Nearly 100 million in China reportedly supplied with unsafe drinking water

Almost 100 million people of different cities of China have been reportedly supplied with potable water containing high levels of toxic chemicals.

South China Morning Post (SCMP) reported that the cities of Wuxi, Hangzhou and Suzhou and Foshan have been impacted by the unsafe level of dangerous chemicals in water.

A team of Tsinghua University found high levels of per- and polyfluoroalkyls (PFAS), which are used in fabrics and pesticides.

The concentration of PFAS in the water of these cities has been found by the team to be more than 20%, much beyond safe levels.

The study team used the US state of Vermont’s regulations as the benchmark because China does not have any national safety standards, reported the publication.

Intensive industrial activity and high population density have been cited as main reasons for the contamination of water.

Mean concentration of PFAS in eastern China was found to be 2.6 times more than the northern China.

The study’s co-author Ronald Weber told the publication that some chemicals, especially PFOA and PFOS, were far more dangerous than others as they have been linked to several health risks.

Weber added that China has to review the scale of the problem and then chalk out plans to address it.