Your Water

 PFOA and PFOS are fluorinated organic chemicals that are part of a larger group of chemicals referred to as perfluoroalky substances(PFASs).  PFOA and PFOS have been most extensively produced and studied of these chemicals.  They have been used to make carpets, clothing, fabrics for furniture, paper packaging for foods and other materials (cookware) that are resistance to water, grease or stains.  They are also used for firefighting at air fields and in a number  of industries processes.   Because these chemicals have been used in a array of consumer products, most people have been exposed to them.  Between 2000 and 2002, PFOS was voluntarily phased out of production in the U.S. by its primary manufacture.  In 2006, eight major companies voluntarily  agreed to phase out their global production of POFA and PFOA-related chemicals, although there are limited number of ongoing uses.  Scientists have found PFOA and PFOS in the blood of all the people they have tested.  While the levels hav

  Health Advisories! EPA has established health advisories for PFOA and PFOS based on the agency’s assessment of the latest peer-reviewed science to provide drinking water system operators, and state, tribal and local officials who have the primary responsibility for overseeing these systems, with information on the health risks of these chemicals, so they can take the appropriate actions to protect their residents. EPA is committed to supporting states and public water systems as they determine the appropriate steps to reduce exposure to PFOA and PFOS in drinking water. As science on health effects of these chemicals evolves, EPA will continue to evaluate new evidence. To provide Americans, including the most sensitive populations, with a margin of protection from a lifetime of exposure to PFOA and PFOS from drinking water, EPA has established the health advisory levels at 70 parts per trillion.  What's a health advisory? Health advisories provide information on contaminants that