7.5 million. According to ABC News, that’s the number of people in California said to be impacted by PFAS contamination detected in 74 water supplies across the state. That information comes via new research from Environmental Working Group, a nonprofit organization that has been tracking the increasing nationwide problem of PFAS drinking water contamination—even creating an interactive map showing PFAS contamination sites throughout the United States.
The article notes that tests found all 74 of the California water systems to have PFAS levels over 1 part per trillion (ppt). Forty percent (40%) of the systems contained at least one sample with a level over 70 ppt—which is the EPA’s established health advisory level. A well that serves the Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton was found to have levels at 820 ppt for several different PFAS chemicals.
