143 Million Americans Have ‘Forever Chemicals’ in Their Tap Water

The nonprofit Environmental Working Group just released an update to its Tap Water Database, finding that nearly half of the American population is drinking water containing PFAS, otherwise known as “forever chemicals.”

The EWG is a research advocacy group dedicated to monitoring agricultural subsidies, toxic chemicals, and drinking water pollutants. It’s been creating a Tap Water Database for nearly two decades, with the last report issued in 2021. To create its latest database, the EWG audited water quality data from nearly 50,000 American water systems between 2021 and 2023. It identified 324 contaminants—like nitrate, arsenic, and disinfection byproducts—in drinking water across the country, “with detectable levels in almost all community water systems.”

In many cases, the report notes, these detectable levels fall below the legal limits set by the Environmental Protection Agency, but they nevertheless exceed the “health-based standards” established by the EWG itself. And, despite recent federal efforts to regulate PFAS in tap water, the group found that a large portion of Americans are consuming forever chemicals on a daily basis.