“CR recently tested 47 bottled waters, including 35 noncarbonated and 12 carbonated ones. “For each product, we tested two to four samples. The tests focused on four heavy metals (arsenic, cadmium, lead, and mercury), plus 30 PFAS chemicals, which pose special concerns because they can linger in the environment almost indefinitely.  The federal government has issued only voluntary guidance for PFAS, saying the combined amounts for two specific PFAS compounds should be below 70 parts per trillion. A few states have set lower limits, of 12 to 20 ppt, according to American Water Works, an industry group. The International Bottled Water Association, another group, says that it supports federal limits for PFAS and that bottled water should have PFAS levels below 5 ppt for any single compound and 10 ppt for more than one. Some experts say the cutoff for total PFAS levels should be even lower, 1 ppt…” [h/t Pete Weiss]

See also Radio.com – Toxic ‘forever chemicals’ found in popular bottled water brands: Report – “Bottled water is a multi-billion dollar industry in the United States with Americans drinking more of it than any other beverage. But a new report from Consumer Reports has found that there may be more than just water in some of the bottles. A test of 47 types of bottled water found “toxic PFAS chemicals” in several popular brands of water. The report found that two brands of noncarbonated water, Tourmaline Spring Sacred Living Water (4.64 PPT) and Deer Park Natural Spring Water (1.21 PPT), exceeded the threshold of 1 part per trillion PFAS. The report also found seven carbonated waters that exceeded the same threshold. Those brands are Topo Chico Natural Mineral Water (9.76 PPT), Polar Natural Seltzer Water (6.41 PPT), Bubly Blackberry Sparkling Water (2.24 PPT), Poland Spring Zesty Lime Sparkling Water (1.66 PPT), Canada Dry Lemon Lime Sparkling Seltzer Water (1.24 PPT), LaCroix Natural Sparkling Water (1.16 PPT), and Perrier Natural Sparkling Mineral Water (1.1 PPT). The test looked for 30 PFAS chemicals, as well as arsenic, lead, mercury, and cadmium. James Rogers, director of food safety research and testing for Consumer Reports, told Today that “these chemicals are called forever chemicals because the way that they are put together, it’s hard for them to be broken down.” Rogers said that because “they last very, very long” they are “advocating to both the FDA and the EPA that they look at putting a mandatory standard for PFAS for all water that consumers would drink.” PFAS, or per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, are man-made chemicals found in many products. Resistant to oil, water, heat, and grease, they can be found in things like paint and nonstick cookware…”