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In 1974, Congress passed the Safe Drinking Water Act, which gave the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) the authority to regulate public tap water.
1974年，美国国会通过了《安全饮用水法案》，给了美国国家环境保护局监管公共自来水的权力。
When something like lead, for example, is shown to be harmful to human health, the EPA can set a limit for how much is allowed in water supplies.
当像铅之类的物质被证明对人体健康有害时，保护局可以订定自来水中的含量限制。
Limits are based on what amount is safe for human consumption and what is technologically feasible for water treatment facilities to accomplish.
这些限制是根据人体的安全摄取量及净水厂的技术可行性而订定。
But these limits don't always result in water that is contaminant free.
但这些限制并不代表水质是完全无污染的。
"There's a gap between what is legal and what is safe," says Sydney Evans, a science analyst at the Environmental Working Group (EWG).
“在法律规范与安全之间是有差距的，”美国环境工作组织的科学分析师席妮·伊凡斯表示。
She adds that many regulations are based on decades-old science, which the EWG has argued makes regulations outdated and insufficient.
她还表示，许多规范根据的是数十年前的科学，这也是环境工作组织一直主张这些规范既过时也不足够的原因。
The EWG maintains their own tap water database where they set much stricter limits than the EPA, based on what they consider to be safe for human health.
美国环境工作组织有自己的自来水资料库，并设定了比保护局更严格的规范，根据的是他们认为对人体健康比较安全的标准。
Their limits are determined by peer-reviewed studies, research done by state agencies, and staff scientists.
他们的规范是依据同侪审阅研究、州政府机关以及内部科学家的研究结果所订定。
Type "drinking water" into your search bar, and lately you're likely to see articles about how it's full of PFAS, pollutants sometimes referred to as "forever chemicals."
若是在搜寻栏中输入“饮用水”，最近你很可能看到的会是关于饮用水富含PFAS的文章，PFAS是有时也被称为“永远的化学物质”的污染物。
PFAS (per-and polyfluoroalkyl substances) is a group of thousands of chemicals with tight chemically-bound bonds that help them last in the environment for years.
PFAS（全氟和多氟烷基物质）是一群包括数千种化学物质的化合物，具有紧密的化学键结，因此能稳定留存在环境中许多年。
Certain PFAS compounds have been linked to serious health issues, such as cancer.
已经确认某些PFAS化合物与严重的健康问题有关，例如癌症。
Recently, the EPA proposed new limits on six of these chemicals in drinking water.
最近，美国环保局提出了六种PFAS化学物质在饮用水中的新含量规范。
Studies conducted on drinking water show PFAS is common in drinking water supplies throughout the U.S., and as a result, these chemicals have been found in our blood.
针对饮用水进行的研究显示，PFAS普遍存在于全美国的饮用水供应中，也因此这些化学物质也出现在我们的血液中。 
The EPA rules proposed this month would be the first to meaningfully address PFAS pollution at the federal level and paves a way to remove a toxin that's been contaminating drinking water for decades.
本月提出的美国环保局规范，将是联邦层级首度有意义地处理PFAS污染，并为清除这些已经污染饮用水数十年的毒素铺好了道路。
