EPA designates two ‘forever chemicals’ as hazardous substances [Video]

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency designated two widely used “forever chemicals” as hazardous substances under the United States’ Superfund law on Friday.This ruling will allow the EPA to investigate and clean up leaks and spills of these harmful chemicals, according to the official news release. It will also ensure that polluters are charged for the clean-up of contamination involving these chemicals.The two designated chemicals, perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS), belong to a larger class of per- and polyfluoroalkyl compounds (PFAS) considered “forever chemicals” because they take a long time to break down in the environment and in the human body.This class of chemicals helps repel water and oil and was used in products like Teflon and firefighting foam for decades. While manufacturing was largely phased out due to health concerns, the chemicals can still be found in hundreds of household items and in drinking water systems and are …