When you turn your tap on, more than water may be coming out.
Connecticut residents tested their own tap water for contamination and found dangerous levels of PFAS chemicals.
PFAS, also called forever chemicals, are toxic and do not break down naturally.
Residents participated in a study with the Washington D.C.-based Environmental Working Group (EWG) to collect samples of tap water in 18 states — including in Old Saybrook and Simsbury, Connecticut.
EWG Senior Scientist Tasha Stoiber says PFAS can be filtered out of tap water.
“Activated carbon filters or reverse osmosis filters have both been shown to be effective at reducing PFAS in your drinking water,” Stoiber said.
The group wants the Environmental Protection Agency to adopt stronger federal drinking water standards to fund the removal of these chemicals.
Until then, testing your own tap water for PFAS can get expensive, so Stoiber says it's best to check if your water company has published data about PFAS contamination in your area.
“The motivation behind doing this kind of testing, and our report, is really building public awareness and education, and making sure people are aware about the possibility of these chemicals in their drinking water," Stoiber said. "And then really asking their elected officials, you know, what are we doing in our community? Are there detections of these chemicals? What are we doing to treat them?”
Connecticut was recently awarded more than $73 million from the Environmental Protection Agency to combat PFAS contamination.
