Toxic "forever chemicals" found in 95% of beers tested in the U.S.

Summary

Infamous for their environmental persistence and potential links to health conditions, per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), often called forever chemicals, are being discovered in unexpected places, including beer. Researchers publishing in ACS' Environmental Science & Technology tested beers brewed in different areas around the U.S. for these substances. They found that beers produced in parts of the country with known PFAS-contaminated water sources showed the highest levels of forever chemicals. "As an occasional beer drinker myself, I wondered whether PFAS in water supplies was making its way into our pints," says research lead Jennifer Hoponick Redmon. "I hope these findings inspire water treatment strategies and policies that help reduce the likelihood of PFAS in future pours." PFAS are human-made chemicals produced for their water-, oil- and stain-repellent properties. They have been found in surface water, groundwater and municipal water supplies across the U.S. and the world. Although breweries typically have water filtration and treatment systems, they are not designed to remove PFAS. By modifying a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) testing method for analyzing levels of PFAS in drinking water, Hoponick Redmon and colleagues tested 23 beers. The test subjects were produced by U.S. brewers in areas with documented water system contamination, plus popular domestic and international beers from larger companies with unknown water sources. The researchers found a strong correlation between PFAS concentrations in municipal drinking water and levels in locally brewed beer -- a phenomenon that Hoponick Redmon and colleagues say has not yet been studied in U.S. retail beer. They found PFAS in 95% of the beers they tested. These include perfluorooctanesulfonate (PFOS) and perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), two forever chemicals with recently established EPA limits in drinking water. Notably, the team found that beers brewed near the Cape Fear River Basin...