The US Geological Survey has completed a comprehensive analysis of the nation’s tap water quality. Alarmingly, it found that 45% of samples were contaminated with harmful forever chemicals.
Apparently, we’ve yet another annoying boon for the bottled water industry.
The US Geological Survey has just released the details of its comprehensive report on the quality of America’s tap water. Specifically, the federal agency had tested for levels of ‘forever chemicals’ within both government-regulated and private water supplies.
If you’ve yet to hear that term, it pertains to polyfluoroalkyl substances – or PFAS – which are synthetic compounds used to prolong the lifespan of thousands of consumer products.
PFAS are the reason our fast food wrappers aren’t saturated with grease and our toiletries remain unspoiled and tightly concealed for years. Incredibly effective at repelling moisture due to their strong molecular bonds, PFAS unfortunately have several huge caveats.
Many studies have explicitly linked them to health problems including cancer, obesity, thyroid issues, high cholesterol, liver damage, and even decreased fertility. Public health officials currently identify 9,000 compounds as PFAS and that figure is on the rise – meaning despite this knowledge, our product testing is likely chock-full of oversights.
What we have acquired recently is an idea of how much forever chemicals affect US water supplies, though the study’s findings are anything but a call for celebration.