WHY IS THIS MAP IMPORTANT?
The number of U.S. communities confirmed to be contaminated with the highly toxic fluorinated compounds known as PFAS continues to grow at an alarming rate. As of August 2021, 2,854 locations in 50 states and two territories are known to be contaminated.
The latest update of this interactive map documents PFAS pollution in public and private water systems. Details about our sources and methodology are here.
Information about sites newly added to the map comes from various PFAS detections reported to government agencies in Colorado, New Hampshire, North Carolina, Ohio and other states, as well as updated records from the Department of Defense.
WHAT IS THE GOVERNMENT DOING?
The Environmental Protection Agency has known about the health hazards of PFAS for decades but has failed to limit PFAS discharges into the air and water or set cleanup standards.
The agency released a woefully inadequate plan PFAS action plan in 2019 that failed to include deadlines for action, and the EPA has made little progress.
The Department of Defense has been testing for PFAS at military installations but has made little to no progress cleaning up any contaminated bases.
President Joe Biden has promised to tackle PFAS contamination by regulating the chemicals in drinking water, designating PFAS as hazardous substances under the federal Superfund law, stopping government purchasing of some products containing PFAS, and funding additional research into the chemicals.
In March 2021, the EPA announced it would regulate two PFAS – PFOA and PFOS, the two most notorious PFAS chemicals – in drinking water. But it could take years before these regulations are final.