Who is most exposed to PFAS in drinking water? Current insights and data gaps

Keynote presented on April 25, 2024 at the 2024 Emerging Contaminants in the Environment Conference by Jahred Liddie - PhD student at Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, USA

Abstract: Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) pose significant public health concerns due their persistence, mobility, ubiquity, and numerous identified health effects. However, our knowledge regarding their potential disparate environmental health impacts—both in terms of human exposure and health effects—is limited. Using data from over 7,000 U.S. community water systems, I will discuss our recent research, which documented sociodemographic disparities in PFAS contamination. Updates to our understanding of the spatial relationships between sources of PFAS contamination and PFAS concentrations in drinking water will be presented. Finally, existing data gaps to broadening and deepening our understanding of the environmental justice ramifications of PFAS contamination will also be discussed.