Scientific Overview of PFAS and Drinking Water | AAAS EPI Center
other chemicals from decomposing products. This water, along with liquid from products’ natural decomposition, is known as landfill leachate . Leachate containing PFAS can enter the environment through leaks in landfill liners. Additionally, landfill leachate is sometimes conveyed to WWTPs that ultimately discharge treated wastewater to surface waters. Like WWTPs, landfills do not produce PFAS but may serve as conduits for PFAS into water sources. The inability of PFAS to biodegrade makes them highly persistent in the environment, and some of the more mobile PFAS can travel through air and water to impact both groundwater and surface waters. Figure 3 shows examples of how PFAS can travel through the environment from sources to water bodies. Figure 3 - PFAS Mobility in the Water Cycle
PFAS Exposure Pathways Concern over PFAS contamination of drinking water supplies has grown over the last decade as health studies have linked exposure to particular PFAS with harmful health effects 14–18 . To estimate public health exposure and risk, the EPA uses an assumption that 20 percent of PFOS and PFOA human exposure comes from drinking water, while the remaining 80 percent comes from alternative
6
Made with FlippingBook Online document