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PFAS in Our Waste with Kyla Bennett from PEER

Wastewater treatment plant

Kyla Bennett is the Director of Science Policy at Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER), where she leads efforts to advocate for stronger environmental protections and hold regulatory agencies accountable. With a background in biology and environmental law, Kyla brings a unique and powerful perspective to her work, addressing critical issues like PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances) contamination, pushing for comprehensive policies that safeguard public health and the environment. Her work at PEER is marked by her commitment to transparency and her support for whistleblowers who expose environmental violations.

Before joining PEER, Kyla worked at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), where she gained invaluable experience in environmental regulation. This experience now fuels her advocacy, as she challenges both industry practices and governmental oversight that compromise environmental safety. Through her work, Kyla has become a prominent voice in the fight against toxic pollutants, driving forward legal and policy changes that aim to create a safer, more sustainable future.

I was thrilled to be joined by Kyla Bennett for a conversation about the PFAS in our waste. This conversation is part of Just Zero’s 30-minute virtual interview series. An initiative showcasing the efforts of environmental advocates and businesses nationwide fighting against polluting and wasteful systems.

The following is an excerpt from our interview with PEER’s Director of Science Policy, Kyla Bennett, which has been edited for clarity. You can watch or listen to the full interview using either the video or audio player, above.

Laura Orlando | Just Zero: Thanks for joining us today. We’re excited to have you and learn more about what you and PEER are doing. To get us started, can you share with everybody what PFAS are and why they’re a problem?

What are PFAS and why are they a problem?

Kyla Bennett | PEER: PFAS are a very large family of chemical compounds. We don’t even know how many there are. EPA estimates there are roughly 14,000 of them but other international groups think that there may be millions. The one thing that all compounds in this family have in common are a backbone of carbon-fluorine atoms bonded together. This bond is one of the strongest in organic chemistry and is very difficult to break.

This is why PFAS have received the nickname “forever chemicals,” because they don’t readily break down. They can last for decades, if not hundreds of years. They’re incredibly persistent. And unfortunately, not only are they persistent, but they cause severe health impacts. These impacts include immune problems, reduced vaccine efficacy, heart issues, obesity, developmental problems, and some have been linked to cancer.

The two most well-known PFAS, PFOA and PFOS, have been linked to cancer. PFOA is a human carcinogen (a substance capable of causing cancer in living tissue), and PFOS is a likely carcinogen.

Laura Orlando | Just Zero: Are they found naturally in the environment?

Kyla Bennett | PEER: They are not. These were definitely manmade, created by male scientists back in the 1930s while working for a chemical company. [PFAS] were made accidentally but are useful for providing water, stain, and oil resistance. Unfortunately, they’re ubiquitous in consumer products. You can find them in couches, carpets, clothing, dental floss, nonstick pans, firefighting foam, turnout gear, soccer balls, guitar strings. They’re just everywhere.

Laura Orlando | Just Zero: [PFAS in products] have become a hot topic in recent years. However, what’s not often discussed is how landfills and wastewater treatment plants are major sources of PFAS pollution. Can you tell us how PFAS and our waste are connected?

How are PFAS and our waste connected?

Kyla Bennett | PEER: Sure – it’s a huge problem. When you use a consumer product that has PFAS in it, like makeup, and you wash your face at night, that [PFAS] will go down the drain. If you’re on a septic system, like I am, it’ll go into your septic system and get into the soil and groundwater. But if you’re on a sewer, like many people are, that water, including the PFAS, will be taken to a wastewater treatment plant.

These plants take both municipal waste from households and industrial waste, and since PFAS are common in industry, large amounts end up in wastewater treatment plants. Unfortunately, wastewater treatment plants were not designed to remove PFAS from the waste stream. Studies show that treatment plants often release more PFAS in the effluent than they receive, indicating that the treatment process creates additional PFAS. [Wastewater treatment facilities] then discharge this treated water into rivers, oceans, and other bodies of water, […] further cycling PFAS through the environment.

EPA suggests three ways we can safely dispose of PFAS waste: Incineration (which requires super high temperatures to destroy PFAS, though in doing so, a lot of PFAS will become airborne and travel some 150 kilometers downwind), wastewater treatment plants (which, as mentioned, often result in more PFAS), and injecting them in deep water wells (but that can also escape and get into the soil and groundwater). So, there’s no good way to get rid of this stuff.

