ARIZONA, USA — Arizona is set to screen all of the state's 1,500 drinking water systems after the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) advised a pair of "forever chemicals" are linked to lowering a certain vaccine's response in children.
The chemicals, called PFAS, have also been linked to effects on the immune system, the cardiovascular system and cancer.
In June, the EPA lowered its recommended guidelines after studies found two of the thousands of PFAS variations, PFOA and PFOS, could suppress the response of tetanus and diphtheria vaccines in children. The amount of these chemicals considered healthy in drinking water was lowered from 70 parts per trillion to 0.004 parts per trillion for PFOA and 0.02 parts per trillion for PFOS.
Around 56 of the 287 water systems sampled exceeded the EPA's new guidelines on PFAS. The Arizona Department of Environmental Quality sampled 207 of those sites.
"The technology exists to treat any water to any standard. The limiting factor, of course, is cost," said the department's water quality division's director Trevor Baggiore. "Lowering the amount of PFAS at any level is still going to protect people's health."
The department will be putting $3 million toward its water system sampling initiative as part of an agreement with the Water Infrastructure Finance Authority of Arizona. The funding will come out of federal Safe Drinking Water Act funds.
The sampling is set to start in October and will continue over 2023, the department said.
“Sampling all public water systems is critical to understanding where PFAS is so that steps can be taken to reduce people’s exposure to PFAS in drinking water and to connect affected public water systems to funding sources to achieve solutions," Baggiore said.
Drinking water is just one source where PFAS exposure can happen. In fact, people are more often exposed to the chemicals through food or consumer products. The Arizona Department of Health Services recommends limiting exposure to products that contain PFAS and not consuming water above advisory levels.
Read more safety information on PFAS here:
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