"A water provider in northern Alabama warned more than 100,000 customers on Thursday not to drink or cook with tap water, saying it could be contaminated with potentially dangerous levels of a chemical that federal health officials have linked to cancer, according to local media reports.

The warning issued by the West Morgan-East Lawrence Water Authority, 40 miles south of Alabama's border with Tennessee, comes after the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency issued an advisory on May 19 that lowered the safe level for compounds known as PFOA and PFOS in drinking water.

The manmade compounds can be found in nonstick cookware, waterproof clothes, carpet sealants and firefighting foams, according to the Alabama Department of Environmental Management, which is monitoring the situation."

Karen Brooks reports for Reuters June 2, 2016. [2]