Stockholm university

How safe is it to drink rainwater?

Rainwater may be contaminated with chemicals and scientists are still uncertain about their effects. Researchers at Stockholm University discusses the presence of PFAS in a new article in The Conversation.

Storm in Tibet. Photo: Pawel Opaska/Mostphotos


The article “How safe is it to drink rainwater?” is published in The Conversation on 29 August and is written by Ian Cousins, Bo Sha, Jana H. Johansson and Matthew Salter, all researchers at Stockholm University, and by Martin Scheringer at Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich.

They write:
“In many parts of the world, including Africa, people rely on rainwater as a source of drinking water, as well as for other household and livelihood uses. One of the reasons is water scarcity – sub-Saharan Africa has the largest number of water-scarce countries in the world. But there are concerns about how safe rainwater is to drink. It can be contaminated by dust and ash in the surroundings or by heavy metal from roofing material. Another concern is the presence of manufactured chemicals called perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), or ‘forever chemicals’”.

 

Read the article published in The Conversation:
https://theconversation.com/how-safe-is-it-to-drink-rainwater-159383

Read more about the collaboration between Stockholm University and The Conversation and how to pitch an article idea.

More articles in The Conversation by researchers at Stockholm University: 
https://theconversation.com/institutions/stockholm-university-1019

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