News
Official reports could be underestimating the amount of forever chemicals in drinking water by at least half
Earth.com · By Eric Ralls ·
The Brief
- A "not detected" result on a drinking water report means the lab could not detect the chemical below a specific cutoff point, not that it is absent.
- Earth.com reports that official reports could underestimate forever chemicals in drinking water by at least half.
Why it matters
People reading water quality reports may take "not detected" as proof of clean water, while the actual level of forever chemicals may be higher than the report shows.
Who’s affected
- people who rely on public water quality reports
- drinking water utilities and regulators
- #forever chemicals
- #drinking water
- #water quality
- #lab testing
- #environmental monitoring
Seeing “not detected” next to forever chemicals on a water report might seem like you have completely clean water. However, it actually means the lab just could not detect the chemicals below a specific cutoff point. For the two most common forever chemicals, this cutoff point is…