Texas Water Resources Institute, Texas A&M AgriLife, College Station, Texas, United States of America.
PLoS One. 2023 Nov 16;18(11):e0294134. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0294134. eCollection 2023.
The presence of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in U.S. drinking water has recently garnered significant attention from the media, federal government, and public health professionals. While concerns for PFAS exposure continue to mount, the general public's awareness and knowledge of the contaminant has remained unknown. This exploratory study sought to fill this data gap by administering a nationwide survey in which the awareness of PFAS and community contamination, awareness of PFAS containing products and intentions to change product use, and awareness and concern about PFAS in drinking water were assessed. The results indicated that almost half the respondents had never heard of PFAS and do not know what it is (45.1%). Additionally, 31.6% responded that they had heard of PFAS but do not know what it is. A large portion of respondents (97.4%) also responded that they did not believe their drinking water had been impacted by PFAS. Demographic association did not influence knowledge of PFAS or levels of concern with PFAS in drinking water. The strongest predictor of PFAS awareness was awareness due to known community exposure. The respondents aware of community exposure were more likely to have knowledge of PFAS sources, change their use of items with potential PFAS contamination, and answer that their drinking water sources were also contaminated with PFAS. Based on the received responses, PFAS information and health risks need to be better communicated to the public to help increase awareness. These efforts should also be coordinated between government agencies, utilities, the research community, and other responsible entities to bolster their effectiveness.
全氟和多氟烷基物质 (PFAS) 在美国饮用水中的存在最近引起了媒体、联邦政府和公共卫生专业人员的高度关注。尽管对 PFAS 暴露的担忧持续加剧，但公众对这种污染物的认识和了解仍不清楚。这项探索性研究旨在通过进行全国性调查来填补这一数据空白，该调查评估了公众对 PFAS 的认识和社区污染情况、对含有 PFAS 的产品的认识和改变产品使用的意愿，以及对饮用水中 PFAS 的认识和关注。调查结果表明，近一半的受访者从未听说过 PFAS，也不知道它是什么（45.1%）。此外，31.6%的受访者表示听说过 PFAS，但不知道它是什么。很大一部分受访者（97.4%）也表示他们不相信他们的饮用水受到了 PFAS 的影响。人口统计学关联并没有影响公众对 PFAS 的认识或对饮用水中 PFAS 的担忧程度。PFAS 意识的最强预测因素是由于已知的社区暴露而产生的意识。意识到社区暴露的受访者更有可能了解 PFAS 的来源，改变他们对有潜在 PFAS 污染物品的使用，并回答他们的饮用水源也受到了 PFAS 的污染。根据收到的回复，需要向公众更好地传达 PFAS 信息和健康风险，以帮助提高认识。这些努力还应在政府机构、公用事业公司、研究界和其他责任实体之间进行协调，以提高其效力。
