Is tap water safe? National Geographic explores what Americans should know about pollutants on World Water Day

While tap water is safe for most Americans, millions of residents are still exposed to contaminants from their taps each year. According to National Geographic.

On this World Water Day, Our partners at NatGeo are working on the spotlight About what people need to know about what comes out of their own faucets.

According to some experts, there is a gap between what is legal and what is safe when it comes to drinking water.

The Environmental Protection Agency currently regulates 90 different contaminants in drinking water, from naturally occurring arsenic to dangerous lead, said Sarah Gibbins, environment writer for National Geographic.

Since Congress passed the Safe Drinking Water Act in 1974, the Environmental Protection Agency has identified dozens of other potentially dangerous chemicals in tap water.

“These are things that require a lot of research to prove that they are harmful to human health and regulating them ultimately costs a lot of money, so the EPA has to do a lot of work to prove that these chemicals should be regulated in the first place,” Gibbens said.

last week, The agency proposed the first federal limits on harmful PFASalso known as “the forever chemicals”, in drinking water.

Environmental and public health advocates have for years pushed for regulations on PFAS, or perfluorinated substances that do not degrade in the environment. The EPA estimates that the new rule could reduce exposure to PFAS for nearly 100 million Americans, lowering rates of cancer, heart attacks and childbirth complications.

Environmental Working Group, an advocacy organization working to remove toxic chemicals from water, He applauded the EPA’s PFAS proposal But he has long argued that many federal regulations on drinking water are outdated and insufficient.

Provides its own non-profit organization Tap water databaseproviding residents with insight into the contaminants that have been detected in the water at their local facilities.

still The EPA maintains The United States “has one of the most reliable and safest sources of drinking water in the world.”

The Walt Disney Company is the parent company of National Geographic Partners and this ABC station.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.