Drinking water may contain dangerous chemicals linked to cancer and infertility in 43 states affecting up to 19 million Americans, new report finds
- Researchers looked at drinking water with levels of PFAS, man-made chemicals linked to behavioral problems, cancer and infertility
- 610 sources were found in 43 states, affecting as many as 19 million Americans
- Locations included public water systems, military bases, airports and firefighter training sites
- Michigan had the most sites with 192, followed by California with 47 and New Jersey with 43
Millions of Americans may be drinking water contaminated with toxic chemicals linked to behavioral problems, birth defects, cancer, high cholesterol levels and infertility, a new report finds.
Researchers from the Environmental Working Group and Northeastern University found 610 sources in 43 states that contained unsafe levels of man-made chemicals in water known as PFAS chemicals.
These locations include public water systems, military bases, airports and even firefighter training sites and affect as many as 19 million Americans.
Numerous studies have linked these chemicals to severe disorders, defects and conditions.
A new report as found that 610 locations in 43 US states (map, above) contain unsafe levels of PFAS chemicals, which have been linked to birth defects and cancer
PFAS, or per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, are man-made chemicals that have been used in several industries around the world since the 1940s.
They are ubiquitous, appearing in everything from cosmetics to water-repellent clothing to products that scrub away grease and oil, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
For the study, researchers at the Environmental Working Group (EWG) and the Social Science Environmental Health Research Institute at Northeastern University in Boston analyzed data from the Pentagon and water utility reports.
The report included any place where the chemicals were detected, even if levels were below the Environmental Protection Agency’s health advisory threshold of 70 parts per trillion.
‘We, along with many states and academic scientists, regard that number as far too high,’ EWG Vice President Bill Walker told McClatchy.
The group says that a threshold says that even as low as one part per trillion could have result in ill health effects.
An interactive map published along with the report showed that Michigan had the most contaminated sites with 192.
The Great Lake State has been battling a water contamination crisis in Flint since 2014 after the drinking water source was changed from Lake Huron and the Detroit River to the Flint River, which contained high levels of lead.
But PFAS has also been a burden. Residents of two communities in Kalamazoo County were given bottled water last year after tests showed high levels of the chemicals in drinking water, reported Think Progress.
Rounding out the top three were California with 47 and New Jersey with 43 sites.
The map also showed that roughly 20 percent of the sites with unsafe levels were military bases.
‘This should be frightening to all Americans in many ways,’ David Andrews, a senior scientist for the EWG, told CBS News.
‘These chemicals…don’t break down in our body and they don’t break down in our environment and they actually stick to our blood. So levels tend to increase over time.’
The report comes less than a week after the EWG released a study that found California’s public water supply was contaminated with several chemicals that could be responsible for up to 15,000 cancer cases.
And, just today, a study from Austria found that arsenic levels in private water wells in the US could change the structure of the heart and increase the risk of stroke and heart attacks.