WASHINGTON — PFAS chemicals are contaminating waterways across the United States, putting fish, wildlife and drinking water at risk. That’s the conclusion of a new report from Environment America Research & Policy Center, U.S. PIRG Education Fund and Frontier Group. The study, PFAS in America’s Rivers and Lakes, finds that PFAS were detected in America’s waterways at 83% out of 1,602 testing locations in 40 states from 2022 to 2024.

“America’s waterways should be clean and free of toxic chemicals,” said John Rumpler, Environment America Research & Policy Center’s clean water director and an author of the report. “Yet PFAS contamination of our rivers and lakes is widespread. We shouldn’t have to worry about tainted drinking water or catching and eating contaminated fish.”

Companies use PFAS, also known as ”forever chemicals,” in many everyday items such as nonstick cookware, fast food packaging and waterproof clothing. Because they are so widely used in our economy, PFAS wind up in our waterways through an astonishing array of pollution pathways – including industrial and sewage plant discharges, sewage sludge spread on farmland and firefighting foam. The report, based primarily on data from the national Water Quality Portal and Waterkeeper Alliance, found as many as 114 different PFAS compounds were detected at one or more water testing locations.

“The widespread contamination revealed in our report makes it clear that when we allow harmful chemicals into our environment without considering downstream effects, the problem can get out of hand quickly,” said Lisa Frank, Environment America Research & Policy Center’s executive director. “Removing PFAS from all our waterways is a tall order, but preventing new PFAS pollution can start now.” 

While there is much that is unknown about thousands of PFAS, the chemicals have so far been linked to a wide range of health risks – including decreased fertility, developmental delays in children, compromised immunity and some types of cancer.

To stop these persistent toxins from continuing to pollute America’s rivers, lakes and streams, the groups behind the report are calling for:

  • Barring industrial facilities from dumping PFAS in our rivers or sending them to sewage treatment plants 
  • Ending the application of PFAS-laden sewage sludge on farmland; and most importantly, 
  • Phasing out the use of PFAS, especially where safer alternatives are already available

“Allowing the manufacture of nonstick pans, cosmetic products and clothing to poison our rivers and the fish we eat is unconscionable,” said Ezra Rich, U.S. PIRG Education Fund’s toxics advocate. “It’s time to turn off the toxic tap.”