More than 73 million people in the United States are drinking water contaminated with toxic PFAS at levels that exceed current federal safety standards, according to newly released data from the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC). The exposure is widespread, affecting residents in nearly every state and congressional district, and may be far more extensive than currently documented. Despite this growing public health crisis, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) under the Trump administration is moving forward with plans to repeal or delay drinking water standards meant to limit exposure to these dangerous chemicals.
“Tens of millions of people across the country are currently at risk of drinking hazardous levels of toxic PFAS-contaminated water, and that risk may only increase for many years to come if the EPA successfully rolls back and delays PFAS standards,” said Erik Olson, senior strategic director of health at NRDC.
The NRDC’s analysis, released July 17, is based on data collected under the EPA’s Unregulated Contaminant Monitoring Rule 5 (UCMR5), which is testing for 29 types of PFAS in drinking water systems across the country. While the data is still being collected—only about 75% of systems have been tested so far—the results already show PFAS levels above EPA thresholds in 79% of U.S. congressional districts. Higher-than-safe levels were detected in all but three states—Arkansas, Hawaii, and North Dakota—as well as in Washington, D.C. and all U.S. territories except American Samoa.
PFAS, or per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, are a class of synthetic chemicals used in a wide range of consumer products and industrial processes. Often called “forever chemicals,” they do not break down easily in the environment or the human body and have been linked to a variety of serious health problems, including certain cancers, thyroid disease, liver damage, and immune system dysfunction.
“The federal government knows toxic ‘forever chemicals’ are dangerous to our health and it’s well established that drinking water is a major route of exposure to PFAS for many people,” said Anna Reade, director of PFAS advocacy at NRDC.
The EPA had initially proposed strict limits on six PFAS chemicals: PFOA, PFOS, PFHxS, GenX (HFPO-DA), PFNA, and PFBS. But under the Trump administration, the agency has announced plans to repeal the standards for PFHxS, GenX, PFNA, and PFBS, while extending the compliance deadline for limits on PFOA and PFOS to 2031. These proposed changes would significantly weaken the federal government’s ability to regulate PFAS contamination.
“We all expect that when we turn on the tap that water is going to be safe for our families to consume,” said Katie Pelch, a senior NRDC scientist and one of the creators of the PFAS maps. “EPA’s actions are going to place a really heavy financial and health burden on the communities all across the nation.”
Although the EPA is monitoring 29 PFAS chemicals, most remain unregulated. According to the NRDC, when those unregulated compounds are included, nearly half of all Americans served by tested water systems have some level of PFAS in their tap water. And the data set does not yet include many small and rural systems, meaning the full scale of the crisis remains unknown.
The NRDC has warned that the current figures “are just the beginning,” and the mapping data “likely represent the tip of the iceberg.” The group emphasized that tens of thousands of water systems have yet to be tested, and that repealing protections now would expose even more people to the harmful effects of PFAS.
The EPA’s regulatory retreat comes as a key legal challenge to existing PFAS drinking water standards nears a critical deadline. After President Donald Trump took office, the court granted the EPA’s request to suspend a lawsuit challenging the standards set under the Biden administration. That abeyance is set to expire on July 21. The EPA will then be required to either explain how it intends to proceed with the rollback or request a continuation of the suspension.
Alissa Cordner, co-director of the PFAS Project Lab at Northeastern University, called the situation “especially concerning given how widespread PFAS contamination is.” While not involved in creating the NRDC maps, she praised the tool for helping people understand where PFAS have been measured and why urgent regulation is needed.
Meanwhile, a separate report published last month by the Waterkeeper Alliance and the Hispanic Access Foundation revealed another dimension of the PFAS crisis. The report examined contamination in surface waters near 22 wastewater treatment plants and 10 fields where sewage sludge had been applied as fertilizer. Researchers found at least one PFAS chemical in 98% of sites sampled, often at levels exceeding federal drinking water limits.
“To the best of our knowledge, none of the [wastewater treatment plants] identified in this report have installed treatment technologies to remove PFAS from either their wastewater discharged to surface waters or their biosolids,” the report noted. Most treatment facilities are not required to monitor PFAS in sewage sludge before it is spread on land, and existing processes do not remove the chemicals.
The study used passive PFAS sampling devices placed upstream and downstream of discharge sites over a 20-day period, providing a detailed picture of the contamination. The findings underscore how wastewater and sludge management practices are contributing to the spread of PFAS in communities already burdened by environmental pollution.
The combined findings from the NRDC and the Waterkeeper Alliance paint a troubling picture of nationwide PFAS exposure at a time when federal safeguards are being dismantled. Advocates warn that rolling back or delaying drinking water standards will disproportionately harm low-income and marginalized communities, who are often the most vulnerable to pollution and the least equipped to shoulder the health and financial consequences.
“The PFAS crisis is immense, and we need more action, not less, to protect people from this extraordinary environmental and public health threat,” Reade said.
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