No one wants to imagine chemicals in the water they drink.

Yet PFAS—the “forever chemicals” used in products from clothing to some non-stick pans—contaminate nearly half of tap water in the U.S., according to a 2023 U.S. Geological Survey study. Exposure to them has known negative consequences, including cancer and developmental harm to infants and children.

Now, for the first time, the Environmental Protection Agency has set limits on the levels of PFAS, or “per-and polyfluoroalkyl substances,” allowed in drinking water. In addition, the Biden Administration announced $1 billion in funding for testing and treating both public water and privately owned wells.

Brianne Callahan, senior research manager at the Water Center at Penn, is an attorney by training who came to work at Penn from the environmental nonprofit New Jersey Future. She conducts research on water affordability, stormwater, and communication around PFAS, which human-made chemicals that consist of carbon and fluorine atoms and are used for their water-repellent and resistance-to-heat properties.

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