Austin Fast
Investigative Data Reporter at USA Today
Data @USAToday || Formerly: @NPR, @TB_Times || @Cronkite_ASU & @MiamiUniversity alum || Returned Peace Corps Volunteer || Oreo enthusiast
Articles
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2 weeks ago |
jacksonville.com | Cheryl McCloud |Austin Fast
Water from the faucets of at least 42 million Americans is contaminated with unacceptable levels of “forever chemicals.”Studies have shown the chemicals can accumulate in our bodies, leading to certain cancers and other health complications. PFAS are synthetic compounds that "are an unseen ingredient in many items that we use in our daily lives."Water. "Forever chemicals."Those are words you generally don't want to see together. For 42 million Americans, it hits home.
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2 weeks ago |
usatoday.com | Austin Fast
Water pouring from the faucets of at least 42 million Americans is contaminated with unacceptable levels of “forever chemicals,” according to a USA TODAY analysis of records the Environmental Protection Agency released on June 2. Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS, are a family of manmade chemicals engineered to be nearly indestructible. Studies have shown they can accumulate over time in human bodies, leading to certain cancers and other health complications.
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1 month ago |
usatoday.com | Austin Fast |Ignacio Calderon
The Environmental Protection Agency announced plans May 14 to rescind drinking water limits it set on four “forever chemicals” last spring. A USA TODAY analysis of EPA data shows the chemicals have recently been detected in hundreds of water systems serving over 84 million Americans.
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2 months ago |
usatoday.com | Gina Barton |Austin Fast
More than 21,000 people died in local jails and state prisons in four years, according to records the government has hidden from public view since 2021. The U.S. Department of Justice released the inmate death records to USA TODAY on April 23 after a years-long court battle. The records include the names, dates, locations and circumstances of deaths in custody. It comes from the prison systems in all 50 states and about 2,800 local jails across the country between Oct. 1, 2015 and the end of 2019.
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Mar 28, 2025 |
yahoo.com | Austin Fast |Ignacio Calderon |Ignacio Calderón
More than 37 million Americans drink water from systems that exceed limits on toxic "forever chemicals," according to USA TODAY's analysis of the first update of Environmental Protection Agency data under the Trump administration. The EPA had been updating these records quarterly like clockwork, but this data release came more than a month later than expected, tucked amid an onslaught of cuts and changes within the agency.
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Does your #DrinkingWater have #PFAS? We've got recently updated @EPA data from over 6,500 public systems on our searchable map at: https://t.co/bbwFmjT26W @ceciliagarzella @2400c #WaterPollution https://t.co/AZboeWEEPV
Who's to blame for #PFAS in our #DrinkingWater? On today's episode of The Excerpt from @usatoday, I talk about what cities are saying. https://t.co/sSZJmmzPHZ #ForeverChemicals #WaterPollution #CleanWater
“The lesson from these low success rates is not that we should give up on the (#Section8) voucher program, it’s that we really need to scrutinize it and find ways to make it easier to use – for tenants and landlords.” #HousingVouchers @lucytompkins2
Voucher program is supposed to help poor families rent a home. Nearly half the time, it fails. https://t.co/RCW9WftVWL