Exclusive: Experts ‘alarmed’ after potentially toxic chemicals detected in sources at 17 of England’s 18 water firms

Potentially toxic “forever chemicals” have been detected in the drinking water sources at 17 of 18 England’s water companies, with 11,853 samples testing positive, something experts say they are “extremely alarmed” by.

Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) – a group of 10,000 or so human-made chemicals widely used in industrial processes, firefighting foams and consumer products – were found in samples of raw and treated water tested by water companies last year, according to the Drinking Water Inspectorate (DWI), the Guardian and Watershed Investigations has found.

  • rosymind@leminal.spaceEnglish
    3·
    1 year ago

    The problem is with how wide-spread it is, even if you get rid of it through blood donation you’re still going to pick it back up again by eating and drinking. There’s no escaping it; what we need is to stop using it, and figure out how to properly remove it from the environment.

    It’s tough, though, because many daily use items in every industry and household contains them.

    For now, the best we can do is avoid items made with them (to the best of our knowledge), filter all our water, avoid food sources known to contain high amounts of it, and spread the word