Some US prisons get their water from sources that aren’t clean, according to new study.
Within the United States, there are more than a million inmates, and we now know that they can get sick from contaminated water. According to Nicholas Shapiro, who helped write the study, these prisoners can’t do much to keep themselves safe, which makes them even more vulnerable.
Shpiro said, “This is such a unique population that we need to think about who is exposed and who has the least power to reduce their exposure.”
The speaker went on, “We see the dehumanization of incarcerated people across the country, and these exposures are symptoms of that larger problem.”
Multiple goods contain PFAS chemicals, which are also known as “forever chemicals” because they can’t be broken down by the body or the environment. Furthermore, these chemicals have been connected to issues with the liver, cancer, and birth defects.
Researchers came to the conclusion that tainted water could come from a number of places, but only a few of those places have been tested. To keep people safe and let them know that these sources contain chemicals, the writers wrote that more tests are urgently required.
The water supply for a women’s jail, which is right next to a firefighter school and uses firefighter foam, is one example. Foams have been found to pollute the water the most.
Particularly prisoners are in high-risk places because their immune systems are often weaker, which makes them more likely to get sick or have bad effects from drinking contaminated water. Researchers are trying to figure out what caused the pollution and why it happened by pushing for tests and a better understanding of it.
