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The federal government is issuing historic standards to keep harmful, synthesized chemicals out of drinking water. Advocates across the country and Illinois are calling the new regulations a major win for public health.

Exposure to the so-called “forever chemicals” — found in everything from dental floss to non-stick cookware — is linked to increased risk of cancer and other serious medical complications. The new rules give all public water systems three years to comply with initial monitoring of these chemicals. The Environmental Protection Agency is funding this revamp with close to $1 billion; $21.8 million is allocated for the state of Illinois.

The technical name of these man-made chemicals is PFAS, or per- and polyfluoroalkyl. PFAS is so pervasive today that it can be found in the blood of nearly all Americans. The first ever nationwide regulations come into effect over 70 years after its initial discovery and widespread use across industrial processes and commercial products. Previously, only 11 states set limits on PFAS in drinking water, not including Illinois.

If sampling returns levels of PFAS above the new standard, water systems have another two years to implement technology to reduce PFAS. The new guidelines apply to 66,000 public drinking water systems across the country, but the EPA estimates only 6-10% of those public water systems will have to take action to reduce PFAS levels to meet the new requirement.

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The new drinking water regulations “will change some things” in Illinois, according to Ariel Hampton, of the Illinois Environmental Council.

“We will certainly see changes in about three to five years,” Hampton said.

PFAS is shorthand for a massive family of approximately 15,000 carbon-fluorine bonded compounds. The popularity of the class of chemicals is because of their ability to impart water and grease repellent properties onto goods. Today they can be found in everyday products such as guitar strings, sticky notes, food wrappers, cleaning products, shampoo and toilet paper.

But the carbon-fluoride bond that makes the toxic compounds so useful to manufacturers is the same reason they don’t break down in the environment or in human bodies.

“Everyone in the U.S., regardless of what state they will live in, will benefit from this rule,” said Katie Pelch, a scientist on the toxics team at the Natural Resources Defense Council. “It means that within the next five years, treatment has to be installed if these PFAS chemicals are found to be in the drinking water.”

Chicago’s drinking water comes from Lake Michigan. As recently as January, the city’s drinking water was measured as nondetectable for “forever chemicals.” Testing will occur again this month and then in July and October.

Approximately 45% of the nation’s tap water has some kind of PFAS contamination, according to a 2023 study by the U.S. Geological Survey. The Illinois EPA began testing Illinois community water supplies for PFAS back in 2020. The state agency identified some concentration of PFAS at 149 sites out of the more than 1,400 sites sampled.

IEPA said it plans to work closely with the federal EPA to reduce impacts from these chemicals in drinking water.

“Illinois EPA supports the action taken by U.S. EPA to introduce the first national drinking water standards for some Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS),” the agency said in a statement.

In 2022, the EPA ordered 3M, the Minnesota-based PFAS manufacturer, to begin widespread water testing and treatment near its northwestern Illinois factory after the federal agency found that PFAS contamination from the site created “an imminent and substantial endangerment” of nearby drinking water.

Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul filed a lawsuit last year against 14 companies that benefited from the sale of products containing PFAS. The suit alleges the companies knew PFAS was toxic and still continued to promote and benefit from its sale. Earlier this month, Indiana’s attorney general filed a similar suit — making it one of the more than 25 states trying to take PFAS manufacturers to court.

Juanpablo Ramirez-Franco covers climate change and the environment for WBEZ and Grist. Follow him on X at @__juanpab.