The quality of drinking water in the United States horrified experts: contaminated with “eternal chemicals”

Drinking water of millions of Americans is polluted with “eternal chemicals”, experts ascertain. The water used by some 26 million people poses a danger – new data allows the most accurate determination of which communities are polluted.

The drinking water consumed by millions of Americans from hundreds of communities scattered across the United States is contaminated with dangerous levels of toxic chemicals, according to testing data released Thursday by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

According to The Guardian, data show drinking water systems serving towns and cities alike, from tiny Collegeville, Pennsylvania to Fresno, California, contain measurable levels of so-called “timeless chemicals,” a family of persistent compounds. , which have long been used in various commercial products but are now known to be harmful.

“The Environmental Protection Agency is doing the bare minimum it can and it’s putting people’s health at risk,” said Kayla Bennett, policy director for the advocacy group Public Servants for Environmental Responsibility.

As many as 26 million Americans’ water is polluted, according to an analysis of new EPA data by the Environmental Protection Working Group (EWG), a non-profit organization based in Washington, DC.

Research has linked these chemicals to cancer, immune deficiencies, reproductive harm and developmental effects in children.

In recent decades, scientists and environmentalists have increasingly warned against chemicals such as perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS), leading to an agreement between the EPA and chemical manufacturers to phase out PFOA by 2015.

However, the ongoing contamination of the environment and human bodies with chemicals forever continues. Studies show that nearly all Americans have some level of PFO, PFOS, and similar chemicals circulating in their bodies, scientifically known as per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS). Additional analyzes show that hundreds of millions of Americans are likely to be affected by contaminated drinking water.

But the EPA testing program, part of a 27-year effort to sample the nation’s drinking water for unregulated chemicals, offers the most credible look at exactly which communities are contaminated. The data, released Thursday, is the first phase of a program that will test the majority of US water systems serving more than 3,300 Americans for 29 different chemicals over the next three years, as well as lithium metal.

This first batch, which analyzed data from some 2,000 systems across the country, is already posing problems.

The drinking water of 220 water supplies was reported to have some level of PFO, PFOS, or both chemicals to varying degrees.

According to the nonprofit organization EWG, the data, which includes all 29 chemicals, confirms that the drinking water of approximately 26 million Americans is contaminated. The data is also “consistent” with a 2020 study by the group, which estimated that more than 200 million Americans may have some form of PFAS in their drinking water.

“These data confirm that PFAS is a common problem, and it will be a major challenge for all of these water supplies to provide safe and clean water,” said John Reeder, EWG vice president of federal affairs.

Experts say they believe officials with contaminated water supplies should take immediate action to provide people with clean water, whether from another river, well or bottled water.