--- title: Drinking Water Contains Chemicals in High Levels Study Finds description: A study found that 16.5 million Americans' public water supplies contain elevated levels of industrial chemicals. canonical: https://time.com/4446751/drinking-water-safe-chemicals/ author: Michal Addady article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-08-10T17:45:15.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-10-06T09:46:14.420Z article:section: Health og:title: How to Find Out If Your Water Is Safe og:description: And what to do if it's not og:url: https://time.com/4446751/drinking-water-safe-chemicals/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltef1bf3dd98c3ccfb/6988a1e05f570f6adab2226e/water.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 5100 og:image:height: 2869 og:image:alt: Woman drinking water from glass, close-up, profile og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: How to Find Out If Your Water Is Safe twitter:description: And what to do if it's not twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltef1bf3dd98c3ccfb/6988a1e05f570f6adab2226e/water.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # How to Find Out If Your Drinking Water Is Safe > Sponsored content. 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Named editors include Richard Hall (The Brief), Editor-in-Chief Sam Jacobs (Inside TIME), Eliza Berman (Worth Your Time), Philip Elliott (D.C. Brief), Justin Worland (Future Proof) and Harry Booth (In the Loop). Health Matters is written by TIME's health desk. #### How do I sign up for a TIME newsletter? Go to time.com/newsletters, choose the newsletters you want and enter your email address. There is no cost and no subscription requirement. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-network-2026q3/newsletters?i=28d1daa7-55a0-4e6a-b5a2-144a6d585045&cr=time-nl-network-2026q3-v1) ## Video: Flint: An American Crisis [Watch (HLS stream): Flint: An American Crisis](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/QUcX4l6y.m3u8) (4:20)  _Published 2016-03-17. update_ by [Michal Addady](https://time.com/author/michal-addady/) ## Michal Addady Aug 10, 2016 5:45 PM UTC update by [Michal Addady](https://time.com/author/michal-addady/) ## Michal Addady Aug 10, 2016 5:45 PM UTC A recent study found that millions of Americans are consuming water from a public supply contaminated with dangerous levels of polyfluoroalkyl and perfluoroalkyl, otherwise known as PFASs. Though not all of their potential effects are known, these industrial chemicals have been linked to various medical conditions like high cholesterol, obesity, hormone suppression, and cancer. Effects may not be noticeable for some people, but certain aspects, including timing of puberty, could compound the potential risks. Unfortunately, these chemicals are everywhere—in food packaging, fabrics, nonstick cooking pans, and firefighting foams. As a result of their pervasiveness, they eventually find their way into our water supply. The study, published in the [Environmental Science & Technology Letters](http://pubs.acs.org/doi/ipdf/10.1021/acs.estlett.6b00260) journal found that 16.5 million Americans consume water from public supplies containing one of six PFASs either at or above the maximum limit recommended by the Environmental Protection Agency. The water supplies are found in 33 states, American Samoa, Northern Mariana Islands, Guam, and the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community. The 13 states with the highest frequencies and concentrations are California, New Jersey, North Carolina, Alabama, Florida, Pennsylvania, Ohio, New York, Georgia, Minnesota, Arizona, Massachusetts, and Illinois. Your local water supply is more likely to be contaminated if you live near an industrial site that manufactures PFASs, a military fire training area, or a wastewater treatment plant, according to the study. Groundwater tends to be more contaminated than surface water. To find out if your local water supply does contain PFASs in excessive amounts, the [EPA](https://www.epa.gov/sites/production/files/2015-11/documents/2005%5F09%5F14%5Ffaq%5Ffs%5Fhomewatertesting.pdf) says your county health department may help you test it. If your local department doesn’t provide that service, you should instead contact a state-certified laboratory. You can find one in your area by calling the Safe Drinking Water Hotline at 800-426-4791 or