Why limiting PFAS in drinking water is a challenge in the US

By Cheryl Hogue | C&EN | July 13, 2020

Read the full article by Cheryl Hogue  (C&EN)

"An article in the local newspaper caught Andrea Amico’s eye in May 2014. It reported that one of the three drinking-water wells at a sprawling business and industrial park nearby was shut down because of high levels of chemical contamination.

“Instantly, my heart sank,” says the Portsmouth, New Hampshire, woman. Amico recalls her reaction to the news: “My husband works there and he drinks water all day, and my two kids go to daycare there and they drink water all day.”

She’d never heard of the substances tainting the tap water—Portsmouth was one of the first communities in the US to discover these chemicals in public drinking water. Amico, who holds a master’s degree in occupational therapy and works in health care, started researching health effects from these contaminants and at first found little information.

Today, the situation has changed."

Location:

• North AmericaUS

Topics:

• ChemicalsPFAS
• SourcesAirports
• SourcesManufacturing facilities
• SourcesMilitary bases
• SourcesSewage treatment plants
• Environment
• Wildlife
• Remediation
• Filtration
• Monitoring Data
• PFAS Uses