Laura Orlando | Just Zero: That’s why they’re called forever chemicals, right? The wastewater treatment plant sounds like a giant chemistry set. The precursors or building blocks for PFAS – those carbon-fluorine atoms – link together once they’re in the wastewater treatment plant, and you end up with more PFAS coming out than going in. Do I have that right?

Kyla Bennett | PEER: You do. And not only that, but biosolids – the solid part of waste. After treatment, wastewater solids, which contain high levels of PFAS in it, are dried. [Farmers commonly spread] the dried solids, euphemistically called biosolids, on farms as fertilizer because human and animal waste are beneficial for crop growth. But in this case, when apply these biosolids to crops, the PFAS will get into the soil, vegetation, and water. [PFAS] can even kill farm animals that eat the contaminated vegetation, or transfer into the milk and meat of these animals, which humans then consume.

Laura Orlando | Just Zero: So, there are two things that come out of a wastewater treatment plant: The effluent (or treated wastewater), which goes into a body of water like the Atlantic Ocean in Boston, and the unwanted byproduct – the sewage sludge, or biosolids. These biosolids contain PFAS, as well as other chemical contaminants, and there’s no treatment for the sludge. Even drying it doesn’t get rid of the PFAS, which then ends up in the landfill, or the greatest nightmare, on a farm or ranch.

Kyla Bennett | PEER: Right, and conventional farms typically use biosolids as fertilizer because it’s cheap. However, regulations prohibit organic farms from using biosolids. One of the ways as a consumer that you can reduce your own exposure to PFAS is to try to buy organic fruits, vegetables, milk, and meat. And I know that sounds like I’m coming from a privileged place, because not everybody can afford organic, but stores like Target, Walmart, Trader Joe’s, and Aldi offer affordable organic options. If you can get organic, you should try.

Laura Orlando | Just Zero: Yeah, and maybe we should stop putting sewage on farmland.

Kyla Bennett | PEER: Absolutely. In fact, [at the time of this interview], Maine is the only state in the country that has banned the land application of biosolids to farmland because they’ve had so many farms become contaminated.

PEER and other nonprofits are suing the EPA to urge them to regulate and limit the amount of PFAS in biosolids applied to land.

Laura Orlando | Just Zero: Because they’re always high concentrations in the sewage. Is that right?

Kyla Bennett | PEER: That is right, absolutely.

Laura Orlando | Just Zero: And since the 1990s, EPA policy has allowed this spreading of PFAS-contaminated sewage on land, farms, and even bagging it to sell to gardeners. Is that right?

Kyla Bennett | PEER: That is right.

Laura Orlando | Just Zero: Clearly waste is a big factor in the PFAS catastrophe. It’s why organizations and groups like PEER, Just Zero, and states like Maine are working to address PFAS in our waste. Can you give us some examples of what they’re doing and some of the solutions to [PFAS]?

Are there any solutions to stop the spread of PFAS?

Kyla Bennett | PEER: There’s no good short-term solution but there is a good long-term solution, which I’ll get to in a minute.

Maine has been able to ban the land application of biosolids because they’re a fairly large state with a low population, at least for the East Coast. They’ve also banned waste from other states from entering their landfills and have been able to landfill their biosolids.

As far as I’m concerned, the only long-term solution to this problem is for EPA, the federal agency responsible for these chemicals in our waste, to define PFAS broadly and regulate them as a class. Right now, EPA is regulating them individually, with only six regulated in water. Remember, there’s 14,000 PFAS, according to EPA. So, regulating six is literally a drop in the bucket. They need to define them broadly, regulate them as a class, and ban all non-essential uses. Once that happens, PFAS will no longer be in biosolids, which could lead to a reconsideration of land application. It doesn’t mean there won’t be other awful substances in there, but at least PFAS won’t be.

Laura Orlando | Just Zero: Just Zero is working to help close landfills and prevent their expansion when we can. One of the things we do is [develop policies] that keep bottles, cans, cardboard, and food waste out of landfills. When you can close a landfill and cap it, there is markedly less landfill leachate. That garbage juice drops almost to zero. This can prevent millions of gallons of PFAS-contaminated landfill leachate from entering our sewer systems.

Recycling our cans and bottles is also low hanging fruit. We need to pass those bottle bills and get food scraps out of landfills to make real compost from them.

