New research published Monday in Nature Geoscience found harmful levels of of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) present in 31% of groundwater samples and 16% of surface water samples globally. Also known as “forever chemicals” because the chemical compound’s bonds don’t break down for hundreds to thousands of years, PFAS exposure has been linked to immune system and liver damage, pre-eclampsia and high blood pressure during pregnancy, and kidney and testicular cancers.
Water samples from the United States and Australia were found to have especially high levels of PFAS, while the largest abundance of contamination were most often found near airports and military bases, which use foam that contains PFAS to practice battling fires. The EPA Hazard Index marks how dangerous certain chemical mixtures could be to health, and 60% to 70% of samples near those locations exceeded the measure considered to be harmful.
The study set of alarm bells for professor Denis O’Carroll, one of the study’s authors. ““Not just for PFAS, but also for all the other chemicals that we put out into the environment. We don’t necessarily know their long-term impacts to us or the ecosystem.”
The Environmental Protection Agency last year proposed a rule for strict limits of six types of PFAS in drinking water and could potentially announce the final rule this week. According to EPA Administrator Michael Regan, the agency plans to require utility companies to treat their water supply so PFAS levels are close to zero. This will be a big step forward, said David Andrews, senior scientist as the Environmental Working Group.
