A group of environmental scientists say that rainwater is no longer safe to drink.
There are hazardous chemicals in the water across the planet. In a paper published in the journal Environmental Science & Technology on August 2, researchers found that the substances have spread throughout the entire atmosphere.
Thousands of PFAS, all human-made, are used in food packaging, water-repellant clothing, furniture, carpets, and more. They can be released into the air when they are used. They are aerosolized in sea spray. They spread through the atmosphere and fall to the ground.
They're called "forever chemicals" because they linger for a long time without breaking down, which allows them to build up in people, animals, and environments.
In both theAntarctica and thearctic sea ice there are PFCs. Their prevalence across the planet is a hazard to human health, since peer-reviewed studies have linked them to some cancers, decreased fertility, reduced vaccine response, and high cholesterol.
It is difficult to identify the long-term health effects of exposure because they include so many different compounds. According to the new paper, everyone is at risk.
The most well-known of these substances are perfluorooctanoic acid and perfluorooctanesulfonic acid. The guidelines for how much PFOA and PFOS can be in drinking water were tightened in June by the EPA.
The EPA had set an acceptable level for both substances. The safe levels for PFOA and PFOS were cut in half by the new guidelines.
Researchers from the University of Stockholm compared the levels of PFOA, PFOS, and two other PFAS in the soil and rain to regulators' limits. The study authors concluded that the levels of the substances in the rain often exceed the EPA limits.
The lead author of the study said that the latest US guidelines for PFOA in drinking water would make it unsafe to drink.
Many people around the world expect rain to be safe to drink and it supplies many of our drinking water sources.
The paper found that the soil all over the world was contaminated. The researchers think that the levels of PFAS will continue to be high because they persist for so long.
The researchers conclude that the safe boundary for human health has been exceeded.
They wrote that it's important that emissions are quickly restricted.
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