Nearly 100million Americans are being exposed to tap water laced with chemicals linked to cancer and autism.
Researchers at the USGS — a federal agency that studies natural hazards — said a quarter of the country relies on groundwater wells that are contaminated with per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), also called forever chemicals.
People living in major cities like New York, Miami and Chicago were estimated to have the highest levels of PFAS in their drinking water, while those in rural areas had lower levels of the contaminant.
The researchers tested 1,200 public and domestic wells nationwide to generate a first-of-its-kind interactive map showing the worst-affected areas.
Overall, they estimated that 71 to 95million American homes.
A total of 72 percent of people relying on public wells nationwide, which supply nine in ten Americans, are thought to be drinking water contaminated with PFAS.
The study in which the results were first published warned that PFAS exposure had been linked to ‘adverse human health effects’, including thyroid problems, developmental issues and cancer.
The above map shows the public water supply and estimates of areas with higher levels of PFAS in their drinking water
The above map shows the domestic water supply from private wells and estimates of areas with higher amounts of PFAS in their drinking water
PFAS are microscopic chemicals used in dozens of manufacturing processes, from cookware to clothes, carpets, food packaging and make-up. It is also used in firefighting foam.
The chemicals can seep into the environment, however, where they take thousands of years to break down and can enter water and the food supply.
Researchers have already warned that they can cause health problems like cancer because they can disrupt the natural processes of cells.
New HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Junior has vowed to get the chemicals out of the public food and water supply.
Re-sharing a DailyMail.com story while on the presidential campaign trail in December 2023, he wrote on X: ‘One of my top priorities as an environmental president will be to get cancer-causing PFAS and other “forever chemicals” out of our food, water, and environment.’
He is currently fighting to have fluoride removed from the nation’s drinking water, amid studies showing that it could lead to a lower IQ.
Among those using the public water supply, data showed Massachusetts had the highest levels of contamination — with 98 percent of public wells estimated to have water laced with the chemicals.
New York and Connecticut had the second highest levels, with estimates suggesting up to 94 percent of residents using public water had water laced with PFAS.
Pressure groups in the tri-state area say these states have such high levels because firefighting foam with high levels of PFAS was used in training exercises in the area for many years.
In these exercises, the foam was sprayed over the ground, where it sunk into the soil and contaminated groundwater, and then drinking water.
At the other end of the scale, Arkansas was shown to have the lowest levels of contamination in its public water supply at 31 percent.
Among those using private wells, Connecticut was estimated to have the highest proportion with contaminated wells — at 87 percent.
New Jersey was estimated to have the second highest at 84 percent and Rhode Island the third highest at 81 percent.
The chemical has got into water after seeping from industrial areas into the ground supply
Mississippi had the lowest levels, on the other hand, at 15 percent of private wells estimated to be contaminated.
Researchers collected their samples before water had been treated, which they said could affect the results.
But scientists say that conventional methods for treating water do not tend to remove PFAS, which requires more specialized techniques.
Andrea Tokranov, a USGS scientist who led the study, said: ‘This study’s findings indicate widespread PFAS contamination in groundwater that is used for public and private drinking water supplies in the US.
‘This new predictive model can help prioritize areas for future sampling to help ensure people aren’t unknowingly drinking contaminated water.
‘This is especially important for private well users, who may not have information on water quality in their region and may not have the same access to testing and treatment that public water supplies do.’
Testing for the model showed it correctly predicted PFAS exposure in about two thirds of cases when compared to independent datasets.
It only analyzed data on water contamination with 24 existing PFAS chemicals out of more than 12,000 known to exist.
The data was first published in the journal Science in October last year.
