water products. Examples of questions in this category included: are PFAS in bottled water and questions about specific brands of bottled and sparkling water. The fourth category, with 5.7% of questions, was how to test water for PFAS. The fifth category, with 1.9% of ques- tions, was about where PFAS are, with ques- tions such as are there PFAS in my water and what states have PFAS in their water? See Figure 2 for percentages of all categories and Table 1 for a full list of the analyzed questions. Discussion This study focuses on internet search behav- ior by reviewing terms most commonly used when people search for information about PFAS in water supplies. Our study’s aim is to support public health messaging to inform public and commercial water consumers (rather than private well water consumers, who may ask dierent types of questions). In the context of drinking water, the more frequent search categories showed more focused questioning, revealing that people are especially interested in receiving informa- tion about risk mitigation and how to avoid exposure (e.g., as in specifically how to filter water to remove PFAS). Based on descriptive inferences from these large data sets, public health communicators can develop their communication strategies with higher confidence in their decisions about what people want to know about a particular topic, such as PFAS, and thereby develop con- tent that is perceived positively by their audi- ence, in alignment with the CAT central tenet of communication alignment (Giles, 2016). Once communicators understand what their audience is interested in knowing and the words that the audience use, communicators can emphasize high-volume words to increase the relevance of their educational resources and to promote trac to their websites. Search results show that when people ask questions about PFAS and water, the most common concern is how to filter PFAS from their water. The variation in high-volume questions shows that there is considerable uncertainty among individuals regarding best practices for filtering PFAS from water, including questions about if boiling water removes PFAS from water and the eective- ness of common commercial filters. Our study recommends that public outreach focuses on communicating the current sci-
TABLE 1
Search Volume for Questions Related to Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) and Water
Question
Search Volume
What is PFAS in water
1,600
How to remove PFAS from water
590 480 320 320 260 210 210 210 170 170 170 170 140 140 140 140 110 110 110
What are PFAS in water
Do water filters remove PFAS
How to remove PFAS from water at home
Which bottled water does not have PFAS
Does boiling water remove PFAS
Does zero water filter remove PFAS
How to remove PFAS from water at-home
Can PFAS be filtered out of water
How to filter PFAS from water
Does bottled water have PFAS
What sparkling water does not have PFAS
How do PFAS get into water
Does zero water remove PFAS
What water filters remove PFAS
How to test for PFAS in water
How to test for PFAS in water at home
How to test water for PFAS
Are PFAS in bottled water
What is PFAS in drinking water
90 90 90 90 70 70 70 70 70 50 50 50 50 50 50 50 50 40
What water filter will remove PFAS
Does Fiji Water have PFAS
Does Waterloo Sparkling Water have PFAS
Can you filter PFAS out of water
How to get PFAS out of water
How to get rid of PFAS in water Are there PFAS in bottled water Does bottled water contain PFAS Can PFAS be removed from water
Do refrigerator water filters remove PFAS
Does boiling water get rid of PFAS
Does distilling water remove PFAS
How to remove PFAS in drinking water
What water filter removes PFAS
Does Kirkland Sparkling Water have PFAS
What states have PFAS in water
Can water filters remove PFAS
continued on page 12
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July/August 2025 • Journal of Environmental Health
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