Answer Man: Are PFAS, 'forever chemicals,' found in Asheville's water supply?

ASHEVILLE - Over the last few years, a new group of chemicals have gotten a more critical eye from the scientific community and government regulators because of their negative health impacts and their potential to build up in the environment and people over time. Today's reader question asks: should those on Asheville city water be worried?

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Question: According to an article I recently read, PFAS chemicals have been dubbed forever chemicals, because they are extremely persistent, lasting thousands of years. PFAS have been linked to serious health problems such as cancer, hormone disruption, immune system suppression, decreased vaccine response and reproductive problems. PFAS are commonly used in cookware, cosmetics, food packaging, outdoor apparel, carpets and firefighting foams among thousands of other products. Does the Asheville city water system test for PFAS chemicals? If they do what kind of numbers do they find related to risk factors? Does the city water system do anything to reduce these chemicals in our drinking water? Is there anything we can do in our home water systems to reduce or eliminate PFAS chemicals?

Answer: Let's start with some background. These chemicals, known as per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances but also called PFAS, are manufactured and have been used in consumer and industrial products since the 1940s, according to the EPA. There are thousands of different PFAS, and not all are as studied or as common as others.

Because PFAS are widely used and break down very slowly, they are found in the blood of people and animals around the world and are even present in a variety of food products and in the environment, the EPA's website on the chemicals says. One study by the CDC found PFAS in the blood of 97% of tested Americans.

High levels of exposure to PFAS can lead to a variety of health issues, the EPA's website says, which include decreased fertility, increased risk of cancer, hormonal imbalance, developmental effects in children and the reduced ability to fight infections, among others.

When tested in 2019, Asheville's water supply had only one finding over three tests: Perfluoroheptanoic acid, or PFHpA, was found at a level of 1.7 parts-per-trillion. The tests also looked for almost 50 other chemicals, but all others were below measurable levels.

That is according to the NC PFAS Testing Network, a collaboration between more than 20 researchers at universities across North Carolina that was granted $5 million by the General Assembly to test PFAS levels in the state. According to its website, this model is the first of its kind in the United States.

The 2019 tests by the network are "initial laboratory findings that have not been subjected to full validation and quality assurance/quality control procedures and should be considered preliminary," the reports say.

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PFHpA is not one of the chemicals for which the EPA offers guidance, but the nonprofit Environmental Working Group, which tracks contamination to America's drinking water sources, recommends levels be below 1 part-per-trillion.

The EPA currently has guidance on only four of the most common PFAS, which are PFOA, PFOS, PFBS and GenX. In 2016, the EPA recommended that combined PFOA and PFOS levels should be less than 70 parts-per trillion, but in 2022, it revised that guidance to 0.004 parts-per-trillion for PFOA and 0.02 parts-per-trillion for PFOS.

These levels are below what the EPA is currently able to test for, meaning it is possible these two chemicals also exist in Asheville's drinking water at potentially harmful levels, but because they are so small they were not detected by the NC PFAS Testing Network equipment.

PFBS and GenX chemicals have largely replaced PFOA and PFOS in manufacturing, but EPA guidance shows these chemicals do not cause harm until much higher concentrations that are currently testable: 2,000 parts-per trillion for PFBS and 10 parts-per-trillion for GenX.

The EPA does not currently regulate PFAS. It only provides guidance based on research. Still, Asheville's water department is looking into a way to filter out PFAS.

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"We are currently establishing a plan to address these contaminants so that when federal and state regulations are passed, we are one step ahead to meet them," water department staff speaking through city spokesperson Kim Miller said in an email. "The plan includes funding for a study for the type of treatment that would work best for our utility. Once the study is complete and funding is in place, we will implement the additional treatment processes to all three of our water treatment facilities."

Those three water treatment faclities are North Fork, William DeBruhl and Mills River, which take water from a number sources. Primarily, water comes from North Fork and Bee Tree Reservoirs, which are surrounded by 20,000 acres of "highly protected" mountain forests owned by the city of Asheville, Miller said.

Water also comes from Mills River and, during extreme drought conditions, from the French Broad River, she said.

To protect against PFAS in home drinking water, both the EPA and the Environmental Working Group recommend activated carbon filters, ion exchange treatment or high-pressure membranes such as nanofiltration or reverse osmosis. PFAS are only dangerous in drinking water, the EPA's website says, so showering, bathing and washing dishes in water containing PFAS should be fine.

Brita water filters, a common activated carbon filter, should be effective at removing PFAS based on this guidance.

Christian Smith is the general assignment reporter for the Asheville Citizen Times. Questions or comments? Contact him at RCSmith@gannett.com or 828-274-2222.

This article originally appeared on Asheville Citizen Times: Are PFAS, GenX or forever chemicals in Asheville's water supply?