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PFAs / PFOA in Water

What are PFAs/ PFOAs?

Per- and Polyfluorinated substances are a synthetic chemicals that have been long used in helping to make consumer products non-stick and water resistant, and in specialized applications such as firefighting foams.

The problems is that these compounds persist for a long time in the environment, and can accumulate in wildlife, and in humans. And eventually in NJ well water especially.

The long-term health risks of PFAs and PFOA haven’t been thoroughly studied, but human exposure has been linked to developmental defects in pregnancy and in breastfed infants, as well as effects on cancer, the liver, and the thyroid.

What levels are safe?

Currently there are no enforceable federal drinking water limits for PFCs, however the EPA released Lifetime Health Advisories of 0.070 microgram per liter (mg/L) (70 ng/L) for PFOA and PFOS (individually or combined) for exposure from drinking water. These advisory levels are set at concentrations which EPA is certain are protective for the most sensitive individuals against reproductive and developmental impacts with a margin of safety. Some states have also begun to develop state PFC guidelines for monitoring and reducing PFCs in the environment.

Removing PHOA and PFOS from your water

The most studies have been done so far on removing Perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and Perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS) from New Jersey drinking water, and showed that activated carbon and reverse osmosis are both effective.

But with reverse osmosis of well water, it may also be critical to include pre-treatment, since well water may also have other issues such as iron, manganese, sulfur, nitrate, low pH, and hardness.

We always recommend you have a thorough water analysis performed in order to create the best solution for dealing with PFOA and PFOS in your particular situation.

Our AquaDoctor NJ pros will be happy to help.