Ohio to test Cuyahoga River for ‘forever chemicals’ in the water and aquatic life

CLEVELAND, Ohio (WOIO) -Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine announced today the expansion of his H2Ohio program that has been addressing the health of the state’s waterways.

The program will now expand to start testing for per- and polyfluoroalkyl (PFAS) substances, also known as forever chemicals, in the Cuyahoga River and the other 28 major rivers.

“We know that river health in Ohio has improved tremendously in the last several decades, but there is still more work to do,” said Governor DeWine. “Water is one of Ohio’s greatest assets, and my administration is dedicated to protecting this invaluable resource.”

Ohio will become the first state in the country to begin testing of all of its major rivers to form a baseline of just how many of these chemicals are currently in our waterways.

Forever chemicals are manmade compounds that have been link to serious health issues including kidney and testicular cancer, thyroid disease, low birth weight, and high cholesterol.

The expansion of all of the H2Ohio programs is being given $270 million from the General Assembly, $47 million of which will be used for this testing, and other river projects.

Here are the 29 rivers that will be tested for PFAS chemicals.

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