While tap water is safe for most Americans, millions of residents are still exposed to tap contaminants each year. according to National Geographic.
On this World Water Day, our partners at NatGeo are working to shed some light on what people need to know about what comes out of their own faucets.
According to some experts, there is a difference between what is legal and what is safe when it comes to drinking water.
The Environmental Protection Agency currently regulates 90 different contaminants in drinking water, from naturally occurring arsenic to dangerous lead, said Sarah Gibbons, a National Geographic environmental writer.
Since Congress passed the Safe Drinking Water Act in 1974, the EPA has identified dozens more potentially hazardous chemicals in tap water.
“These are things that require a lot more research to prove that they’re harmful to human health, and they end up costing a lot of money to regulate, so the EPA has to do a lot of work to prove that these chemicals should be regulated in the first place.” , Gibbons said.
last week, the agency proposed the first federal restrictions on harmful PFASsalso known as “perpetual chemicals” in drinking water.
Environmental and health advocates have pushed for years for regulations on PFAS, or per- and polyfluorinated substances, which do not degrade in the environment. The EPA estimates the new rule could reduce PFAS exposure for nearly 100 million Americans, reducing rates of cancer, heart attacks and birth complications.
Environmental Working Group, an advocacy organization dedicated to removing toxic chemicals from water, praised the EPA’s PFAS proposal but has long argued that many federal drinking water regulations are outdated and inadequate.
A non-profit organization offers its own tap water databasewhich offers residents insight into what contaminants have been found in their local utility water.
However, EPA supports that the US “enjoys one of the world’s most reliable and safe supplies of drinking water.”
Walt Disney Co. is the parent company of National Geographic Partners and this ABC station.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
