Vidcast: https://youtu.be/CFzqNunX8z8
PFAS, polyfluoroalkyl substances, the forever chemicals used to make Teflon cookware, cosmetics, and other consumer products, contaminates your drinking water. These chemicals are unregulated and have been linked to thyroid disease, cardiovascular problems, infertility, obesity, and cancer.
The Environmental Working Group, EWG, compiled data on tap water from 44 locations in 31 states. The definition of a safe level keeps dropping. Fifteen years ago when the Dupont West Virginia poisoning dramatized in the movie Dark Waters came to light, the EPA said 500 ppt but WVA went with 150,000. Now the EPA says 70, VT says 20, but NJ wants 14. The EWG says 1. Many far northern and southern states never dropped their limits.
The most polluted water was from NC, IA, NJ, Phillie, Louisville, New Orleans, Charleston, Decatur, and DC. The safest came from Meridian, Tuscaloosa, Seattle, Memphis, LittleRock, CO, and here in New York City. Look for the summary charts in my YouTube, Twitter, Instagram, TicToc, and LinkedIn videos.
When the EPA last tested in 2013-2015, they reported that 36/43 water systems had no detectable PFAS, but they tested for only 6 compounds rather than the the 30 that EWG tested. Even 30 is just the tip of the iceberg as there are 600 actively used by industry.
There are ways to purify the water, but they require expensive reverse osmosis and the newer ion exchange. Granulated charcoal filters are used in Iowa with obviously poor results.
What can you do? First, find out the PFAS levels in your tap water. If they are high, buy safe bottled water but beware since not all of it IS safe. The FDA sets no PFAS limits for bottled water.
The International Bottled Water Association (IBWA) requires its members to test for 14 PFAS compounds and sets a limit of 10. The first results showed that all samples were below 70, faint praise, and 97.3% were below 2, much better. There are no published results for individual bottled water manufacturers but Nestles and FreshPure are said to be safe.
If you want to have safe tap water for your family at home, you can buy a 5 stage reverse osmosis system on Amazon for $200-300. One last water warning: pregnant women and babies should avoid higher PFAS water like the plague. It triggers preeclampsia and interferes with glucose and lipid metabolism or worse.
But wait, there’s more. These chemicals are in carpets, clothing, cookware, microwave popcorn bags, fast food wrappers, as well as waterproof and stain-resistant clothing. Check out the excellent EWG fact sheet and learn how to avoid these poisons.
https://www.ewg.org/research/national-pfas-testing/
Cordner A, De La Rosa VY, Schaider LA, Rudel RA, Richter L, Brown P. Guideline levels for PFOA and PFOS in drinking water: the role of scientific uncertainty, risk assessment decisions, and social factors [published correction appears in J Expo Sci Environ Epidemiol. 2019 Mar 29;:]. J Expo Sci Environ Epidemiol. 2019;29(2):157–171.
https://www.bottledwater.org/and-polyfluoroalkyl-substances-pfas-and-bottled-water
https://www.consumerreports.org/bottled-water/regulators-concerned-bottled-water-may-contain-pfas-contaminants/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6327470/
https://static.ewg.org/ewg-tip-sheets/EWG-AvoidingPFCs.pdf
#tapwater #pfas #teflon #foreverchemicals #reverseosmosis
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