Called “forever chemicals” because they take a very long time to break down, the substances are even more likely to be found in and near cities, with 75% of urban samples containing at least one PFAS. Just 25% of rural areas were likewise contaminated, according to the study, while contamination levels were similar between public and private water supplies.
All measured levels of PFAS compounds were found to be above the health advisory levels set by the Environmental Protection Agency.
While USGS sampled tap water drawn from 716 different kitchen sinks for the presence of 32 different PFAS, the agency acknowledged that there were over 12,000 types and many cannot be detected with existing tests – meaning the problem is likely even worse than its report suggests.
Read more: Toxic ’forever chemicals’ found in nearly half US drinking water – study