Kyla Bennett | PEER: I agree, and one of the things we haven’t discussed yet is how some plastic containers tossed in the landfills, [or even recycled], end up contaminated with PFAS. There’s a company in the United States that takes HDPE plastic bottles (number 2 plastics) used for shampoos, cleaners, and food and deliberately fluorinates them to make them leak-proof. During the fluorination process, a number of PFAS are formed at very high levels, in parts per billion, even though PFAS are regulated in parts per trillion.

Laura Orlando | Just Zero: So, that’s a thousand times greater – between a part per billion and a part per trillion is a thousand times greater.

Kyla Bennett | PEER: Right. When you put products like shampoo, food, household cleaners, or fuel in these containers, PFAS can leach into the products and stay in the plastic. When recyclers process number 2 plastics, PFAS can contaminate the recycling stream, tainting all the other plastics with PFAS. If you throw that fluorinated number 2 container into the landfill, that PFAS will leach out into the garbage juice.

Laura Orlando | Just Zero: Another great reason to back off on the use of plastics.

Kyla Bennett | PEER: 100%.

Laura Orlando | Just Zero: You recently co-wrote a paper that talked about PFAS in pesticides and their link to these fluorinated containers. How big of a problem are PFAS in pesticides?

How big of a problem are PFAS in pesticides?

Kyla Bennett | PEER: It’s a huge problem. Back in 2019, I tested my own town’s water, thinking it would be clean since I was using it as a control. But it wasn’t clean; the [PFAS levels] exceeded Massachusetts state limits. I couldn’t figure out why. I live in a small suburban town with no Department of Defense facility, industry, or fire training facility. This led me to wonder where all this PFAS was coming from. Since I’m in southeastern Massachusetts, [local authorities] frequently spray for EEE (Eastern equine encephalitis), a dangerous but rare mosquito-borne disease. I questioned whether the pesticides used each year contained PFAS. I asked the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP), and they said no. Not believing them, I tested it myself and found pretty high amounts of PFAS in the mosquitoicide.

That’s what led the EPA to discover that these plastic containers were leaching PFAS into pesticide products. [And it’s not just one company] – virtually every company that uses plastic [containers use these fluorinated ones.] The EPA shut down one company, the one that makes Anvil 10+10, which was spraying my town and others, but they left all the other [companies] alone. When you pick up a bottle of pesticide from Home Depot, Lowe’s, Walmart, or a similar store, check if it’s in a number 2 plastic container. If it is, I can almost guarantee it’s fluorinated, and you’ll end up spraying PFAS everywhere.

Laura Orlando | Just Zero: And when we talk about solutions, it’s right there: Stop fluorinating these containers, and you break the PFAS cycle.

Kyla Bennett | PEER: Exactly. We’re currently suing EPA to try to get that to happen.

Laura Orlando | Just Zero: Terrific. You’ve shared what organizations are doing to address this crisis, but I’m sure a lot of people are wondering what they can do on an individual basis. Is there anything people can do to reduce their exposure to PFAS? And do you have any advice on how our audience can join the fight against PFAS pollution?

How can we reduce our exposure to PFAS and join the fight against PFAS pollution?

Kyla Bennett | PEER: Yeah, absolutely. Those are two really good questions. I’ve managed to get my blood levels of PFAS way below the national average. I do this by eating organic food as much as possible. I’m also vegan, which helps because plants tend to have less PFAS than animal products, as PFAS biomagnify through the food chain. So, meat, dairy, and fish tend to have higher levels.

Laura Orlando | Just Zero: So, you mean they accumulate?

Kyla Bennett | PEER: Yep, they accumulate. So, being careful about what you eat is important, but so is being mindful of the products you buy. The Green Science Policy Institute has this great website called PFAS Central, and they have a list of PFAS-free consumer products. For example, my rain gear – my raincoat, rain pants, and hiking boots – are PFAS-free. They even have lists of insect repellents and sunscreens that are PFAS-free.

Unfortunately, it’s hard to pick up a label and know if there’s PFAS in a product. But if you go to the Green Science Policy website, you can find products that are PFAS-free.

The best thing you can do as a consumer is to ask questions and stay informed. When you contact a company, either by email or by calling their customer support, ask: “Do you have PFAS or fluorinated chemistry in your products?” That’s the right question to ask. You can be your own advocate. It’s kind of a pain in the neck, but it’s worth it. You really do not want to get a lot of PFAS in your blood. 99% of Americans have PFAS in their blood, and many of us must get checked every six months to a year for illnesses associated with PFAS.

