A recent USGS study estimates nearly half of the tap water in the U.S. contains at least one type of PFAS chemical.
The USGS tests for 32 out of the 12,000 types of PFAS chemicals.
The chemicals have been used in a variety of products ranging from firefighting foam to non-stick pans.
Research is still being done on their health effects on humans but they’ve been linked to things like reduced immune response and reproductive problems.
Tasha Stoiber is a senior scientist at the Environmental Working Group. Her biggest takeaway from the USGS research and other similar recent studies, including ones by EWG, is that the widespread PFAS continuation is finally getting attention.
“I think the word is getting out. I think people are becoming more aware. It’s concerning because PFAS are linked to a number of different health harms. We do have a federal regulation that has been proposed, but it will take some time for that to be finalized. It will take some additional time to be enforced,” said Stoiber.
Stoiber says researchers in the field have raised concerns about PFAS for years.
Wisconsin just started requiring municipalities to test drinking water for PFAS this year. But there are no regulations for private wells, nor would the EPA’s proposed regulation set any.
Stoiber says it can be hard for private well owners to make the call on whether to test their water. She says it might be a good idea to get your water tested if there’s known contamination nearby.
She says if you’re worried about your water, her group found that the water-pitcher style filters work well for removing PFAS chemicals.
“There are a couple filters that we tested that did work pretty well. They did have quite effective removal efficiencies,” she said. “The thing that you have to remember with the counter type filters, though is that you do need to replace the cartridge filter on time, as recommended by the maker because the effectiveness will go down over time.”
Stoiber says reverse osmosis filters are going to be the most effective at removing the chemicals.
These are the types that are installed under the sink.
They’re also more expensive.
Stoiber also recognizes costs likely falls on the well-owner to find and pay for a solution. It’s something Stoiber believes shouldn’t be the case.
“These are the kinds of problems I think that need to be highlighted. The burden of this contamination really shouldn’t be on the individuals that are now facing this problem. It shouldn’t be on the communities. It really should be on the polluters to pay for this,” said Stoiber.
While federal and state regulators across the country work on setting drinking water standards for PFAS, Stoiber also wants more action taken to reduce the amount of PFAS chemicals being created.
“Stopping the use of PFAS where it’s not needed. There are a lot of non-essential uses right now in consumer products where we just don’t need them. So really taking PFAs out of those products is important and stopping industrial releases is really what’s needed. We need those top-down actions,” she said.
You can learn more about EWG’s work on PFAS in the U.S. on its website.
