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The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency unveiled this week<\/a> new health warnings for toxic chemicals commonly found in drinking water across the country. The latest research suggests that the substances, a group of chemicals called PFAS, are even more dangerous to human health than previously thought, per an announcement from the EPA<\/a>.<\/p>\n PFAS<\/a> stands for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances. For decades, manufacturers have used these synthetic chemicals to make food wrappers, sunscreen, nonstick cookware, makeup<\/a>, smartphones, flame-retardant equipment, fire-fighting foam and hundreds of other products designed to withstand heat, water, grease and stains.<\/p>\n But the very same properties that make PFAS so durable and useful also cause the chemicals to build up in the body and in the environment. They\u2019re so persistent that they\u2019ve been nicknamed \u201cforever chemicals.\u201d<\/p>\n Chemical manufacturers have mostly stopped producing PFOS and PFOA\u2014two types of PFAS\u2014 over the last decade, though as the EPA notes, a \u201climited number of ongoing uses\u201d \u00a0still exist. Despite that, the chemicals remain in the environment\u2014and thus remain harmful to human health\u2014because they do not break down\u00a0over time. Research has linked PFAS with an array of serious health issues ranging from cancer<\/a> to low birth weights<\/a> to weakened immune systems<\/a>. Scientists estimate that more than 200 million Americans<\/a> may be drinking water that\u2019s contaminated with PFAS.<\/p>\n \u201cPeople on the front-lines of PFAS contamination have suffered for far too long,\u201d says Michael Regan, the EPA administrator, in a statement<\/a>.<\/p>\n Since 2016, the EPA\u2019s advised\u00a0limit in drinking water for two of the most widely used of these compounds, PFOS and PFOA, was 70 parts per trillion. Now, the federal agency has slashed the limits to 0.02 parts per trillion for PFOS and 0.004 parts per trillion for PFOA. The numbers indicate what the EPA has determined to be safe levels in drinking water, also taking into account the fact that people may be exposed to PFAS elsewhere. The new limits are so low that they\u2019re beyond the EPA\u2019s detection capabilities, according to the agency.<\/p>\n As Erik Olson, a senior strategic director for the advocacy group the Natural Resources Defense Council, tells the Washington Post<\/em><\/a>‘s Dino Grandoni, the new limits represent \u201creally sharp reductions\u201d from the older numbers. The EPA says it made its decision based on new research that suggests that people may develop health issues even when concentrations of PFOS and PFOA are vanishingly small.<\/p>\n The EPA also recommended safe drinking water limits for substances that are considered replacements for\u00a0substances that are considered replacements for PFOA and PFOS. For so-called \u201cGenX\u201d chemicals, or hexafluoropropylene oxide dimer acid, the EPA now recommends levels of 10 parts per trillion or below. For PFBS, or perfluorobutane sulfonic acid, the limit is 2,000 parts per trillion.<\/p>\n Responses to the EPA\u2019s announcement were mixed: Some advocates say the agency didn\u2019t go far enough and should regulate PFAS as a whole<\/a> (more than 9,000 chemicals<\/a> fall under the PFAS chemical umbrella), while others complained that the new advisories were premature<\/a> and would only cause confusion.<\/p>\n For now, the EPA is not enforcing or regulating these limits in any way. Rather, the health advisories are meant to give state agencies, public health officials and consumers more information about drinking water contamination.<\/p>\n Still, the EPA may impose mandatory standards for some PFAS in the fall, per the announcement, which would require municipal utilities to remove the substances from drinking water using activated carbon or ion exchange filtration<\/a>. As Tom Perkins reports for the Guardian<\/em><\/a>, that move could trigger lawsuits against chemical manufacturers. Also this week, the EPA announced that it\u2019s making $1 billion worth of grants available to help communities \u201con the frontlines of PFAS contamination\u201d reduce the chemicals in their drinking water.<\/p>\n In the meantime, individuals who are concerned about PFAS should take steps<\/a> to limit their own exposure, such as installing a water filter or finding other water sources for ingestion, per the EPA.<\/p>\n![\"Pouring](\"https:\/\/th-thumbnailer.cdn-si-edu.com\/Iw0QBZPsqBxgkbv8vkDjMcYdBWk=\/fit-in\/1072x0\/filters:focal(960x640:961x641)\/https:\/\/tf-cmsv2-smithsonianmag-media.s3.amazonaws.com\/filer_public\/16\/f3\/16f35b6a-6c50-4e05-9c09-18f49a947693\/bottle-2553215_1920.jpg\")