According to a new report by the nonprofit Environmental Working Group, the drinking water of more than a quarter of Americans — some 90 million people — tested postive for a likely carcinogen known as 1,4-dioxane between 2010 and 2015. And public water systems serving more than 7 million people in 27 states have average 1,4-dioxane concentrations that exceed the level US Environmental Protection Agency has said can increase the risk of cancer.
1,4-dioxane water contamination is linked to several sources, not least of which is the use of the chemical as an industrial solvents to dissolve oily substances. It is also a byproduct of plastic production and manufacturing of other chemicals, and can contaminate drinking water through wastewater discharge from industrial facilities, as well as due to leaching from Superfund and hazardous waste sites.
In addition to being a likely carcinogen (in California, the chemical is listed as a known carcinogen), 1,4-dioxane exposure has also been linked to liver and kidney damage, lung problems, and eye and skin irritation. Some studies also suggest a link between 1,4-dioxane exposure among pregnant women and higher rates of pregnancy loss and complication, though the results were not conclusive.
Manufacturers can alter production methods or treat wastewater to reduce 1,4-dioxane contamination before it enters a community’s water supply. But Tasha Stoiber, a senior scientist with EWG says that once 1,4-dioxane has made it’s way into drinking water, it’s hard to address, adding that common water filters are ineffective, and expensive filters only partly work. “It’s tough,” Stoiber says, “because once this chemical is in ground water or surface water, it’s really difficult to remove.”
And yet, there is no federal legal limit for 1,4-dioxane — the EPA has not regulated the toxin under the Safe Drinking Water Act. Click here to view a map of tainted areas.
“The EPA can set a legal drinking water standard, a maximum contaminant limit,” Stoiber explains. “They can also limit discharges from some of these industrial sources that are polluting surface water, and they can set regulations for industrial uses under the Toxic Substances Control Act [TSCA].”
Americans are also exposed to 1,4-dioxane through common household products, including cosmetics and cleaning supplies, as well as personal care products like shampoo, body wash, and lotion. Though the chemical is not intentionally added to these products, it can be a byproduct the production process. In addition to regulation by the EPA, consumer and environmental advocates such as EWG would like to see regulation 1,4-dioxane by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), which has the authority to limit contamination in household product.
But how likely is federal action? Unfortunately, though 1,4-dioxane was selected as one of the first ten chemicals to be reviewed under the revised federal Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA), prospects for action under the current administration aren’t encouraging. Preliminary documents from the TSCA review indicate that not all exposure routes will be considered. Not to mention that President Trump has proposed decreasing funding for both the EPA and the FDA.
What’s more, Trump has nominated industry-insider Michael Dourson to head the EPA’s chemicals and pesticides office. According to the EWG, Dourson has authored two industry-funded papers arguing that exposure to 1,4-dioxane is safe at levels 1,000 times those suggested by the EPA.
“President Trump could not have found a more objectionable nominee to be in charge of safeguarding Americans from dangerous chemicals than Dourson,” Melanie Benesh, an EWG legislative attorney and co-author of the report, says in a statement. “His history of pleasing industry funders with studies that find even the most toxic chemicals to be ‘safe’ makes him uniquely unfit for the job.”
So, for the time being, it seems it may be up to the states. And there’s plenty of improvement to be made in that regard: So far, only a handful of states even have guidelines surrounding 1,4-dioxan exposure, let alone enforceable limits.
There’s also room for private citizens push for action on this hidden threat. “The first step is knowing what’s in your drinking water,” Stoiber says. “That allows the general public to become engaged.” And then, hopefully, to take action.
Truthout Is Preparing to Meet Trump’s Agenda With Resistance at Every Turn
Dear Truthout Community,
If you feel rage, despondency, confusion and deep fear today, you are not alone. We’re feeling it too. We are heartsick. Facing down Trump’s fascist agenda, we are desperately worried about the most vulnerable people among us, including our loved ones and everyone in the Truthout community, and our minds are racing a million miles a minute to try to map out all that needs to be done.
We must give ourselves space to grieve and feel our fear, feel our rage, and keep in the forefront of our mind the stark truth that millions of real human lives are on the line. And simultaneously, we’ve got to get to work, take stock of our resources, and prepare to throw ourselves full force into the movement.
Journalism is a linchpin of that movement. Even as we are reeling, we’re summoning up all the energy we can to face down what’s coming, because we know that one of the sharpest weapons against fascism is publishing the truth.
There are many terrifying planks to the Trump agenda, and we plan to devote ourselves to reporting thoroughly on each one and, crucially, covering the movements resisting them. We also recognize that Trump is a dire threat to journalism itself, and that we must take this seriously from the outset.
Last week, the four of us sat down to have some hard but necessary conversations about Truthout under a Trump presidency. How would we defend our publication from an avalanche of far right lawsuits that seek to bankrupt us? How would we keep our reporters safe if they need to cover outbreaks of political violence, or if they are targeted by authorities? How will we urgently produce the practical analysis, tools and movement coverage that you need right now — breaking through our normal routines to meet a terrifying moment in ways that best serve you?
It will be a tough, scary four years to produce social justice-driven journalism. We need to deliver news, strategy, liberatory ideas, tools and movement-sparking solutions with a force that we never have had to before. And at the same time, we desperately need to protect our ability to do so.
We know this is such a painful moment and donations may understandably be the last thing on your mind. But we must ask for your support, which is needed in a new and urgent way.
We promise we will kick into an even higher gear to give you truthful news that cuts against the disinformation and vitriol and hate and violence. We promise to publish analyses that will serve the needs of the movements we all rely on to survive the next four years, and even build for the future. We promise to be responsive, to recognize you as members of our community with a vital stake and voice in this work.
Please dig deep if you can, but a donation of any amount will be a truly meaningful and tangible action in this cataclysmic historical moment.
We’re with you. Let’s do all we can to move forward together.
With love, rage, and solidarity,
Maya, Negin, Saima, and Ziggy