results confirm that the number of Americans exposed to PFAS from contaminated tap water has been dramatically underestimated, EWG Study. (Photo Credit: Imani/Unsplash)
FOREVER CHEMICALS
PFAS contamination of tap water far more prevalent than previously reported, EWG study reveals. PFAS are referred to as “forever chemicals” because once released into the environment they never break down, and they build up in our blood and organs increasing the risk of cancer and other illnesses.
“This research reveals that escaping PFAS pollution is nearly impossible,” said Olga Naidenko, Ph.D., EWG vice president for science investigations. “Communities across the world are bearing the burden of removing these toxic chemicals from their drinking water. This crisis calls for immediate action to ensure that all people have safe water.”
PFAS foam gathers along Van Etten Lake shoreline in Michigan near Onear Wurtsmith Air Force Base (Jake May/MLive)
PFAS Explained.
PFAS is short for per- and polyfluoroalkyl. Chemicals in this class of more than 5,000 substances are found in products like nonstick pans (e.g. “Teflon”), food packaging, waterproof jackets, and carpets to repel water, grease, and stains. They’re also used in firefighting foam often used on military bases and at commercial airports. Even personal care products like waterproof mascaras and eyeliners, sunscreen, shampoo, and shaving cream can contain PFAS.
As a result of their pervasiveness, more than 95 percent of the U.S. population has PFAS in their bodies, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
According to one senior CDC official, the presence and concentration of PFAS in U.S. drinking water presents “one of the most seminal public health challenges for the next decades.” Source: EarthJustice – Breaking Down Toxic PFAS
PFAS contaminate water supplies through two main sources: Firefighting Foam and Industrial Discharges.
For decades, the U.S. military has used firefighting foam containing PFAS in training exercises at hundreds of bases around the country. A Department of Defense report released in March 2019 listed 126 military facilities where water supplies were contaminated with PFAS levels above the EPA’s current standard.
(Credit: Shutterstock)
The Cape Fear River in Wilmington (File photo: Lisa Sorg)
In 2016, researchers discovered troubling levels of GenX and other new-generation PFAS in North Carolina’s Cape Fear River. The source is a chemical manufacturing plant owned by The Chemours Company, a spin-off of DuPont.
The extent of the highly toxic fluorinated compound in the U.S. continues to grow at an alarming rate. As of May 2020, 1,582 locations in 49 states are known to have PFAS contamination.
PFAS Contamination in the U.S. (May 4, 2020)
Mapping PFAS contamination sites brings us closer to the shared goal of ensuring public health by protecting drinking water from PFAS contamination. Thanks to EWG’s and SSEHRI’s work communities across the U.S. are responding to the PFAS contamination crisis by organizing and advocating for safe drinking water.
Billboards along NC highways send message to Chemours, the company blamed for PFAS, GenX (Credit: WECT News)
North Carolina has some of the most PFAS–contaminated water in the country,
A North Carolina 501(c)3 paid for billboards that state, “Chemours, Stop Polluting our Air, Water, and Soil With Your Toxic Chemicals”. Beth Kline-Markesino, the non-profit’s president, said, “We wanted visitors to know the contamination issue is not fixed, and we are still in the midst of this.”
What Can Be Done.
PFAS poses a severe threat to our drinking water safety. Preventing ongoing discharges of PFAS is key to protecting public health.
However, what about all of the PFAS already in our water?
There is no simple and inexpensive technology for removing PFAS from drinking water effectively. Numerous communities are removing PFAS from their drinking water with granular activated carbon, ion exchange or reverse osmosis filtration systems. The removal of the toxic fluorinated chemicals from drinking water costs local communities millions of dollars. For example, Brunswick County, N.C., one of the hardest-hit communities, faces an estimated $137 million cost for reverse osmosis upgrades to a water treatment plant, according to EWG.
Communities whose water supplies are contaminated by industrial waste discharges from fluorochemical production and PFAS-based firefighting foam are struggling with the economic and health costs of contaminated drinking water. To address this crisis, it is essential to STOP industrial discharges and to implement a transition to non-PFAS-based firefighting technologies.
THE EPA AND REGULATORS MUST DO MORE.
Numerous nonprofit environmental groups are taking enormous actions to protect our drinking water from toxic PFAS including the EWG, NRDC, EarthJustice and Sierra Club. All of us call on government agencies and chemical companies to be responsible for cleaning up contamination in the thousands of communities across the U.S. harmed by PFAS chemicals. Please feel free to reach out to us and help with the fight to protect our drinking water from these life threatening toxins.