS out of drinking water will bring lasting positive impacts where they are needed most.”
In American Samoa, $9.457 million is available for communities, drinking water systems, and private well owners to help with testing, planning, and infrastructure projects addressing PFAS and other emerging contaminants included on EPA’s Contaminant Candidate Lists (e.g., manganese, perchlorate, 1,4 dioxane).
Sustained investment of this scale helps drive down the per-system cost of treatment, generates real-world performance data that better informs utility decision-making, accelerates innovation in destruction and disposal technologies, and helps mitigate PFAS across the many forms in which it appears in source water.
Additionally, EPA’s new PFAS OUTreach—or PFAS OUT—initiative is accelerating progress in addressing PFAS in drinking water.
