A non-profit environmental organization reported finding a dangerous amount of PFAS in drinking water that serves 7.5 million Californians. Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS, are a group of man-made chemicals that includes PFOA, PFOS, GenX, and many other chemicals.
PFAS, highly toxic fluorinated chemicals whose exposure to humans may increase the risk of cancer and birth defects, have been reportedly found in water samples taken from 74 different California communities, according to a study conducted by Environmental Working Group (EWG).
Dubbed the “forever chemical,” PFAS do not breakdown once released in the environment, and can accumulate in the human body over time. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), human exposure to PFAS is widespread and most people in the United States have measurable amounts of PFAS in their blood. CDC data shows that these compounds can remain in the human body for many years.
The federal Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has established a maximum of 70 parts per trillion (ppt) PFAS in drinking water to minimize the adverse health effects. The EWG study, however, suggests that more than 40 percent of those Californian water systems tested have at least one sample with a PFAS level greater than the EPA’s suggested limit.
According to the EWG study, the areas with the highest levels of PFAS in their water systems were Camp Pendleton, Corona, Oroville and Rosemont, and eastern Sacramento suburbs. One well in Camp Pendleton, a Marine Corps base in San Diego County, reportedly measured a combined 820 ppt for several different PFAS chemicals in 2017.
“The PFAS crisis has raised alarms nationwide, but it’s been under the radar in California,” said EWG President Ken Cook in a news release. “This new data shows that PFAS pollution in California is much more widespread than we knew, with almost one in five Californians served by a utility with at least some of its drinking water supply contaminated with PFAS.”
The study was released to the EWG website on Sept. 25, shortly before the EPA Administrator Andrew R. Wheeler blamed California’s governor for the state’s allegedly deteriorating water quality.
“Based on data and reports, the EPA is concerned that California’s implementation of federal environmental laws is failing to meet its obligations required under delegated federal programs,” wrote Wheeler in a letter (pdf) to Governor Gavin Newsom. “California needs to fulfill its obligation to protect its water bodies and, more importantly, public health.”
In the letter, Wheeler also tied water pollution to the homelessness crisis found in California’s major cities.
“For years, California has pushed policies that have resulted in a homelessness crisis that now threatens human health and the environment, with potential water quality impacts from pathogens and other contaminants from untreated human waste entering nearby waters,” the letter read.
“The state’s recent lack of urgency addressing serious issues in San Francisco resulting from lack of proper oversight and enforcement is concerning.”
