“Invisible, Unbreakable, Unnatural: PFAS Contamination of US Surface Waters,” a collaborative report from the Waterkeeper Alliance, was released on October 18, 2022.
The report, interactive ArcGIS story map, list of PFAS chemicals and other resources can be found at waterkeeper.org/pfas.
Waterkeeper Alliance’s survey reveals a scale of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in surface waters across the country that are staggering. 113 local Waterkeepers surveyed 114 waterways across 34 states and the District of Columbia, and 83% of the waters tested are contaminated with PFAS chemicals. In some waterways, the level of contamination is thousands to hundreds of thousands of times greater than the EPA’s health advisory levels.
Save The River Upper St. Lawrence Riverkeeper collected data for this study. Four chemicals were detected in our sample from the St. Lawrence River; PFHxA (a byproduct of non-stick coatings), PFOA (used as surfactant and in fire-fighting foam), PFOS (used as surfactant and in fire-fighting foam), and PFPeA (surfactant and surface protector). For more information and details on the study, please visit waterkeeper.org/pfas.
Waterkeeper Alliance is urging Congress to pass the Clean Water Standards for PFAS Act of 2022 to reduce the levels of PFAS entering our waters in the first place. Visit savetheriver.org to sign the letter and add your voice to tackling “forever chemicals.”