inquirer.com
'Forever chemicals' found in nearly all waterways of Philly, its suburbs, and South Jersey
PFAS, or “forever chemicals,” were detected in almost all waterways tested in New Jersey and Pennsylvania, a new report says. Various types of the synthetic compounds were found in urban, suburban, and rural areas, including New Jersey’s Pinelands. PFAS were detected in 96% of waterways tested in Pennsylvania and 91% of waterways tested in New Jersey from samples taken between 2022 and 2024. That’s according to national data from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency reported and compiled locally by PennEnvironment Research and Policy Center, Environment New Jersey Research and Policy Center, NJPIRG Student Chapters, and the Frontier Group. The results were released Wednesday. The data come about a week after Pennsylvania officials issued a “do not eat” advisory for fish caught in Wissahickon Creek after PFAS were recently found in a sample. A trout stocking on a section of the creek in Philadelphia was canceled as result. “Every place that we’re testing, nearly every place we’re testing, we’re finding PFAS,” said Doug O’Malley, director of Environment New Jersey. “This is not just a problem in some places. This is an everywhere problem.” Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances are a large group of human-made chemicals that have been used in industry and...