visiting [www.epa.gov/safewater/labs](http://www.epa.gov/safewater/labs). According to the Green Science Policy Institute, simply boiling water doesn’t eliminate contaminants. If your local water supply is contaminated with PFASs, you could drink and cook with bottled water, though that’s not a particularly viable—or cheap—solution. Alternatively, there are granular activated carbon filters or reverse osmosis water treatment devices that could reduce the level of chemicals in your drinking water, though the effectiveness of those devices haven’t been established. [According to the EPA](https://www.epa.gov/sites/production/files/2016-06/documents/drinkingwaterhealthadvisories%5Fpfoa%5Fpfos%5Fupdated%5F5.31.16.pdf), PFASs aren’t as commonly manufactured as they were 15 years ago. Between 2002 and 2004, the primary manufacturer of these chemicals phased them out of production, and in 2006 eight major companies agreed to phase them out as well, though the agency does state that “there are a limited number of ongoing uses.” ## Transcript [00:00] Let me be blunt. This was a failure of government at all [00:04] levels. Local, state, and federal officials. We [00:09] all failed the families of Flint. Not a day or night goes [00:12] by that this tragedy doesn't weigh on my mind. The [00:17] questions I should have asked The answers I should [00:20] have demanded. I could have prevented this. No [00:27] justice, [00:30] no [00:33] peace. [00:36] My home used to be a place of comfort and safety for [00:39] my family. It used to be what a home should be, a [00:41] place of peace and protection from the outside world. [00:44] That was taken from us, and not just from my family, [00:47] but from every home and every citizen in Flint. [00:55] [ MUSIC ] Now my home is known as ground zero. [00:57] [ MUSIC ] [01:09] In 2014 a decision was made to switch the water [01:12] source without the proper testing and enforcement of [01:15] regulation. [ MUSIC ] [01:22] You only thing I can conclude is that they don't care [01:26] about children lead poisoned from drinking water. Why [01:29] do you think the EPA has this problem? I mean, that's a [01:31] pretty strong statement. [ MUSIC ] You [01:42] would have to ask them why they refused to do the job [01:45] they were paid to do. [ MUSIC ] In [01:57] one ward, Ward Five, where the water lead levels were [02:01] the highest, The percentage of children with elevated [02:04] levels actually went from about 4 % to almost 16 % of [02:07] kids. [ BLANK_AUDIO ] [02:12] The only job that's more important to me is the job of [02:15] a father. And [02:19] I know that if I was a parent up there. I would be [02:23] beside myself if [02:27] my kids' health could be at risk. [ MUSIC ] [02:47] To you, the people of Flint, I say tonight, as I have [02:51] before, I am sorry, and I will fix it. [02:56] [ INAUDIBLE ] [03:00] [ SOUND ] [03:03] [ MUSIC ] [03:06] Now let me ask you something else. Are the people [03:08] paying right now in Flint for water they cannot wash in [03:12] and cannot use and cannot drink? This is not a third [03:16] world country! Are they paying those bills? [03:21] Everyone deserves safe drinking water, and that's the [03:25] expectation. Do you solemnly swear or affirm that [03:29] the testimony you're about to give will be the the truth, [03:31] the whole truth, and nothing but the truth? When- We [03:34] had what we needed in place to prevent this from [03:37] happening. Really, but then why did it happen? [03:41] Because the state didn't implement and enforce [03:45] appropriately. I took immediate action as soon as I [03:47] learned there was a lead issue. We started issuing [03:49] filters to people, doing water testing, doing blood [03:52] testing. Does that mean I don't have regrets? Cuz I'd [03:54] really love to step you back here No, that's a whole [03:56] different standard. Everybody can say that. That's [03:58] cheap. Governor Snyder. I wish more would defend [04:01] that Plausible deniability only works when it's plausible. [04:04] It's something different to have this continuing Doing [04:07] dialogue to say it was solely us, this could have stop [04:10] sooner of other people could have also spoken out. [04:13] People who put dollars over the fundamental safety of [04:17] the people do not belong in government. And you [04:20] need to resign to Governor Snyder. 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