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PFAS detected at 20 Georgia waterway sampling sites, environmental group reports
An Environment Georgia Research & Policy Center report says PFAS were found at all 20 Georgia waterways sampled from 2022 through 2024, including the Chattahoochee River. The group is urging officials to be more transparent about the chemicals’ presence.
PFAS were detected at all 20 Georgia waterways sampling locations tested between 2022 and 2024, according to a report released Tuesday by the Environment Georgia Research & Policy Center.
The findings include the Chattahoochee River. The group presented its report at a news conference in Smyrna overlooking the river, highlighting concerns about potential effects on fish, wildlife and drinking water and calling for greater transparency from public officials.
“Georgia’s waterways should be clean and free of toxic chemicals,” said Jennette Gayer, the center’s state director.
Jason Ulseth, executive director of Chattahoochee Riverkeeper, said the organization’s latest sampling also found PFAS in the river. He described the chemicals as a “national crisis” and said river-keeping groups had reported similar concerns elsewhere in Georgia.
PFAS, or per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, are often called “forever chemicals” because they persist in the environment. The report’s finding that PFAS were detected at every sampled site does not, by itself, establish the concentration at each location or whether water there exceeds a health standard.
A separate Environment America report released recently found PFAS in 83% of water samples it examined nationwide. A U.S. Geological Survey study has also found PFAS in nearly half of U.S. tap water samples; bottled water has been found to contain the chemicals as well.