EPA Adds PFAS To CERCLA (Superfund) Law, Favoring Low-Waste Systems like BioLargo's AEC
BioLargo, Inc. (OTCQB:BLGO), a company that creates and commercializes sustainable technologies to solve tough environmental and cleantech challenges, today provided commentary on the importance of a final decision by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to regulate two per- and polyfluoroalkyl substance (PFAS) chemicals as “hazardous substances” under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA), also known as the Superfund law. BioLargo’s PFAS treatment solution, the Aqueous Electrostatic Concentrator, generates a small fraction of the volume of PFAS-laden waste that carbon filtration systems generate, thus reducing operational costs of waste handling, transport, and disposal.
In the EPA press release, EPA Administrator Michael S. Regan stated, “Designating these chemicals under our Superfund authority will allow EPA to address more contaminated sites, take earlier action, and expedite cleanups, all while ensuring polluters pay for the costs to clean up pollution threatening the health of communities.” These new regulations come on the heels of the EPA’s announcement two weeks ago setting PFAS drinking water limits as low as four parts per trillion.
This new EPA action also means that these PFAS chemicals will be listed as “hazardous materials” under the Hazardous Materials Transportation Act, which will require materials containing these chemicals to be transported using special protocols.
Tonya Chandler, President of BioLargo Equipment Solutions & Technologies, Inc., which markets BioLargo’s PFAS treatment systems, commented, “We believe these and other upcoming regulations create a price advantage for our AEC system over competing sorbent technologies such as carbon filtration. With less waste generated, we can also offer clients waste handling all the way through to full destruction at our facility.”
These finalized CERCLA regulations are the most recent step by the EPA to limit exposure of Americans to PFAS. In addition to the recently announced federal drinking water standards for six PFAS chemicals, the agency also committed $9 billion in funding to help communities and water providers address contamination by PFAS and other emerging contaminants. This funding will assist communities and water providers to acquire PFAS monitoring and treatment systems to comply with new regulations.
Dennis P. Calvert, President and CEO of BioLargo, commented, “We’re pleased to see the U.S. government taking PFAS seriously and dedicating the billions of dollars in funding needed to protect municipal water supplies across the country.”
About BioLargo, Inc.
BioLargo, Inc. (OTCQB:BLGO) is a cleantech and life sciences innovator and engineering services solution provider. Our core products address PFAS contamination, achieve advanced water and wastewater treatment, control odor and VOCs, improve air quality, enable energy-efficiency and safe on-site energy storage, and control infections and infectious disease. Our approach is to invent or acquire novel technologies, develop them into product offerings, and extend their commercial reach through licensing and channel partnerships to maximize their impact. See our website at www.BioLargo.com.
About BioLargo Equipment Solutions & Technologies
BioLargo Equipment Solutions & Technologies, Inc. sells and distributes sustainable, best-in-class water treatment systems that solve some of the toughest challenges in the modern water industry. From PFAS capture and destruction to water reuse technologies, every system delivers on a promise of uncompromising technical performance, sustainable energy usage and waste generation metrics, and clear ROI for operations that use them. Its website is www.biolargoequipment.com. BioLargo Equipment Solutions & Technologies, Inc. is a wholly owned subsidiary of BioLargo, Inc., a cleantech innovator and environmental engineering solutions provider dedicated to make life better through technological innovation.