BACKGROUND
Phasing out harmful contaminants
Lead. PFAS. Perchlorate.
Drinking water can have numerous contaminants like these and more than 140 unregulated chemicals. The risk to consumers from some of these chemicals is clear, but the best way to protect the public's health is not. That's because evidence, tools, and technological innovations are needed to identify how to remediate in a cost-effective way.
As the government has grappled with what to do about them, Abt Global has been there to help. We have managed, supported, and provided technical assistance to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in a variety of areas for more than 40 years. We have helped EPA’s efforts to ensure that lead pipes are identified and removed everywhere from cities to tribal lands. We supported the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) in its response to per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) contamination. And we’re providing EPA with regulatory development support for perchlorate, a contaminant used in rocket fuel and missiles.
Abt’s environmental team recently supported the EPA to finalize two landmark regulatory processes—to address lead, copper, and PFAS—that will improve drinking water safety for millions of people.
WHAT WE'RE DOING
Data and tools to support regulations that protect communities and the environment
Drinking water touches millions of homes, schools, and businesses across the country. Over decades of scientific partnership, we have helped EPA’s Office of Water and Office of Research and Development safeguard the nation’s health and economic well-being. Our work spans every phase of the process, from assessing the health effects of contaminants to evaluating treatment technologies’ effectiveness.
As awareness grows about PFAS, communities want to know more about their exposure and risks. We developed a series of pharmacokinetic models to estimate blood PFAS levels due to the consumption of contaminated drinking water. These models incorporate background exposures and a person’s life stage, and account for uncertainty in the person’s potential exposure to PFAS.
Our teams used machine learning to calibrate, test and refine the models. We then built an online tool, released in 2022, so users can estimate their personal PFAS exposure with no blood samples required. This gives people concerned about their own exposure more information to address their potential risk and helps fill a gap when blood testing is expensive or difficult to access. The tool allows users to enter their water PFAS concentration levels, or to use a ZIP code look up feature. Since its launch, the PFAS Blood Level Estimation Tool website has been accessed by individuals in all 50 states and more than five countries.
Our multidisciplinary teams are critical to providing the innovative and comprehensive studies our clients need.
– Emma Glidden-Lyon, Environmental Policy and Regulatory Associate
We also work in collaboration with communities through information sessions and social media ad campaigns. Abt’s ad campaign in support of ATSDR’s PFAS exposure assessments produced nearly 2 million impressions (number of times the ads were seen) and nearly 2,500 link clicks in eight geotargeted communities.
Science to Advance Water Treatment Technology
As the EPA moved forward with updating regulations for emerging contaminants, Abt supported the Agency’s Office of Water in evaluating drinking water treatment technologies. We’ve developed national technologies and cost analyses, analyses for best available technologies designation, and analyses of affordability of small system compliance for carcinogenic volatile organic compounds, fluoride, and perchlorate.
For each technology, we provided everything from detailed cost estimates and assessments of effectiveness for the target contaminant to pre- and post-treatment requirements, history of full-scale operation, and geographic applicability.
Any practical program for treating contaminants requires accurate cost estimates for the full treatment lifecycle and an understanding of what you get for the money: the treatment’s effectiveness. The EPA is required to consider costs and benefits, but that’s also how to build political support for the spending.
– Pat Ransom, Environmental Science Senior Associate
Since 2014, Abt has helped the EPA advance a drinking water standard for perchlorate. We supported the development of an initial Maximum Contaminant Level Goal (MCLG) in 2019, and when the EPA revisited the perchlorate standard in 2025, they turned to Abt again. We reviewed and developed modeling of the occurrence of perchlorate in drinking water using a Bayesian Hierarchical Model and simulated samples of drinking water with a Markov Chain Monte Carlo (MCMC). We conducted research into the health effects associated with perchlorate and updated analyses for perchlorate by incorporating recent scientific findings on technology effectiveness and the latest unit costs from treatment technology vendors. And we are currently developing the economic analysis for the EPA’s proposed perchlorate drinking water standard that synthesizes this research into national costs and benefits estimates.
We also reviewed the scientific and engineering literature to add data to the EPA’s Drinking Water Treatability Database for other emerging contaminants, including 1,4-dioxane, anatoxin, arsenic, cis- and trans-1,2-dichloethylene, cyanide, cylindrospermopsin, lithium, and microcystins. We expanded the database’s coverage from two PFAS compounds in 2015 to 69 PFAS compounds today.
