Nearly half of US tap water contaminated by ‘forever chemicals’ linked to infertility and cancer, study warns

Nearly half of the tap water in the United States is contaminated by dangerous ‘forever chemicals’ that have been linked to infertility and cancer, a study claims.

The US Geological Survey (USGS), the country’s largest water, earth, and biological science and civilian mapping agency, found that at least 45% of America’s tap water is impacted.

The study, which is the first large-scale assessment of PFAS contamination in America’s private and public drinking water, found that the most exposed regions were the Great Plains, Great Lakes, Eastern Seaboard, and central and southern parts of California.

Tap water samples were taken at 716 locations including in protected lands, residential and rural areas with no known PFAS sources and locations with PFAS sources like industry or waste sites.

USGS tested drinking water for 32 types of PFAS with data collected between 2016 and 2021. It was used to estimate potential PFAS contamination across the country.

USGS research hydrologist Kelly Smalling, the study’s lead author, said the tested water was “collected directly from people’s kitchen sinks across the nation, providing the most comprehensive study to date on PFAS in tap water from both private wells and public supplies.”

She added: “The study estimates that at least one type of PFAS – of those that were monitored – could be present in nearly half of the tap water in the US.”

The most frequently detected compounds were PFBS, PFHxS and PFOA with levels of PFOS and PFOA exceeding the US Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) health advisories in every sample.

According to USGS, the probability of PFAS not being in tap water is about 75% in rural areas and around 25% in urban areas.

Cities and locations close to “potential sources” of PFAS were most contaminated by the chemicals. The chemicals were in large quantities of everyday products from takeaway containers to non-stick cookware.

The EPA says exposure to certain levels of PFAS may lead to decreased fertility or increased high blood pressure in pregnant women, and they are also linked to developmental effects in children and increased risk of some cancers including prostate, kidney, and testicular.

It comes after analysis of Environment Agency (EA) data by the Wildlife and Countryside Link and The River Trust discovered that toxic chemicals are in 81% of England’s rivers and lakes.

Six chemicals in five different mixtures were found across the sites including “forever chemicals” PFOS, PFOA, PFBS and PFHxS.

Campaigners are calling on the UK government to ban the use of “forever chemicals” in products  such as cosmetics and food packaging.

Richard Benwell, CEO of Wildlife and Countryside Link, said: “‘Forever chemicals are a toxic timebomb, building up in our waters and wildlife - a risk for nature and public health.

“The government should ban unnecessary ‘forever chemical’ use in products like cosmetics and food packaging, tackle similar chemicals as a group, and set safety standards to prevent dangerous chemical cocktail effects in the environment.”

A spokesperson for the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs told the Guardian: “We are working closely with our regulators to assess the potential risks posed by unintentional chemical mixtures to our environment.

“This builds on work since the 2000s to increase monitoring and either ban or highly restrict a number of PFAS, both domestically and internationally. We will set out our approach to managing chemical mixtures in the chemicals strategy later this year.”