Over the last two years, US water utilities and authorities have detected 56 new pollutants in drinking water, including harmful compounds related to diseases like cancer, infertility, liver illness, and numerous more.

According to The Guardian, the finding is part of an investigation into the pollution records of the country's water services conducted by the Environmental Working Group (EWG), a clean water organization that has just updated its database since 2019. 

They found that the increase is being fueled by newly discovered PFAS, a dangerous family of "forever chemicals," used across dozens of sectors, and suspected to be poisoning the water of over 100 million people.

Stoiber: Not enough regulations are already placed to preserve drinking water

According to EWG Senior Scientist Tasha Stoiber, the list of dangerous substances would be longer if the nation's water supply was adequately monitored.

Stoiber explained there are not enough regulations already placed to preserve drinking water. She added, “We’re testing for things that are already in our drinking water after the fact … and we’re not keeping pace with these chemicals.”

Some pollutants included in the water have been used for years and are only now coming under scrutiny from authorities.

Among the other substances was HAA-9, a result of drinking water treatment procedures. Previously, regulators established limits for HAA-5, a similar pollutant that was discovered to cause health concerns. HAA-9 was formerly believed to be safe by the industry, but later studies connected it to low birth rates, thus prompting the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to begin monitoring it.

Stoiber recommends citizens educate themselves on which chemicals are in water systems and advocate for stricter laws to safeguard people's health, noting that the EWG's database allows users to search for contaminants in water systems by zip code.