[ti:US Drinking Water Contaminated with 'Forever Chemicals'] [by:www.51voa.com] [00:00.00]更多听力请访问51VOA.COM [00:01.12]A new report says man-made "forever chemicals" are more common [00:07.92]in U.S. drinking water supplies than earlier estimates suggested. [00:15.04]An environmental group reported Wednesday that some of the highest levels were measured in three big cities. [00:25.48]They are Miami, Florida; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; and New Orleans, Louisiana. [00:35.72]"Forever chemicals," known as PFAS, resist breaking down in the environment. [00:44.84]They have possible links to cancer, liver damage and other health problems. [00:52.80]The findings of the Environmental Working Group, or EWG, show its 2018 estimate could be far too low. [01:04.20]That estimate suggested that 110 million Americans could be contaminated with PFAS. [01:13.40]"It's nearly impossible to avoid contaminated drinking water from these chemicals," [01:20.32]said David Andrews, a scientist with the Environmental Working Group. [01:26.20]He helped prepare the new report. [01:29.84]The chemicals were used in products like Teflon and Scotchguard. [01:36.08]Their replacements also could prove harmful to human health. [01:42.76]The EWG studied tap water from 44 areas in 31 states and Washington, D.C. [01:53.44]Tap water is a term for water from the public water system. [01:59.68]Of the 44 water samples, only one area had no measurable levels of PFAS. [02:08.52]That community was Meridian, Mississippi, [02:12.44]which gets its drinking water from wells that are 215 meters underground. [02:20.80]Only Seattle, Washington and Tuscaloosa, Alabama [02:25.88]had levels below 1 part per trillion, the limit the EWG suggests. [02:34.36]EWG found an average of six to seven different PFAS chemical compounds at the tested sites. [02:45.24]The effect of these mixtures on human health is unclear. [02:49.88]But Andrews used negative language to describe the chemicals. [02:56.04]"Everyone's really exposed to a toxic soup of these PFAS chemicals," he said. [03:04.32]The United States Environmental Protection Agency, or EPA, [03:10.40]has known since at least 2001 about the problem of PFAS in drinking water. [03:19.40]But the agency has yet to set a national legal limit. [03:25.00]EPA officials said early last year they would begin the process [03:30.80]of setting limits on two of the chemicals, PFOA and PFOS. [03:38.48]The EPA said it has helped state governments deal with PFAS [03:44.44]and that it is working to set limits on the two main chemicals. [03:51.36]But the timing for such limits remains unclear. [03:56.64]I'm John Russell. 更多听力请访问51VOA.COM