WASHINGTON (AP) — The Environmental Protection Agency says long-term exposure to a compound currently used in nonstick coatings appears to be dangerous even in minute amounts.
The finding was for newer, supposedly safer versions of nonstick compounds known as PFAS. Older versions are turning up in dangerous levels in drinking water supplies around the country.
Wednesday's draft assessment covers the compound known as GenX, which is used in making Teflon.
Authorities have found GenX in water supplies serving hundreds of thousands downstream of a Chemours Co. plant outside Fayetteville, North Carolina.
State and local government officials have urged the EPA to do more to regulate PFAS. Acting EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler says Wednesday's findings show the agency is giving state and local partners the "tools and information they need to address PFAS."
