A joint nine-month investigation on the nation’s drinking water by Guardian US and Consumer Reports found widespread contamination with PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances also known as ‘forever chemicals’), lead, and arsenic, including a significant number of samples that exceeded levels considered safe by Consumer Reports and other health experts.
Consumer Reports tested tap water from a representative mix of municipal water systems across the country using unfiltered tap water samples from 120 volunteers around the U.S. The samples were tested for PFAS, arsenic, lead, and other contaminants and levels were compared to regulatory and health-based limits to assess the potential health risks for consumers.
Concerning levels of PFAS were found in more than one-third of samples tested, with measurable levels detected in 117 of the 120 samples. Every water sample tested had measurable levels of arsenic, ten of which had levels between 3 and 10 parts per billion. Nearly all samples tested had measurable levels of lead.
Significant health risks are associated with each of these contaminants. Exposure to PFAS has been linked to high cholesterol, some cancers, and learning delays in children. Exposure to arsenic has been linked to lowered IQ in children and cancer. Scientists and the EPA agree that exposure to lead is unsafe at any level. It has been tied to reduced IQ and slowed growth in children, high blood pressure, and reproductive problems.
John Mulholland, editor of Guardian US said:
“Fifty years ago the United Nations declared that access to clean water was a human right. So why is that right being denied to so many people in the US? Some reports suggest that 110 million people are exposed to toxic chemicals in their drinking water. Americans are at the mercy of antiquated water systems that fail to deliver safe drinking water; or are exposed to water supplies that are contaminated by industrial polluters that are insufficiently regulated. Mining, agriculture, chemical and other high-profit industries are undermining citizens’ rights to safe and clean water.”
James E. Rogers, PhD, director of food safety research and testing at Consumer Reports said:
“The research shows that the U.S. continues to face serious challenges to ensure everyone has access to clean drinking water. Far too many Americans are exposed to hazardous levels of PFAS and heavy metals in the drinking water they rely on every day. The technology exists to remove dangerous contaminants from water, but these filtration systems are not being used uniformly in communities across the country.”
There are currently no enforceable limits set by the EPA for PFAS in drinking water. The current EPA limit for arsenic is 10 parts per billion, even though the EPA had previously considered a 3 parts per billion limit as feasible. The EPA does not require utilities to take significant steps to lower lead in water – including replacing service lines – unless 10 percent or more of samples from homes exceed 15 parts per billion.
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About Guardian News & Media
Guardian US is renowned for its Pulitzer Prize-winning investigation into widespread secret surveillance by the National Security Agency, and for other award-winning work, including The Paradise Papers. Guardian US has bureaus in New York, Washington D.C., New Orleans and Oakland, covering the climate crisis, politics, race and immigration, gender, national security and more.
Guardian News & Media (GNM), publisher of theguardian.com, is one of the largest English-speaking newspaper websites in the world. Since launching its U.S. and Australian digital editions in 2011 and 2013, respectively, traffic from outside of the U.K. now represents over two-thirds of The Guardian’s total digital audience.