EPA puts two NEW 'forever chemicals' on its danger list - and they're in hundreds of popular cookware and waterproof clothes

The Environmental Protection Agency has added two new forever chemicals to its danger list that are found in everyday products like cookware, furniture and cosmetics.

The agency has listed perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and perfluorooctane sulfonic acid (PFOS) as a hazardous substance under the 'Superfund' Act which requires industries to pay for clean-up efforts for toxins that end up in the water supply during production.

The compounds are part of a larger cluster of forever chemicals known as PFAS, which can accumulate and persist in the human body for long periods - and they have been linked to cancer and organ damage.

The measures will hold industries responsible for cleaning up and paying for the forever chemicals that seep into the soil and groundwater, which can cost tens of millions of dollars. 

Forever chemicals, also called PFAS, are found in everday products like makeup, furniture and non-stick cookware that can end up in the soil and drinking water

The Environmental Protection Agency received $1 billion in funding from the Biden administration to enforce a limit of the amount of forever chemicals permitted in drinking water. Products like non-stick cooking pans contain these forever chemicals that end up in the soil and groundwater during the production process. The EPA requires the chemicals to be less than four parts per trillion

The Environmental Protection Agency received $1 billion in funding from the Biden administration to enforce a limit of the amount of forever chemicals permitted in drinking water. The EPA requires the chemicals to be less than four parts per trillion

'No one should have to worry in 2024 about whether their well water, farm produce or even clothing is contaminated with toxic chemicals, but unfortunately, that's the reality for millions of Americans,' said Lisa Frank, executive director of Environment America Research & Policy Center's Washington office.

Forever chemicals have been used since the 1940s in industry and consumer products including nonstick frying pans, water-repellent sports gear, stain-resistant rugs and cosmetics.

These compounds can easily enter the bloodstream after a person drinks water, wears certain products or eats food laced with them. 

Once in the bloodstream, PFAS can lodge themselves within healthy tissue where it can begin to damage the immune system, the liver, the kidneys, and other organs. 

Under the Superfund law, the PFOA and PFOS chemicals aren't banned, but if they meet or exceed certain levels in the soil and water, it is required to be reported to federal, state or tribal officials.

Forever chemicals are a byproduct of the manufacturing process, when factories that make products containing PFAS emit wastewater that goes into communities' water supply.

Other contaminants on the Superfund list include lead, asbestos, dioxin - a toxin found in herbicide production and paper bleaching, - soil bioavailability and radiation. 

The EPA confirmed Friday that it will focus its enforcement efforts on businesses and people who significantly contributed to releasing the forever chemicals into the environment such as federal agencies and companies that manufactured PFAS or used it in the manufacturing process.

PFAS are called forever chemicals because of their resistance to naturally breaking down in the environment and ending up in Americans' drinking water. 

'For decades, the chemical industry has polluted our communities with these 'forever chemicals,' said Emily Scarr, director of U.S. PIRG Education Fund's Stop Toxic PFAS campaign. 

'We need our state and national leaders to use every tool in the box to protect our families from exposure to PFAS,' she continued.

'That means phasing out their use, stopping their discharge, and holding the chemical industry accountable for the harms they have caused to our health and environment.' 

PFAS is a common contaminant in many household items from cookware to hamburger wrappers. It can remain in the environment as well as human tissue for years, even decades, before being cleared out

Forever chemicals are found in numerous foods including BBQ sauce, hot sogs, soda and soups. These chemicals can cause fertility problems and life-threatening illnesses like kidney and liver failure and cancer

This measure comes after the EPA set strict limits last week for the quantity of PFAS that can be present in drinking water, capping it at four parts per trillion each for PFOA and PFOS.

The Biden administration invested $1 billion in the EPA's measures which will 'reduce PFAS exposure for 100 million people, prevent thousands of deaths, and reduce tens of thousands of serious illnesses,' the EPA said.  

The amount of chemicals that end up at locations across the US is growing at an alarming rate, according to the Environmental Working Group (EWG), an agency consisting of scientists, policy and data experts and lawyers. 

READ MORE: Interactive map shows parts of US where cancer-causing PFAS toxins are most common in drinking water 

More than 70million Americans live in homes with water contaminated by the substances and the government estimates half of the country's water sources contains high levels of them. 

PFAS has contaminated over 5,000 sites across all 50 states and more than 1,200 of those sites have detectable levels of these forever chemicals, according to the EWG.

'For decades, the American people have been exposed to the family of incredibly toxic 'forever chemicals' known as PFAS with no protection from their government,' said EWG president and co-founder Ken Cook. 

'Those chemicals now contaminate virtually all Americans from birth. That's because, for generations, PFAS chemicals slid off of every federal environmental law like a fried egg off a Teflon pan,' he added.

The American Chemistry Council (ACC), which represents the chemical industry, told DailyMail.com that it strongly opposes the EPA's action, calling it 'severely flawed' and believes it 'will undermine overall remediation efforts' for PFAS contamination.

The Superfund law 'is an expensive, ineffective and unworkable means to achieve remediation for these chemicals,'' the group said, adding that it is 'is fraught with unintended consequences and will likely result in extensive, unnecessary delays for cleanups.'

Companies introduced PFAS in the 1940s, adding them to consumer products including frying pans, water-repellent sports gear, cosmetics and even food packaging, exposing millions of Americans to the harmful and potentially life-threatening toxins. 

'This announcement is a critical step toward getting PFAS out of our waterways and making polluters pay,' Frank said in a statement, adding: 'Now, we need to turn off the tap on toxic PFAS everywhere.'

DailyMail.com has reached out to the EPA for comment.