Sewage treatment plants are releasing high levels of “forever chemicals” into the drinking water supplies of over 20 million Americans, according to a new study.
Published Monday in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the study sheds light on how per- and and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS, are circulating through the environment and reaching people’s tap water. The class of chemicals includes thousands of substances — some of which have been linked to serious human health problems such as cancer — that are extremely difficult to destroy.
Conducted by a team of researchers from multiple universities, the study assessed wastewater from eight large municipal treatment facilities in the U.S. It found that the plants were not removing most PFAS from their wastewater through normal treatment processes.
PFAS can enter wastewater treatment systems from many different sources. Manufacturers have used the substances for decades in various consumer products and industrial applications.
