EPA sets 70 ppt lifetime health advisory for PFOA and PFOS as Hoosick Falls emerges as contamination ground zero

The EPA issues its first lifetime health advisory for PFOA and PFOS at 70 parts per trillion, linking the chemicals to kidney and testicular cancer, thyroid disease, and immune suppression in children. Hoosick Falls, New York — a village of 3,500 served by a Saint-Gobain plastics plant — becomes the national flashpoint when water tests reveal PFOA levels between 440 and 600 ppt, six to eight times the new advisory level. The EPA recommends residents stop drinking tap water, forcing the village to scramble for an alternative supply.