major government study finds - with worst-hit areas in Cali, Eastern Seaboard, Great Lakes and Great Plains

Almost half of all tap water sources in the US are laced with toxic ‘forever chemicals’, according to a major official study.

Experts said the findings were 'frightening' given the scale of the problem and the link between the toxins and cancer, fertility problems, birth defects and hormone issues.

In the most comprehensive study of its kind, researchers tested water sources at more than 700 locations across the country for PFAS, microscopic man-made chemicals that can take decades to break down in the body, hence the name 'forever chemicals'.

They found that 45 percent of drinking water sources contained at least one PFAS - with highest concentrations in the Great Plains, the Great Lakes, the Eastern Seaboard and Central/Southern California.

The team's testing was limited to 32 types of PFAS out of more than 12,000 types that exist, which US Geological Survey researchers said indicates that the problem is even larger.