Since 2014, Abt has helped the EPA advance a drinking water standard for perchlorate. We supported the development of an initial Maximum Contaminant Level Goal (MCLG) in 2019, and when the EPA revisited the perchlorate standard in 2025, they turned to Abt again. We reviewed and developed modeling of the occurrence of perchlorate in drinking water using a Bayesian Hierarchical Model and simulated samples of drinking water with a Markov Chain Monte Carlo (MCMC). We conducted research into the health effects associated with perchlorate and updated analyses for perchlorate by incorporating recent scientific findings on technology effectiveness and the latest unit costs from treatment technology vendors. And we are currently developing the economic analysis for the EPA’s proposed perchlorate drinking water standard that synthesizes this research into national costs and benefits estimates.
We also reviewed the scientific and engineering literature to add data to the EPA’s Drinking Water Treatability Database for other emerging contaminants, including 1,4-dioxane, anatoxin, arsenic, cis- and trans-1,2-dichloethylene, cyanide, cylindrospermopsin, lithium, and microcystins. We expanded the database’s coverage from two PFAS compounds in 2015 to 69 PFAS compounds today.
Drinking Water Treatment Costs, Benefits & Analysis
In April 2024, the EPA issued rulemaking for PFAS to protect millions of people. Abt was instrumental in developing the economic analyses for the proposed and final rules. We led development of national compliance cost estimates and compared these estimates to projected public health benefits. We analyzed treatment effectiveness and affordability required to designate processes as best available technologies and small system compliance technologies. For the PFAS rule, Abt conducted a national spatial analysis to help EPA understand how the rule may affect communities facing socioeconomic and environmental challenges—and to identify opportunities to improve outcomes in these areas.
Also in 2024, Abt supported EPA to finalize significant Lead and Copper Rule Improvements (LCRI) to protect drinking water. Abt modeled exposure to lead from drinking water to estimate the risk to human health and modified the SafeWater tool for lead and copper to estimate the benefits and costs of the rule under different options. We developed and implemented several approaches to evaluate how blood lead levels change with increasing exposures to lead in drinking water, while also considering non-drinking water sources of lead exposure.
The breadth of Abt’s experience with every phase of drinking water regulation enables us to bring our suite of capabilities to help devise tailored solutions for different contexts. The SafeWater CBX computer model, for example, can assess different combinations of maximum contaminant levels (MCLs) and other model parameters. It can estimate benefit-cost ratios and economic impacts for different contaminants.
The model also can simultaneously consider two or more user-specified MCLs for easy comparisons. Its flexibility is critical because populations, exposure levels, environmental factors, and budget constraints, among other factors, vary from community to community.
IMPACT
A model for smart regulation: Landmark rules that protect health for millions
Abt combined health, data science, regulatory, and technical expertise to support evidence-based regulatory processes: including risk evaluation, economic and health impact assessment, rule drafting, public comment management, and final rule development.
Years in the making, these new rules lay the groundwork for significant change and reduce risks of cancer, developmental disorders, and health risks for those exposed.
PFAS Rule: Through the PFAS rule published in 2024, the EPA set limits for several PFAS in drinking water. Water systems must take action to reduce the levels of these PFAS in drinking water if the level exceeds regulatory standards. Regulated public water systems have three years to complete their initial monitoring for these chemicals, and systems must include their results in their Annual Water Quality reports to customers. Systems that detect PFAS above the new standards will then need to implement solutions that reduce PFAS in their drinking water. Water systems must also notify the public if levels of regulated PFAS exceed these new standards.
This new rule protects 100 million people from PFAS in drinking water, saving lives and preventing illnesses.
Lead and Copper Rule Improvements: Also finalized in 2024, the LCRI protects millions of Americans from exposure to lead in drinking water. Key provisions of the rule include locating existing lead service lines, replacing nearly all lead lines within 10 years, strengthening tap sampling requirements, and lowering the threshold (of lead in water) for taking action. The rule also includes vital public notification requirements helping communities better understand risks.
The EPA estimates that once the LCRI is implemented, each year it will help prevent:
- up to 900,000 low birthweight cases,
- 2,600 ADHD diagnoses,
- 1,500 early deaths from heart disease, and
- 200,000 IQ points lost.
WHY IT MATTERS
Closing gaps today to secure safer water for the future
The PFAS and lead and copper rules published in 2024 significantly protect families, communities, and the environment by closing critical regulatory gaps on some of the most harmful substances circulating in our water. Abt’s approach to supporting complex regulatory processes demonstrates how strong data and digital tools translate into measurable public health and environmental benefits. This progress sends a clear signal that environmental health matters, and that data, regulation, innovation, and communities can align to protect people and the planet.