‘Permanent chemicals’, used in everything from kitchen utensils to clothing to make items stain and water resistant, are present in both bottled water and UK tap water, scientists say .
These industrial substances, which earned their nickname because they can persist in the environment for thousands of years, are more properly known as per-and-polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS.
Numerous studies have linked PFAS exposure to an increased risk of some cancers, birth defects, immune system problems and infertility.
Now, British and Chinese experts have found PFAS in the tap and bottled water supplies in both countries.
But they said simple tips anyone could do at home can dramatically reduce exposure levels.
Now, British and Chinese experts have found PFAS in the tap and bottled water supplies in both countries.
The results, published in the journal ACS ES&T Water, found that PFAS were present in 99 percent of all bottled water tested.
In the study, experts analyzed water supplies for 10 different types of PFAS, comparing levels in tap water from Birmingham, Worcester, Coventry and Derby and the Chinese city of Shenzhen.
They also analyzed 112 samples of bottled water sold in British and Chinese stores from 15 countries around the world.
The results, published in the journal ACS ES&T Water, found that PFAS were present in 99 percent of all bottled water tested.
The analysis revealed that levels were generally higher in bottled mineral water than in non-mineral brands.
They also found that PFAS was present in tap water, although levels were higher in China than in Britain.
Only tap water sampled in Shenzhen exceeded what experts from the University of Birmingham, Shenzhen Southern University of Science and Technology and Hainan University in Haikou, China, set as a safe level in their study.
This is the 4 nanograms (a nanogram represents one billionth of a gram) per liter of water recently promoted by the United States Environmental Protection Agency.
For context, the highest level of PFAS recorded in the study was 9.2 nanograms per liter.
However, another aspect of the study—what actions people could take to reduce PFAS exposure levels in drinking water—yielded promising results.
Experts found that boiling water or using simple filter jugs commonly available in stores reduced the concentration of PFAS by up to 90 percent.
Professor Stuart Harrad, from Birmingham and co-author of the study, said: ‘While current levels of PFAS in most water samples are not a major health concern, continued monitoring and regulation is crucial to protecting public health.
Co-author Professor Yi Zheng, from Southern, added: “Increased awareness of the presence of PFAS in both tap water and bottled water may lead to consumers making more informed decisions, encouraging the use of “water purification”.
However, he added that a person’s exposure to PFAS in drinking water could be influenced by an individual’s economic and lifestyle choices and that this was an area that warranted further study.
Independent experts said that while the findings of the recent study are interesting, they are not cause for panic.
Professor Oliver Jones, a chemistry expert at RMIT University in Melbourne, Australia, said the mere presence of PFAS in water supplies did not guarantee that harm would occur.
“Any discussion about toxicity is meaningless without dose and context,” he said.
“For example, we know that exposure to ultraviolet light can cause skin cancer, but that doesn’t mean you’re going to get cancer as soon as you go outside.”
He also said that PFAS, which are now ubiquitous in the general environment, may have entered the samples in other ways, and this is a limitation that must be recognized.
PFAS are found in a variety of everyday items, from nonstick cookware, clothing, food packaging, carpets, paints, toiletries and vintage products.
‘Forever chemicals’ and the impacts of their exposure on human health were the focus of the 2019 legal thriller ‘Dark Waters’ starring Mark Ruffalo.
“Background contamination from clothing and laboratory equipment is an issue when testing such low levels of PFAS, but the authors do not say how they explained this in the main part of the paper,” he said.
Professor Jones concluded that, while the article was interesting, “it does not mean that bottled (or tap) water should be avoided.”
Dr. Ovokeroye Abafe, an environmental sciences expert at Brunel University London, who was also not involved in the study, said one of the key findings was the extent to which exposure to PFAS could be reduced through simple interventions.
“It is interesting to see very simple and easily adaptable household solutions that can significantly minimize PFAS concentrations in drinking water, thereby safeguarding public health,” he said.
“However, the sample size is relatively small, which is a limitation to take into account.”
Concerns about PFAS have been growing for years, and although some have been banned in certain countries, they continue to be widely used.
PFAS are It is found in a variety of everyday items, from non-stick cookware, clothing, food packaging, carpets, paints, toiletries and vintage products.
Studies have linked exposure to a number of health problems: kidney and testicular cancer, decreased immune response, impaired liver function, decreased birth weight and infertility.
PFAS were the subject of the 2019 Hollywood film Dark Waters, starring Mark Ruffalo, after a community’s water was poisoned by chemicals from a local manufacturing plant.