NC West Virginia News

Harmful chemicals that do not break down are present in public water systems nationwide, according to research conducted by West Virginia University (WVU) economists. The study found that densely populated, higher-income areas and those using groundwater tend to have the highest contamination levels.

Levan Elbakidze, professor of resource economics and management at the WVU Davis College of Agriculture and Natural Resources in the Division for Land-Grant Engagement, along with doctoral student Nabin Khanal, identified at least four "forever chemical" contamination hot spots in the eastern United States.

By correlating these data with socioeconomic attributes like housing density, income, and raw water intake sources, they discovered that heavily populated, higher-income communities with industries such as manufacturing, health care, aviation, and defense show concerning levels. Lower-income, non-white populations and larger agricultural regions had lower levels of contamination. Additionally, communities drawing drinking water from aquifers were more likely to be contaminated than those utilizing rivers and reservoirs.

The researchers emphasized that mitigating contamination will require addressing both industrial emissions and consumer products.

Forever chemicals are per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), of which there are more than 14,000 types. They are found in many products and can cause serious health problems such as heart disease, cancer, and infertility. Originally developed for the Manhattan Project in the 1940s, PFAS are now widely used in industrial processes for their resistance to water, heat, stains, and grease as well as in manufacturing household products like nonstick cookware.

“They’re called ‘forever chemicals’ because once they are made, they don't biodegrade,” Elbakidze said.

The hot spots identified cover 10 states and 149 counties. The hot spot with the greatest number of counties spans across Alabama, Georgia, and Tennessee. A second spans New Jersey, Pennsylvania, New York, Delaware, and Connecticut. The third largest hot spot sits on the border of North Carolina and South Carolina; the smallest is in Colorado.

“The regional hot spots have PFAS manufacturing plants [and] industrial sites that utilize PFAS... while the Colorado hotspot encompasses counties with the U.S. Space Command [and] an Air Force Base,” Elbakidze explained.

Until recently, the extent of PFAS's damaging health effects was not realized; even small amounts can be harmful. In 2022, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) significantly lowered the PFAS levels considered safe in drinking water. As many as 270 million Americans rely on drinking water contaminated with these chemicals.

While the Safe Drinking Water Act regulates contaminants like E.coli it does not regulate PFAS. Consequently sources of PFAS contamination remain poorly understood making future prevention challenging according to Elbakidze who noted that although EPA cannot enforce monitoring it does collect data on PFAS presence in water supplies

“If we have some data on this we can see what concentration is where it happens which U.S regions have concentrations And what factors go along with it” he said

In addition to EPA data Elbakidze & Khanal collected information from Bureau Labor Statistics & US Census Bureau better understand spatial distribution contaminant concentrations Historically testing focused areas near PFAS manufacturing defense aviation facilities However WVU study indicates contamination can arise everyday consumer products affecting communities far from industrial sites

“Given diverse sources contamination any water system whether public private well could potentially be affected” Khanal said “Therefore crucial test your water for PFAS take necessary measures avoid using contaminated water drinking food preparation

“We wash things wear water-resistant clothing That’s PFAS So if you have densely populated area those things consumed greater amounts gets washed down sewer But wastewater treatment plants don’t technology filter out before released Subsequently drinking systems also lack necessary technology draw contaminated sources end up delivering treated”

Researchers initially believed underground aquifers would have fewer contaminants because groundwater filtered degree percolates into aquifer

“Most pollutants under Safe Drinking Water Act more prevalent surface” Elbakidze said “But case Groundwater more contaminated because chemicals don’t biodegrade destroyed stay very long time”