What Is PFAS And Why Should I Care?

11/01/23 • 28 min

Do you know about PFAS? Have you ever wondered it it’s in your water? PFAS are a group of over 12,000 forever chemicals that are found in everyday products like nonstick pans, food packaging, rain gear, and even organic kale! It’s also being found in drinking water, and has negative impacts on human health and our environment. The US Geological Survey recently released a report about PFAS in the US water supply where they tested drinking water in over 700 homes across the US – and we are sharing the highlights in this episode.
Research Hydrologist, Kelly Smalling of the US Geological Survey discusses what PFAS is, the risks, safety levels, the hotspots for PFAS in the US, regulatory actions, and treatment technologies.
Link to USGS PFAS Map
In this episode, we discuss:
What is PFAS (2:00)
Where does PFAS come from? (3:05)
Is PFAS safe? (5:23)
How is the EPA responding to regulating PFAS now? (7:10)
What are the effects of PFAS? (9:40)
What is the maximum contamination level in drinking water for PFAS? (10:27)
Have industries changed the chemicals they are using and producing? (11:52)
What is the treatment technology to remove PFAS from drinking water? (13:00)
Why did the US Geological Survey create a report on PFAS? (13:55)
How many homes did you visit and test?
What results did you find in the water samples from US homes?
Where was PFAS detected?
What are the next steps for research? (21:59)
What should people take away from PFAS? (24:06)
Where can people find the USGS report on PFAS? (26:03)
What do you most enjoy about your job? (26:57)

Learn more about Cascade Water Alliance’s We Need Water Program
Follow us on Instagram and Facebook @weneedh20
Watch the episode on Youtube

Learn more about Cascade Water Alliance’s We Need Water Program
Follow us on Instagram and Facebook @weneedh20
Watch the episode on Youtube

Previous Episode

Untapped Potential: How WaterSense Saves You Water, Money and Water for the Future

Have you ever thought about how much water it takes to flush a toilet? Or run your dishwasher? The EPA’s WaterSense program helps consumers choose more water-efficient products with their WaterSense label for faucets, appliances, irrigation, and more.
In this episode we sit down with Veronica Blette, Chief of the WaterSense Branch, to talk about how they have helped US homeowners save more than $171 billion dollars in water and energy bills and trillions of gallons of water.
Save water, save money, save the planet!
In this episode, we discuss:
What is the WaterSense Program?
How are products reviewed and rated?
What are the efficiency standards and performance?
Why choose a WaterSense product?
What has the impact been?
What are the other programs of WaterSense?
What does the future hold?
Look for the WaterSense label and learn more at: www.epa.gov/watersense or on Facebook
Veronica Blette manages the WaterSense program in the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Office of Water. She loves working on water efficiency with WaterSense, was the 2016 recipient of the Alliance for Water Efficiency Water Star award, and is the current chair of the Water Conservation Division for the American Water Works Association.
At EPA, she has also served as special assistant to the director of the national drinking water program and led the agency’s drinking water infrastructure financing program. Before joining EPA in 1997, she worked in the academic research and environmental consulting fields on projects investigating the effects of acid rain on soils and water quality. She has a B.A. in Geology from Smith College and a M.S. in Geology from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst.

Learn more about Cascade Water Alliance’s We Need Water Program
Follow us on Instagram and Facebook @weneedh20
Watch the episode on Youtube

Next Episode

Lawns of the Future: Less Grass, Less Work

What does the lawn of the future look like? They will need to adapt to the changing climate and the hotter and drier summers in the PNW. That means less grass, which in turn means less watering, fertilizer, weeding and WORK!
Your home landscape could require far less maintenance and look more beautiful if you removed some of your grass. Welcome to this episode: Lawns of the Future, with gardener extraordinaire and speaker, Marianne Binetti. We discuss the reasons to remove some of your turf, how to transform your lawn, and the benefits you will see. Plus some of Marianne’s favorite plants, and her tried and true method to starting transforming your lawn into something new!
In this episode, we discuss:
What is the problem with grass? (1:00)
Letting your lawn go golden (2:00)
Biological deserts (3:30)
Good alternatives for lawn (4:45)
What are some of the issues with your lawn? (6:50)
How water and fertilizer needs change when you remove grass? (8:30 )
How do you get started with transforming your lawn? (10:13)
Why you shouldn’t use a sod remover (12:45)
Recap: Steps to take to transform lawn (19:37)
Replacing your lawn can cost nothing! (20:25)
Other resources (21:35)
Marianne Binetti is a northwest horticultural expert: Marianne has a degree in horticulture from Washington State University and writes a syndicated gardening column that runs in over a dozen newspapers each week including the The Tacoma News Tribune (Sundays) and The Daily Olympian (Saturdays). She has also written or co-written 10 gardening books including "Easy Answers for Great Gardens" and her latest book "Edible Gardening for Washington and Oregon" She lectures and gives seminars on a variety of topics, has appeared on HGTV and hosts radio and TV programs. Marianne leads garden tours around the world with her husband Joe.