This contaminant is everywhere. Here's what city officials are doing to combat it.

City officials are seeking funding to study what are known as “forever chemicals” in Corpus Christi’s public wastewater system.

The initiative came shortly before the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced drinking water standards for per- and polyfluorinated alkyl substances – chemicals that serve as key ingredients for a vast distribution of products, including certain types of clothing blends and cookware, experts say.

PFAS compounds are used essentially in products have “anything that protects it from getting wet,” including food packaging, said Dorina Murgulet, Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi hydrogeology professor.

The substances have been branded as “forever chemicals” because unlike some other chemicals, they don’t easily break down over time – and instead accumulate where they are deposited including the human body, according to health and science experts.

Presence of contaminants in public water systems has been the most acute focus of study. They have been identified in water infrastructure networks across the nation, reports show.

The substances have shown association with some types of cancer and immune system deficiencies, among other health-related issues – the frequency of which can be traced to exposures that include concentration and duration, according to reports by health and environmental experts.

The city’s sought-after $625,000 grant would evaluate whether PFAS are present in the Greenwood Wastewater Treatment Plant – and if so, seek information on the PFAS source, according to records.

City officials have also proposed that if awarded, the funding will go to assessing potential technology options that could remove the contaminants, states an agenda memo.

“This is a crucial step towards ensuring the safety of drinking water sources and reducing the need for extensive and expensive treatment processes for reclaimed water and biosolids from the Greenwood WWTP,” according to the document.

The grant is available through the Texas Water Development Board as part of its Clean Water State Revolving Fund Emerging Contaminants Program – which would serve as “an opportunity for funding with 100% principal forgiveness,” wrote Drew Molly, chief operating officer of Corpus Christi Water, in a message to the Caller-Times.

“The implemented program could provide potential source identification information if any of the constituents are identified,” he added. “The Greenwood (Wastewater Treatment Plant) is a good candidate for this investigation as CCW has planned improvement projects at this facility and any findings could be incorporated into the design.”

In general, there is more data available about the presence of PFAS in surface water and groundwater as compared to wastewater that would reflect runoff, Murgulet said.

“There isn’t enough of what we know about their presence in wastewater,” she said.

Applying for the grant to study the wastewater treatment plant is a strategic move by city officials, Murgulet added.

“It’s a proactive measure in the sense of, ‘Let’s see what we have and make sure we’re not letting large contaminants passing through,” she said.

PFAS have not historically been regulated, despite federal health advisories.

Last week, the EPA announced in a news release that specific PFAS – perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS) – would be considered as “hazardous substances.”

Setting standards will “protect people and communities from PFAS contamination in drinking water,” according to a posting on the EPA’s website.

“This final action is based on significant scientific evidence that these substances, when released into the environment, may present a substantial danger to public health or welfare or the environment,” the news release states. “PFOA and PFOS can accumulate and persist in the human body for long periods of time, and evidence from scientific studies demonstrate that exposure to PFOA and PFOS is linked to adverse health effects.”

The regulation is specific to drinking water, not wastewater.

In an emailed statement, city officials wrote that Corpus Christi Water staff were “closely tracking EPA and TCEQ proposed and final rules to ensure drinking water provided to residents in the Coastal Bend meets and exceeds all regulatory requirements.”