Forever is Real: People in 43 US Cities are Drinking Toxic "Forever Chemicals" in Their Tap Water

Dozens of cities in the United States - including Miami, Philadelphia, and New Orleans - have toxic "forever chemicals" in their drinking water, and environmental institutions suggested on Wednesday.

Such long-lived "fluorinated" PFAS chemical compounds (a shorter-term for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances) have emerged in the last decade as a broader contamination concern due to a few proofs of links to cancer and lowered fertility. They are perhaps well known from the 2019 film Dark Waters, about pollution from a DuPont facility in West Virginia.

Earlier surveys have connected water contamination with these chemical substances to firefighting foams and Teflon. However, the new independent lab results, which detected PFAS chemical substances in 43 of 44 cities examined last year, leading to an enormous problem.

Environmental Working Group study co-author Sydney Evans told BuzzFeed News that PFAS in drinking water "isn't okay." The research team, according to Evans, was surprised to see the chemicals turn up in cities as varied as Miami, New Orleans, and Philadelphia. The nearby area they examined that didn't have PFAS contamination was Meridian, Mississippi, which receives its water from a 600-foot-deep well.

Earlier surveys conducted by the Environmental Protection Agency and the EWG had not proven such a significant presence of the chemical compounds in drinking water, Evans stated. Her team examined for 30 PFAS chemical compounds, such as a few widely used in making stain-resistant clothing, alternatively than most effective the two most common ones.

EPA has cautioned a 70 parts-per-trillion (ppt) limit on those chemical substances. Some states have set stricter limits in response to more recent health investigations, with New Jersey placing the strictest of 13-14 ppt. The new report's ingesting water samples held concentrations more than those decreased limits in more than a dozen places. The highest degrees of contamination were observed in North Carolina and Iowa.

An agency spokesperson told BuzzFeed News by email that EPA has developed techniques to discover 29 PFAS chemicals in consuming water reliably to date.

"Aggressively addressing PFAS will stay an EPA priority in 2020," the spokesperson said. The official added they could provide additional records on their future actions once available." The organization delayed putting more limits on PFAS chemical substances last year, announcing instead a commitment to start testing large towns for contamination.

Independent specialists say the findings are preliminary, however concerning. Previous EPA studies in 2015 appeared at most effective six PFAS chemicals, for example, and missed contamination in Wilmington, North Carolina. 

North Carolina State University environmental engineer Nadine Kotlarz said the EWG research, without a doubt, is not comprehensive. However, Kotlarz noted that the study gives a few insights.

The environmental group is looking for a more thorough nationwide take a look at the compounds in drinking water, and increased efforts to filter out them through utilities.

Drinking water scientist Martin Shafer of the University of Wisconsin informed BuzzFeed News that PFAS levels might not have changed; however, his research team is now able to measure the water levels.

Assessments of the health risks - if any - of the more recent PFAS chemical compounds will want to be executed first, Shafer warned before panicking over the new numbers.