SC rivers tainted by ‘forever chemicals’ remind us that we have to safe guard water now

We’ve taken water for granted far too long.

The latest indication of this is the revelation that most of South Carolina’s major rivers were found to contain PFAS, so called “forever chemicals” because they don’t break down like typical substances, according to a new study reported on by The State’s Sammy Fretwell. Researchers found that the chemicals exceeded federal health advisory limits in some cases. The chemicals have been connected to cancer, birth defects and damage to the kidneys and liver. The Saluda River, which supplies drinking water to Columbia, was found to contain PFAS, Fretwell reported.

Public officials in South Carolina can’t ignore this threat. Countless examples exist of products and chemicals that were thought to be harmless at certain levels only later to be found dangerous to health. Think of smoking. For decades its negative health effects were unknown, ignored or actively covered up. Lead used to be casually put into gasoline and paint. That’s why PFAS at any levels shouldn’t be shrugged off as too little to harm.

These “forever chemicals” have already proven they can harm. DuPont, which used the chemicals in the Teflon products, “knew that PFOA (another forever chemical) is toxic in 1961,” a study by Northeastern University said.

Over the next two decades, DuPont linked the chemical to cancer and birth defects in plant workers. In the 2000s, DuPont agreed to pay almost $360 million after lawsuits claimed the chemical harmed tens of thousands of people and polluted water near Ohio and West Virginia. One lawyer’s mission to hold DuPont accountable was recounted in a New York Times article and the 2019 film “Dark Waters.”

The S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control needs to ensure a rigorous campaign is made to identify and punish PFAS polluters. Environmental regulators shouldn’t wait for the harm caused by PFAS to slap them in the face before cleanup efforts start. Cleaning up PFAS may be complex and expensive, but a price cannot be put on public’s health.

Columbia city officials should also advocate for measures to ensure drinking water is free of these chemical pollutants. No public body can shirk its responsibility to provide clean water by putting the onus on another agency. Where’s the coordination between Columbia and DHEC? Let’s have more of it.

Where do South Carolina lawmakers stand on PFAS in our water? Poor water quality often affects poorer and minority communities, and the problem easily crosses class and racial boundaries if pollution is found in major drinking water supplies. Lawmaker can’t take a pass on the issue of PFAS because they believe it won’t affect their district.

Beyond the current threat PFAS pose, the discovery of the chemicals in our waterways is a reminder of the need for proactive environmental regulations and protections. What are the chemicals created today that could poison us in the future? What alarms are being sounded now about chemicals? Those cannot be ignored.

Providing clean drinking water is one of the moral issues of our time, and if we allow public officials to shrug off any threats to water, we’re setting up major social failing.

Protecting waterways and nature is inextricably linked to protecting people’s health, and what could be more important than public officials protecting people’s health? An answer other than “nothing” is unacceptable.