Forever-chemicals are at potentially unsafe levels across Australia.

The US-based Environmental Protection Agency ruled in April that water which contains more than four parts per trillion of chemicals such as PFOS and PFOA is the maximum acceptable for safe human consumption.

These chemicals come from a variety of industrial and domestic applications which were widely used until their detrimental health effects were uncovered.

In light of these revelations, regulators in Australia are currently reviewing their own guidelines. Our currently accepted levels of PFOS and PFOA are magnitudes higher than the new USEPA guidelines.

Image: Image Shutterstock: Zefart

Produced By: Demos Hammond

Featured In Story: Adam Lovell, Executive Director of Water Services Association of Australia

First aired on The Wire, Wednesday 12 June 2024