(Legal) Unsafe Levels of PFAS Chemicals in Water...
There are unsafe levels of PFAS chemicals found in bottle and tap water - and it’s legal for them to be there!
Bottled or tap water?
Recently PFAS chemicals (that same family of chemicals found in Non- stick cookware and water repellent fabrics) were found in bottled water in Massachusetts and beyond... which brought attention to the fact that these chemicals are not regulated in bottled water.
How much PFAS were found?
Levels considered 'unsafe for infants and pregnant or nursing women' were found in the gallon drinking bottles tested
How harmful are PFAS chemicals?
PFAS chemicals have been linked to low birth weight, accelerated puberty, skeletal variations in newborns, testicular and kidney cancer, liver damage, immune effects and thyroid effects.
"In a study published last year, Harvard University researchers concluded that children should not consume water with concentrations of the chemicals greater than 1 part per trillion, calling the health risks “greatly underestimated.”"
What brands of bottled water were tested?
The bottled water brands that were found to contain PFAS were:
(these specifically sold in Massachusetts)
365 spring water (Whole Foods)
Acadia Springs (stop and Shop)
Best Yet Spring Water
Cumberland Farms Spring Water
Ice Canyon Spring Water (CVS)
Food Club Spring Water
Natures Pride Spring Water (Garelick Farms)
Roche Brothers Spring Water
Shaw Spring Water
Spring Hill Spring Water
(sold outside of Massachusetts)
Golden Flow Spring Water
Hy-Top Spring Water
Native Brands Spring Water
Pride Pure
(as of 7/31/2019 according to the Boston Globe "But the water remains on the shelves at other supermarkets, including Stop & Shop and Whole Foods, where, under the 365 label, large jugs of the water produced last month were being sold for 89 cents at their stores in Boston.")
Is tap water any safer?
Unfortunately, not necessarily. According to the Environmental Working Group 43 states have drinking water sites contaminated with PFAS chemicals - that's millions of families drinking PFAS every day.
The reason? PFAS chemicals are not regulated by federal law in the US... not in bottled water and not in tap water.
The US EPA did establish an ' health advisory levels at 70 parts per trillion' for two PFAS chemicals (PFOA and PFOS) for drinking water earlier this year- but health advisories are non enforcable and non-regulatory... so basically this doesn't mean much for us. Even though the EPA has admitted that the ingestion of these chemicals in water may be detrimental to our health - They can legally be in our tap and bottle water ☠️
What can you do?
Water is essential for life- and PFAS chemicals are not the only contaminants we need to be concerned about. These two steps are essential for safe water:
Do not drink bottled water: Bottled water is not regulated for PFAS contamination And the plastic bottles are destructive for our planet.
Your best protection is to have an in home water filtration system that specifically filters out PFAS chemicals. At home we use Pure Effects Filtration System. Based on my research I found it to be superior to most other filtration systems and we have been so happy since we installed it. My second go to is the Berkey filters - these I have on my Amazon store and love for all the nasties they filter out and because they are a superb non permanent filter for the home. Reverse osmosis filters, while more expensive, are also a solid option. If you are interested my Amazon Shop has my top selection of safe and effective water filters (Pure Effects is only sold via their website)