news-medical.net
Toxic forever chemicals detected in New Jersey tap and bottled water
Researchers at New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT) have found that a largely overlooked class of "forever chemicals" is widespread in New Jersey drinking water and commercially available bottled beverages, raising new questions about how these persistent contaminants are monitored and potentially introduced into everyday products. In what researchers describe as the first statewide U.S. monitoring study of ultra-short-chain per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), the NJIT team detected trifluoroacetic acid (TFA) in more than 91% of tap-water samples collected across all 21 New Jersey counties and nearly 80% of bottled beverages tested. The study also revealed substantially higher concentrations in certain sports drinks and electrolyte waters than in plain bottled water, suggesting that ingredients or manufacturing processes may contribute to contamination beyond the original water source. The findings, published in Environmental Science & Technology Letters, highlight a significant gap in conventional PFAS monitoring. While chemicals such as PFOA and PFOS have received widespread regulatory attention by the U.S Environmental Protection Agency, ultra-short-chain PFAS have largely escaped routine testing because their small molecular size and chemical properties make them difficult to detect using established methods. Most people have heard of perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS) because they have been...
