January 17, 2023 – Freshwater fish caught within the nation’s rivers and Great Lakes contained dangerous levels of a toxic additive that has found its way into the nation’s drinking water, a brand new study finds.
The synthetic poison is PFOS, or perfluorooctane sulfonic acid, which the federal government has been phasing out. It's part of a bigger group of additives called perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS. These have been utilized in consumer products for many years and are referred to as “forever chemicals” because they don't break down naturally.
The chemicals have seeped into drinking water and gathered in fish, livestock, dairy products and other animals that contribute to the country's food supply.
The Environmental Protection Agency data was analyzed by the Environmental Working Group, a nonprofit environmental health organization. The evaluation was published in environmental research.
According to EWG, the EPA allows 70 ppm of PFOS in drinking water, but last 12 months beneficial lowering the limit to 0.02 ppm. PFOS was previously an ingredient in Scotchgard and 3M stain repellents.
However, within the freshwater fish examined, 8,000 parts per trillion were common.
This signifies that eating one serving of fish can have the identical concentration of PFOS as drinking the contaminated water for a month, the group says.
“The mean levels of PFAS in freshwater fish were an astonishing 280 times higher than those for chemicals detected in some commercially caught and sold fish,” EEC wrote: “Eating a single meal of freshwater fish may end up in similar PFAS exposure as eating store-bought fish each day for a 12 months.
CNN reported, citing the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine, that PFAS chemicals are linked to high cholesterol, cancer and chronic diseases, in addition to a limited antibody response to vaccines.