Long Island Drinking Water Has Most Contaminants In The State

LONG ISLAND, NY - Long Island drinking water has the most contaminants in all of New York, according to a recent study by the NY Public Interest Research Group (NYPIRG).

"All across New York State, from Hoosick Falls to Long Island, there has been considerable public debate over three specific emerging contaminants – PFOA, PFOS and 1,4-dioxane," a release from the group read. "But there are over 20 additional emerging contaminants that the federal government requires be tested in water systems serving 10,000 or more residents."

PFOA or Perfluorooctanoic acid, also known as C8, is a man-made chemical used to make Teflon and similar chemicals (known as fluorotelomers), according to the American Cancer Society.

PFOS is another chemical used to make carpets, clothing, fabrics for furniture, paper packaging for food and other materials (e.g., cookware) that are resistant to water, grease or stains, according to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). They are also used for firefighting at airfields and in a number of industrial processes.

The EPA defines 1,4-dioxane as a synthetic industrial chemical that is completely mixable in water.

According to the findings in the study conducted by the group, a total of 176 water systems had one or more UCMR-3 contaminants, affecting almost 16 million New Yorkers.

UCMR-3 refers to the Unregulated Contaminant Monitoring Rule which the EPA defines as the required monitoring of 30 contaminants (28 chemicals and two viruses) using analytical methods developed by EPA, consensus organizations or both.

The Long Island region had "by far" the most detection of emerging contaminants found in the drinking water in the state, the release states.

The NYPIRG also provided a way to search exactly what contaminants are in the water based on zip code.

Click here to enter your zip code and find out exactly what's in your water.