In case our municipal water supplies weren’t toxic enough as is, chemical companies have been covering up the hazardous health effects of the PFOAS and PFOS lurking within our taps.
It’s safe to say that regardless of how healthy you consider yourself to be, you likely have these forever chemicals in your system, whether they came about directly or indirectly.
Here’s what you need to do:
What are PFOAS and PFOS?
Perfluorooctane Sulfonates (PFOS) and Perfluorooctanoic Acids (PFOAS) are essentially man-made chemicals that went into production in the 1940s. They’re used in textiles, non-stick cookware, paper and packaging material, pesticides, cleaning products, and more.
These water and stain-resistant synthetic chemicals are incredibly hard to break down, especially within the human body, which is part of the reason why they’re no longer produced in the United States.
It also goes without saying that PFOAS and PFOS are extremely hazardous to your health, as they’re linked to cancer, infertility, liver damage, thyroid disease, and much, much more.
The reason PFOAS and PFOS are referred to as the “forever chemicals” is that their chemical makeup keeps them from breaking down under natural conditions.
To give you more of a perspective timeline of these forever chemicals, it can take hundreds—even thousands—of years for them to break down in the natural environment. So while the United States and Canada prohibit their production and usage, they’re still lingering all around us at the young age of 81 years old.
Our Water and Our Health
There are several ways in which PFOAS and PFOS are still getting to us:
- Household products such as stain-resistant upholstery or apparel
- Food packaging
- Contaminated soil used to grow our food
- Equipment used to process our food
- Our water supply
As of right now, there are no federal limits for the concentration of these forever chemicals in our water supply. This includes the bottled water we purchase from stores as well as the groundwater that surrounds us and hydrates our plants and food supplies.
According to the EWG, drinking water isn’t necessarily the primary way we come into contact with PFOAS and PFOS. However, it is our most constant source.
The average individual uses up to about 100 gallons of water per day between drinking, cooking, bathing, cleaning, laundry, and other activities. This makes the frequency of exposure to these chemicals via water incredibly hazardous.
Consuming water directly from your kitchen sink is no longer a viable option. While it may look clean and clear, we can assure you that it’s anything but safe for consumption, especially with the amount of PFOAS and PFOs in addition to other contaminants flowing freely from your faucet to your cup.