Disinfection of drinking water is one of the greatest public health achievements in the last 100 years. Its use, starting in the early 1900s, helped tackle cholera, typhoid and other microbial diseases.  But it’s a double-edged sword, because it can also produce potentially harmful contaminants. These contaminants, known as disinfection byproducts, or DBPs, can often be […]

At least two-thirds of the 389 Defense Department sites in the U.S. where the “forever chemicals” known as PFAS have been detected in groundwater are contaminated with levels above new federal health guidelines. An EWG analysis of DOD data finds 266 military sites have groundwater levels of PFOA or PFOS – two of the most […]

When you drink from a plastic water bottle, you could be exposing yourself to tiny, potentially harmful plastic particles known as microplastics. And the biggest source of your exposure to these microplastics could be the screw cap rather than the bottle itself. That’s the conclusion of a peer-reviewed study published in the Journal of Water […]

The harmful “forever chemicals” known as PFAS are everywhere – as EWG scientists say, “Wherever we look, we find them.” But reducing exposure to these toxic substances is possible. PFAS are in the blood of 98 percent of Americans. The health harms they can cause include greater risk of some cancers, suppressing the immune system […]

More than 5,000 sites across the U.S. are polluted with the toxic “forever chemicals” known as PFAS, creating an urgent national health and environmental crisis. For years, states have led the way in addressing this contamination, with at least 11  setting enforceable drinking water standards. These standards, also known as maximum contaminant levels, limit the […]

Environmentalists are calling on the Environmental Protection Agency to protect public health and water resources by quickly proposing a rule that would limit manufacturing discharges of the toxic “forever chemicals” known as PFAS into waterways like rivers and streams. The health harms of PFAS, including from contaminated water, are well known. But there are still no […]

More than 17 million people in 41 U.S. states are exposed to the hazardous industrial chemical trichloroethylene, or TCE, in polluted drinking water. TCE is a toxic volatile organic compound, or VOC, that has been used since the 1920s to degrease metal parts and manufacture products. Improper disposal and industrial releases of TCE have contaminated public water […]