Nearly 100million Americans are living in areas where the water supply is contaminated with toxic PFAS ‘forever chemicals’, a Government study warns.
For the first time, the US Geological Survey has estimated how many private wells and small town utilities are laced with the chemicals linked to cancer and infertility.
In total, they estimate that 71million to 95million people may be relying on water that contains forever chemicals. The states with the most citizens likely affected by this are Florida, California and Michigan.
PFAS chemicals are used to manufacture a number of products – from stain resistant clothing to plastic to pesticides. In this map, created by the USGS researchers, each dot represents a potential source of PFAS, per their estimation. The different colors correspond to the different sources of the PFAS
Forever chemicals – so called because they don’t break down in our bodies or environment – have been used in manufacturing since the 1940s, to make everything from nonstick cookware to firefighting foam to stain resistant clothing.
From waste water, chemical spills or landfill build up, these chemicals can leech into the soil.
Long-term exposure to PFAS can lead to an increased risk of prostate, kidney and testicular cancer, developmental delays in children, decreased fertility in women and disruption to the body’s hormone balance, according to the EPA.
The chemicals have also been shown to blunt the immune system – making it harder for your body to fight back against infections.
The Environmental Protection Agency created a law in 2024 that required public drinking water systems to start testing and limiting their water for PFAS by 2025.
However, the EPA rule that doesn’t extend to public utilities serving less than 3,300 people.
About 13 percent of the US population lives in these zones, leaving an estimated 44million people without knowledge about their PFAS exposures.
The study authors said: ‘People in the United States may unknowingly be drinking water that contains PFAS because of a lack of systematic analysis, particularly in domestic water supplies’.
The new research looked at these water systems for the first time, estimating the number of people who might be exposed to PFAS in these areas, and published their findings in the journal Science.
To do this, they created a model for public water supplies serving less than 3,300 people and domestic well users.
From 2019 to 2022 they collected samples from wells from three well networks across the US.
This gave them an idea of what PFAS were in the groundwater around local airports, metal coating facilities, plastics manufacturers, fire training areas, chemical factories and national defense sites.
They analyzed the samples for 24 different kinds of PFAS chemicals.
Researchers then fed the data they collected to a complex machine learning algorithm, which projected their findings to groundwater sources across the contiguous US.
This combined information about rural and private drinking water systems with the groundwater systems that supply bigger public utilities, before it gets treated to remove chemicals.
In doing this, they discovered the drinking water that 71 to 95 million people rely on could have detectable levels of PFAS in it. The majority of this came from small public water systems.
EPA rules require public utilities in developed areas to test for PFAS in the water supply and limit the chemicals – but that still leaves Americans in less populated areas and those who use private wells potentially exposed to forever chemicals, the scientists said
They found that the states with the biggest number of people potentially affected were Michigan and Florida. The states with the largest percentage of people affected were Massachusetts and Washington D.C.
Out of the whole country, the area with highest concentration of PFAS chemicals was found in Biscayne Principal Aquifer in southern Florida.
The researchers said that they hope their model might help people who are at high risk of being exposed to be more aware of their risk and push for testing.
They said: ‘The results are available for public consumption, which allows homeowners to evaluate results in their region and determine if home testing or treatment are options they would like to pursue’.
If a water provider knows that there are forever chemicals in their system, they can treat it to limit the chemicals that end up in your tap.
At home or from private wells, there are filters you can purchase to rid your water of these chemicals – but experts recommend only buying those that are independently certified to filter PFAS.
Consumer Reports recommends looking for filters with stamps from the National Sanitation Foundation, Water Quality Association or International Association of Plumbing & Mechanical Officials.
These range from $45 to as much as $1,200 – depending on whether you’re looking for a counter top, under sink, faucet or pitcher filter. Some brands they highlight include Brondell, Aquasana and Culligan.
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