Laura Orlando | Just Zero: You can also contact your local water authority to learn more. Federal rules now regulate the six PFAS you mentioned, setting maximum contaminant levels (MCLs) for them. People on public water systems can check with your municipality or the water department to see [their PFAS status]. Unfortunately, the Safe Drinking Water Act does not cover private wells, so people in rural areas must test their own water. There are systems available – they’re not cheap, but they can help remove a lot of PFAS from drinking water. Maine has some good information on this.

Kyla Bennett | PEER: Yep. My town now has a town-wide filtration system up, but we’re one of the few towns in Massachusetts that does. The NSF (National Sanitation Foundation) website has a list of filters that are third-party certified to remove PFAS. For people with private wells, it’s often cheaper to buy a filter than to test your water for PFAS because it’s expensive, unfortunately, right now. Get a filter for your kitchen sink or a countertop one. Use it for drinking, feeding your pets, making ice, coffee, or cooking things like pasta that absorb water. And one thing to keep in mind is that bottled water is not necessarily safe; a lot of it contains PFAS.

Laura Orlando | Just Zero: That’s a great point. And I want folks to take in something you said earlier: You can reduce the amount of PFAS in your body. 99% of Americans have PFAS in their bodies, but we can reduce these concentrations by paying attention. Unfortunately, the burden is on us, but groups like PEER are pushing the federal government to take action.

With the time we have left, can you tell us a little bit more about the lawsuit you referred to related to PFAS-contaminated sewage sludge?

PEER is filing a lawsuit against the EPA regarding PFAS-contaminated sewage sludge. Can you tell us more about it?

Kyla Bennett | PEER: As I said at the beginning, PEER is basically a service organization. We don’t sit around deciding what we’re going to work on over the next five years. We wait for our clients, who are local, state, and federal employees, to bring us cases. An environmental investigator in Johnson County, Texas, contacted us. This is deep red, rural Texas. She was very alarmed because some farmers – she calls them her victims – had biosolids spread all over their farm by another farm across the street.

The smell was awful, and they started experiencing massive fish kills. Their catfish died, and their cows and horses began to die as well. Their dogs started getting sick, and soon, the people themselves were falling ill. Johnson County spent a lot of money working with PEER to test the soil, water, dead animals, and fish. We found massive amounts of PFAS. For example, in one stillborn calf, there were 610,000 parts per trillion of just PFOS, one of the most dangerous PFAS. 

Laura Orlando | Just Zero: I want to remind people that the drinking water standard is 4 parts per trillion, and the goal is 0. And you found 610,000 [parts per trillion]? 

Kyla Bennett | PEER: Yep, 610,000. So, we’re suing the EPA. Our clients are farming families, and Johnson County has joined the lawsuit. Many counties in Texas are working hard to stop this because they’re afraid of what it’s doing to their farms. The Maine Organic Farming and Gardening Association and the Potomac River Keepers have also joined us. So, we have a coalition from three different states – Texas, Maine, and Maryland – all coming together to say to EPA, “You have to stop allowing this.” 

In this lawsuit, we’re asking the EPA to develop standards that say, “If there’s X amount of PFOA in these biosolids, you cannot land-apply them.” Right now, the only thing that EPA regulates in biosolids are nine metals. They have not added a chemical constituent to the list since the 1990s. So, they’re way behind. People keep calling PFAS an emerging contaminant, but it’s not. It’s been around since the 1930s. EPA has known for at least 25 years how dangerous these chemicals are. It’s time for them to start putting limits on [PFAS] in biosolids. The problem all boils down to what do we do with all these biosolids? To me, the only answer is for the EPA to regulate PFAS as a class and ban all non-essential uses. 

Laura Orlando | Just Zero: So, turn off the spigot. Let’s stop producing PFAS. Let’s stop allowing it in our consumer products. [Manufacturers should ensure that products] made abroad and shipped here are PFAS-free. Let’s work on closing landfills, not expanding them. Let’s stop land- applying sewage sludge because we know now it’s all PFAS-contaminated. 

Kyla Bennett | PEER: Yep. 

Laura Orlando | Just Zero: Well, this has been terrific. I really appreciate you sharing your work with us and the work PEER is doing. Special thanks to you, Kyla. And thank you to everyone who tuned in. Let’s get to work. 

Kyla Bennett | PEER: Thank you for having me, and thank you to everyone who’s watching.

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