Rainwater may be contaminated with chemicals and scientists are still uncertain about their effects.
In many parts of the world, including Africa, people rely on rainwater as a source of drinking water, as well as for other household and livelihood uses. One of the reasons is water scarcity – sub-Saharan Africa has the largest number of water-scarce countries in the world. But there are concerns about how safe rainwater is to drink. It can be contaminated by dust and ash in the surroundings or by heavy metal from roofing material.
According to the US Environmental Protection Agency, there are more than 12,000 of these chemicals in use. They have been produced and used on a large scale in a wide range of industrial and commercial applications since the second world war. Well-known uses include fire-fighting foams, non-stick cookware, and paper and board used to wrap and contain food. There are hundreds of uses, too numerous to list.
The recent extremely low advisories for drinking water were prompted by the observation that exposure to these chemicals can lead to decreased vaccine effectiveness in children. In our recent study we showed that levels of certain PFAS in rainwater now exceed the guidelines set by the US Environmental Protection Agency even in the remotest regions of the Earth.
The situation will also not improve soon. PFAS do not not break down in the environment. Their only route for removal from environments where we produce food is slow dilution into the deep oceans. Rainwater levels may take decades to fall below the levels set in health advisories. The exact recovery time is uncertain.
There are ways to remove PFAS from water, but it is not clear if the levels can be brought below the latest health advisories.
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