Mitigation of PFAS in U.S. Public Water Systems: Future steps for ensuring safer drinking water

The circulation and usage of per‐ and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) and PFAS‐derived products, such as Teflon and aqueous film‐forming foam (AFFF), have led to PFAS being found in organisms worldwide. PFAS are emerging chemical contaminants that are toxic and take a long time to break down in the environment. PFAS can cause adverse health effects, including kidney cancer, testicular cancer, and ulcerative colitis. Studies have shown a widespread presence of PFAS in public water systems and people across the United States. The main pollution sources that contribute to PFAS in water are the chemical manufacturing industry, AFFF runoff, and landfills. With the health issues associated, and the occurrence in water systems, action should be taken to reduce PFAS in drinking water. Despite the adverse health effects associated with PFAS, the Environmental Protection Agency has not yet set enforceable limits for the chemicals in drinking water. Future actions should tackle two areas: (1) reducing the contamination at the pollution source and (2) improving the quality of PFAS contaminated drinking water. Five recommendations are suggested for key stakeholders. Contamination can be reduced by setting stricter industrial controls for waste streams, phasing out AFFF usage, and banning the majority of PFAS. Drinking water quality can be improved through setting state‐enforced maximum contaminant levels and equipping water treatment plants with adequate PFAS removal technologies. Application of these recommendations could help reduce the presence of PFAS in drinking water and ensure safer drinking water for communities across the United States.

• Publication year

  2022

• Venue

  Environmental Progress & Sustainable Energy

• Publication date

  2022-01-05

• Fields of study

  Not labeled

• Identifiers
  DOI 10.1002/ep.13800
• External record

  Open on Semantic Scholar

• Source metadata

  Semantic Scholar

• No claims are published for this paper.

• No concepts are published for this paper.

• Early life exposure to per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) and latent health outcomes: A review including the placenta as a target tissue and possible driver of peri- and postnatal effects.

  2020influential reference
• Characterizing the Role of Fluorocarbon and Hydrocarbon Surfactants in Firefighting-Foam Formulations for Fire-Suppression

  2020cited by this paper
• Disposal of products and materials containing per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS): A cyclical problem.

  2020cited by this paper
• Concentrating Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) in Municipal Solid Waste Landfill Leachate Using Foam Separation.

  2020cited by this paper
• Short-chain and long-chain PFAS show similar toxicity

  2019cited by this paper
• An Analytically Defined Fire-Suppressing Foam Formulation for Evaluation of Fluorosurfactant Replacement

  2018cited by this paper
• Comparing the toxic potency in vivo of long-chain perfluoroalkyl acids and fluorinated alternatives.

  2018cited by this paper
• A Review of the Pathways of Human Exposure to Poly- and Perfluoroalkyl Substances (PFASs) and Present Understanding of Health Effects

  2018influential reference
• Safe Drinking Water Act

  2017cited by this paper
• Detection of Poly- and Perfluoroalkyl Substances (PFASs) in U.S. Drinking Water Linked to Industrial Sites, Military Fire Training Areas, and Wastewater Treatment Plants

  2016influential reference
• The Drinking Water State Revolving Fund

  2016cited by this paper
• Municipal Solid Waste Landfills

  2016cited by this paper
• The Lawyer Who Became DuPont’s Worst Nightmare

  2016cited by this paper
• Information about Public Water Systems

  2015cited by this paper
• Overview of the Safe Drinking Water Act

  2015cited by this paper
• Third Unregulated Contaminant Monitoring Rule

  2015cited by this paper
• How EPA Regulates Drinking Water Contaminants

  2015cited by this paper
• Fourth Unregulated Contaminant Monitoring Rule

  2015cited by this paper
• Occurrence Data for the Unregulated Contaminant Monitoring Rule

  2015cited by this paper
• Learn the Basics of Hazardous Waste

  2015cited by this paper
• How the Drinking Water State Revolving Fund Works

  2015cited by this paper
• National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2010

  2014cited by this paper
• Types of Drinking Water Contaminants

  2014cited by this paper
• The National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences

  2014cited by this paper
• Identification of novel fluorochemicals in aqueous film-forming foams used by the US military.

  2012cited by this paper
• The C8 Health Project: Design, Methods, and Participants

  2009cited by this paper
• Developmental Neurotoxicity of Perfluorinated Chemicals Modeled in Vitro

  2008cited by this paper
• Polyfluoroalkyl Chemicals in the U.S. Population: Data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) 2003–2004 and Comparisons with NHANES 1999–2000

  2007cited by this paper
• Global distribution of perfluorooctane sulfonate in wildlife.

  2001influential reference
• Water treatment process

  1998cited by this paper

• Chlorine migration and transformation mechanism in organochlorine hazardous waste treated with alkaline alcohol system

  2026cites this paper
• Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) in Michigan: A Novel High-Throughput Method with Liquid Chromatography–Mass Spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) Analysis of 42 PFAS Compounds in Human and Bovine Serum

  2026cites this paper
• Recent advances in activated carbon driven PFAS removal: structure-adsorption relationship and new adsorption mechanisms

  2025cites this paper
• Real-Time Standoff Detection of Trace Levels of PFAS in Water Using Photothermal Nanomechanical Spectroscopy.

  2025cites this paper
• Mitigating PFAS contamination in the United States: assessing the impact of California’s legislation from 2018 to 2022 on drinking water quality

  2025cites this paper
• Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) Contamination in Agriculture and Its Potential Conflict with Circular Economy.

  2025cites this paper
• Advancing the understanding of PFAS-induced reproductive toxicity in key model species.

  2025cites this paper
• Source identification and distribution of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in the freshwater environment of USA

  2024cites this paper
• In light of the new legislation for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, can continued food sustainability be achieved?

  2024cites this paper
• Exploring the Potential Link between PFAS Exposure and Endometrial Cancer: A Review of Environmental and Sociodemographic Factors

  2024cites this paper
• Transformation, leaching and plant uptake simulations of 6:2 and 8:2 polyfluoroalkyl phosphate diesters (diPAPs) and related transformation products under near-natural conditions

  2024cites this paper
• Circularity in Materials: A Review on Polymer Composites Made from Agriculture and Textile Waste

  2023cites this paper
• Recent Advances in the Analytical Techniques for PFASs and Corresponding Intermediates During Their Chemical Decomposition

  2023cites this paper
• The Relationship between Typical Environmental Endocrine Disruptors and Kidney Disease

  2022cites this paper
• PFAS contamination and its rising toll on food security: A hidden global threat

  year unknowncites this paper