What are “Forever Chemicals”? And why Indiana is paying attention

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What are “Forever Chemicals”? And why Indiana is paying attention – Ball State Daily News

Published by Ball State Daily News – May 16, 2026, 9 a.m.

“Forever chemicals,” known as PFAS, are gaining attention across Indiana as concerns grow about their presence in drinking water and potential health effects. Following a new environmental law signed by Mike Braun on April 14, communities and utilities are facing increased pressure to test and treat contaminated water following Indiana’s change to environmental statutes for the first time in decades.

Reilly Duffy is one of the project engineers based in Indiana at Commonwealth Engineers, Inc. Project engineers oversee day-to-day operations of wastewater and water engineering projects with agencies and utility companies to ensure projects accurately align with their design and improvements.

Duffy answers questions for the Cardinal Media via email of what forever chemicals are and what we need to know about the harms and effects.

What are some of the most common forever chemicals in water?

Duffy: “’Forever Chemicals’ is jargon for Per and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) that are not naturally occurring in the environment. It is difficult to answer what PFAS compounds are most common in water. In drinking water, the PFAS compounds the EPA currently regulates are PFOA, PFOS, PFNA, and HFPO-DA.”

Is there a particular area in Indiana that has the most concentration of PFAS?

Duffy: IDEM has published some data and EWG has actually mapped some data about PFAS concentrations across the US (Interactive Map: PFAS Contamination Crisis: New Data Show 9,728 sites in 50 states) specific to drinking water levels. Drinking water utilities in the southeast corner, northern edge and southwest corner of Indiana appear to have large bundles where PFAS is above limit.

What are some counties doing well with their water treatment?

Duffy: It is difficult to say who is doing well with water treatment for PFAS currently. A lot of communities are conducting more extensive testing to determine the concentrations of PFAS they have in their water supplies. From the communities we are currently working with, many of the existing treatment plants are unable to treat for PFAS or have a treatment step that is only partially treating PFAS.

What is the best solution for counties with bad water treatment?

Duffy: If PFAS treatment is needed, granular activated carbon (GAC) or Ion Exchange (IX) filters are a common treatment technology that has successfully treated for PFAS. PFAS compound removal is dependent on the type of PFAS compound(s) that need to be removed. Pilot testing, or small-scale testing of these treatment technologies is highly recommended to determine which treatment method will be the most effective for those communities. 

What is the biggest struggle overall for making progress in Indiana on water treatment?

Duffy: Water utilities serve large cities to small towns of only 300-400 people in Indiana. With smaller communities, they often do not have enough money to complete these large capital projects needed to upgrade, expand, or even maintain their utility. With new regulations, it can often be difficult to meet those requirements, and in the case of PFAS, new treatment can prohibitively expensive.

A gloved hand holds a transparent cylindrical container filled with liquid, showing a dark residue at the bottom. The vial is a test to check for PFAS compounds at the Orange County Water District on October 9, 2019 in Orange County, California. — ORANGE COUNTY, CA-OCTOBER 9, 2019: Enrique Flores Arteaga raises a water sample that is left with a concentrated testing element to check for PFAS compounds at the Orange County Water District on October 9, 2019 in Orange County, California. Officials will release new water quality results this week that will show widespread contamination of PFAS, a toxic chemical linked to cancer. (Photo By Dania Maxwell / Los Angeles Times / TNS)

Has there been an overall progression in better water treatment or worse?

Duffy: Water treatment is progressing in the right direction in Indiana. We are still in the beginning stages of accommodating the PFAS regulations, and utilities are moving to address any issue that they have. 

How would someone find out if they had a bad water treatment in their area?

Duffy: Many communities participated in early PFAS testing (IDEM: Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS)). You can look up your community or utility to determine if PFAS was detected. Additionally, PFAS is required to be tested by the utilities biannually. These results must be made public and published on the Indiana Virtual Filing Cabinet (Guest Home Page). Utilities also provide annual consumer confidence reports, which show the concentrations of various compounds in your drinking water. That report is typically mailed to you and freely available on the virtual filing cabinet as well. 

Who would someone talk to if they want to start discussing the need for change in their county?

Duffy: Contact your water utility, attend county meetings, town council meetings, etc. These public forums are there to make your issues known to your communities. 

Why is this a concern for Indiana residents?

Duffy: PFAS compounds are named “forever chemicals” for a reason. They do not breakdown readily in the environment, and have been shown to bioaccumulate and biomagnify. The half life of PFAS compounds in the human body ranges from 1-10 years, or an estimated 1,000 years in soil in groundwater. To put this in perspective, over the course of a human life (80 years), the concentrations of PFAS in soil and groundwater would only decrease by ~5%. So any accumulation in the environment, will not dissipate over numerous generations without treatment. PFAS exposure has been linked to decreased fertility, increased blood pressure in pregnant women, developmental delays in children, increased cancer risk (prostate, kidney, testicular), reduce immune system response to infections, hormonal impact, and potentially obesity. 

Why aren’t all counties under the same water treatment?

Duffy: Water quality and sources can vary pretty drastically across even several miles. There are some “general” consistencies across Indiana typically like “hard water” issues, elevated iron and manganese discoloration, and those sorts of issues. Because of the spatial variation, some raw water sources need different treatment technologies to accommodate various contaminants of concerns.

As Indiana communities continue testing and adapting to new PFAS regulations, Duffy said public awareness and engagement will play a key role in how quickly improvements happen.

This story was produced in part with financial support from Carbon Neutral Indiana. The reporting and production of this piece were overseen by faculty and/or staff within the Department of Journalism at Ball State University to ensure adherence to professional and ethical standards.