Grace Fuchs, Yadkin Riverkeeper Assistant
First-of-its kind study by Waterkeeper Alliance found 83% of the waters tested across the country were contaminated by dangerous PFAS chemicals
Last week, Waterkeeper Alliance released a groundbreaking new analysis of American waterways that sounds the alarm on a PFAS pollution emergency. In a test of 114 waterways from across the country, 83% were found to contain at least one type of PFAS—dangerous per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances that are widely linked to serious public health and environmental impacts. As part of this nationwide effort, Yadkin Riverkeeper sampled Muddy Creek in Forsyth County and found PFAS present both above and below the Muddy Creek wastewater treatment plant.
A total of 113 local Waterkeepers, including Yadkin Riverkeeper, collected samples from 114 waterways across 34 states and the District of Columbia (D.C.). Independent analysis indicates a shocking level of contamination, with 94 participating Waterkeeper groups confirming the presence of PFAS in their waterways. Waterways in 29 states and D.C. were found to be contaminated by at least one, but most frequently, many revealed the presence of up to 35 different PFAS compounds. This is of particular concern as an estimated 65% of Americans source their drinking water from surface waters similar to those sampled.
These findings are an important step toward filling in a major data gap and validate the Alliance’s call to EPA for increased and widespread monitoring to gain a complete picture of PFAS contamination in all watersheds across the country. Findings from Yadkin Riverkeeper included:
Of the 55 types of PFAS tested, 8 were present in Muddy Creek.
Results were slightly higher downstream (39.1 parts per trillion) than upstream (36.3 parts per trillion) of the Muddy Creek Wastewater Treatment Plant. This indicates that the wastewater treatment plant isn’t the only source of PFAS on Muddy Creek.
Earlier this year, US EPA issued interim Drinking Water Health Advisories for 4 types of PFAS, recommending limits as low as 0.004 parts per trillion (ppt)
Yadkin Riverkeeper is also working with Waterkeepers Carolina to conduct further PFAS sampling in the watershed to better understand the extent of the problem.
Since at least the 1950s, PFAS have been widely used in manufacturing and are found in many consumer, commercial, and industrial products. Often referred to as “forever chemicals,” PFAS do not break down over time. Instead, these dangerous chemicals accumulate in people, wildlife, and the environment. As a result, PFAS have been found in surface water, air, soil, food, and many commercial materials. Scientific studies increasingly link these toxic chemicals to serious health conditions such as cancer, liver and kidney disease, reproductive issues, immunodeficiencies, and hormonal disruptions.
Despite serious health risks, there are currently no universal, science-based limits on the various PFAS chemicals in the United States. For many PFAS chemicals, the EPA has not even set a health advisory limit that would give the public a baseline to determine what amount of PFAS is unhealthy in drinking water. In most cases, the EPA is not doing adequate monitoring for these chemicals, which is why these findings are so unique and important.
This data plainly demonstrates that Congress and EPA must act with urgency to control persistent PFAS contamination across the country. The current lack of oversight puts the health and safety of communities and ecosystems across the nation at risk and results in costly cleanup and treatment activities to remove PFAS contamination after it has occurred. To learn more, visit waterkeeper.org/pfas and yadkinriverkeeper.org
TELL YOUR REPRESENTATIVES TO ADD PFAS STANDARDS TO THE CLEAN WATER ACT