National Media Highlight TCU Research Revealing Hidden Levels of ‘Forever Chemicals’ in Drinking Water

“The Washington Post” and several other media outlets highlighted new research led by Gehendra Kharel, associate professor of environmental and geological sciences at Texas Christian University, that suggests levels of PFAS — commonly known as “forever chemicals” — in U.S. drinking water may be significantly underestimated.

Kharel and his research team analyzed more than 1.8 million PFAS measurements from nearly 10,000 community water systems. They found that about 98% of results fell below laboratory reporting limits and are often treated as zero when calculating average concentrations. Using statistical modeling to account for those results, the researchers found that conventional calculations captured only about 44% of the estimated average PFAS concentration.

“Those records still contain information, even without exact concentrations,” Kharel told “The Washington Post.” “We wanted to understand how using that information changes estimates compared with counting every below-limit result as zero.”

Kharel emphasized that the findings do not mean individual water systems are unsafe or out of compliance. Rather, the research points to opportunities for clearer reporting and additional testing to provide a more complete picture of PFAS in drinking water. 

Read the full story in The Washington Post.

Other media sharing the research include The Cool Down, Food Safety Magazine, Circle of Blue, The New Lede, Gizmodo, The Daily Mail and Science Alert, with several syndicated by MSN.

Also read about the research on TCU News.