Drinking water of millions of Americans contaminated with 'forever chemicals'

[BumRushDaShow]

Source: The Guardian

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

The data shows that drinking water systems serving small towns to large cities – from tiny Collegeville, Pennsylvania, to Fresno, California – contain measurable levels of so-called “forever chemicals”, a family of durable compounds long used in a variety of commercial products but that are now known to be harmful.

The water of as many as 26 million Americans is contaminated, according to an analysis of the new EPA data performed by the Environmental Working Group (EWG), a Washington DC-based non-profit. Studies have linked the chemicals to cancers, immunodeficiencies, reproductive harms and developmental effects in children.

Scientists and environmental advocates have increasingly warned about the harms of chemicals like perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) in recent decades, leading to an agreement between the the EPA and chemical manufacturers such as DuPont and 3M to phase out PFOA by 2015.

Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/aug/17/pfas-us-drinking-water-contaminated-forever-chemicals-epa

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EPA data release link - https://www.epa.gov/newsreleases/epa-releases-initial-nationwide-monitoring-data-29-pfas-and-lithium

[FirstLight]

1. damn, I think we've known that EVERYTHING is contaminated for a long time...

It's all the preservatives that are keeping us alive lol

[appalachiablue]

2. More studies on what ISN'T contaminated will be in demand & good luck with that..

[brooklynite]

3. Come to NYC; the finest tap water in the country.

https://www.nyc.gov/site/dep/about/drinking-water-supply-quality-report.page

[BumRushDaShow]

5. Schuylkill punch is "better"!

https://billypenn.com/2018/11/01/fear-of-schuylkill-punch-residents-with-lower-incomes-spend-more-on-water/

[Evolve Dammit]

4. brought to you by Dow, DuPont, Union Carbide, 3M, Exxon Mobil and countless others.

[ffr]

6. NYT: Invest in a [common] water filter

The EPA has found that activated carbon and ion-exchange resin filters can significantly reduce PFAS in drinking water. Happily, these also happen to be two of the most common filter types used in homes, both in pitcher-type filters and in under-sink filters that attach to your plumbing. - NYT

[Stargazer99]

7. The poor can just go to hell

We would not want corp America to be a responsible enitity-profits you know can't spend money of safety of the general public because no one will do anything about it anyway

[Prairie_Seagull]

8. Air, water, food, housing costs...

They are supposed to be afraid of us. Sure does not seem like it to me.

Many irons in the fire right now but those seem pretty important.