There are some things in life that we want to last forever, but there are other things that we’d rather not have sticking with us. Toxic chemicals are one of the latter.
A group of chemicals known as PFAS are so-called “forever chemicals.” They are indestructible, man-made compounds that can build up in our environment. They can be found in our foods, our clothing and even our body. In fact, a review of 2011-2012 data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention showed that PFAS are present in the blood of 97% of Americans.
While it’s hard to avoid PFAS completely, there are certain steps you can take to lower exposure and mitigate risks.
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What Are PFAS?
Perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances, known simply as PFAS, are a group of man-made chemical compounds often used to coat products to repel oil, water and other liquids that cause wear and tear from daily use. Introduced by DuPont Chemical in the 1940s, various PFAS chemicals were the secret weapon behind successful cookware brands like Teflon and Scotchgard, which were known for their long-lasting and anti-stick qualities. Soon after, competitors began to follow suit.
However, this durability comes at a price.
“All of those same properties that make them really resistant to water, it also makes them pretty indestructible in the environment,” explains Sydney Evans, a senior science analyst at the Environmental Working Group in Washington, D.C. “They are almost impossible to break down.”
While scientists are researching ways to degrade and destroy PFAS, there is no widespread, safe method in practice yet.
When the long-term health consequences of PFAS exposure started to come to light, many companies in the United States voluntarily stopped producing products with PFAS. However, many simply replaced the two original variations of PFAS — PFOA (perfluorooctanoic acid) and PFOS (perfluorooctanoic sulfonic acid) — with slightly different chemical compounds that have pretty much the same risk.
“There are relatively minor chemical differences between many of these compounds, which is why they sort of behave similarly,” says Scott Bartell, professor of environmental and occupational health at the University of California, Irvine. “They’re all difficult to break down in the environment because they have a carbon fluorine bond, (which) is one of the strongest bonds known to man.”
Over the past seven decades, experts have identified more than 12,000 different types of PFAS.
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Health Consequences of PFAS Exposure
According to the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry, a federal public health agency run by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, PFAS are linked to an increased risk of the following health conditions:
— Raised cholesterol levels.
— Kidney, prostate and testicular cancer.
— Asthma.
— Liver damage.
— Obesity.
There may be an increased risk of the following for pregnant people and young children:
— High blood pressure in pregnant people, known as preeclampsia.
— Decreased birth weights.
— Decreased response to vaccines in children.
Experts are unclear how much PFAS exposure leads to negative health effects.
“That’s literally the trillion dollar question: Is there a safe level (of) exposure?” Scott says. “I think that’s very much still a matter of some debate amongst scientists.”
There’s a growing consensus among scientists that any level of exposure could put people at risk for certain health conditions, like cancer and decreased vaccination response.
However, David Nadler, a research faculty member at the New York Institute of Technology in Old Westbury, New York, and former director within the New York City Department of Environmental Protection, points out that PFAS are often found with other pollutants and toxins, so it’s hard to solely blame PFAS for causing these negative health effects.
“(PFAS) just might be one of the ingredients in the recipe of all of these other chemical mixtures that we’re inhaling, or that may be in small quantities, in our water supply and with clothing, as well,” Nadler says.
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What Products Contain PFAS?
If you’re looking to cut down on your salt intake, you can read the nutrition label that comes with your food to see how much sodium is inside. But when it comes to determining the amount of PFAS in a certain product, the answer can be difficult to discern.
“It’s kind of hard to say what the worst offender is because there’s so much that we don’t know,” Evans says. “These manufacturers are not required to disclose what they’re using, and how much they’re using. Then there’s, of course, the issue of what’s being intentionally added, and what’s happening as a byproduct.”
Even products touted as “organic” and “nontoxic” have been busted for the presence of PFAS. In late 2022, the feminine hygiene company Thinx shelled out a $5 million settlement after customers who tested the underwear filed a class-action lawsuit against the company for its use of PFAS in the products.
Since then, studies have revealed that products like school uniforms and firefighter gear also contain PFAS — as do marine life and food sources, like types of salmon and trout. Long-term exposure to these chemicals has been linked to negative health outcomes, including increased cancer risks and some researchers are still figuring out.
The safest bet is avoiding products that are known to traditionally carry PFAS. Evans recommends avoiding anything with a “stain-resistant” or “water-resistant” label. These include:
— Food packaging, especially those with grease-resistant paper, like microwave popcorn, fast-food wrappers, take-out containers or pizza boxes.
— Cleaning products, like dishwashers and laundry detergent.
— Cosmetics. These include concealers, foundations, shampoo and coated dental floss. Waterproof makeup contains particularly high chemical levels.
— Outdoor or exercise gear, particularly water-resistant raincoats and sweat-resistant workout gear.
— Uniforms, including firefighter gear and school uniforms — which a recent study found to have similar levels of PFAS contamination to outdoor gear.
— Nonstick cookware. Even if your pan boasts a “PFOA-free” label, that likely means that the manufacturers replaced the PFOA with one of the thousands of other PFAS. Instead, opt for a dish made of stainless steel or cast iron material.
— Plastic containers, particularly those that are fluorinated, which means they have gone through a process to prevent paneling and distortion.
Clothes and household products aren’t the only way of getting exposed to PFAS. Since these chemicals don’t break down, there’s a large amount of PFAS in the soil and water supply.
PFAS in the Water
As a result of the mounting evidence linking PFAS exposure to serious health effects, federal health agencies have updated their health advisories of acceptable PFAS limits in drinking water to virtually zero.
Until recently, the Environmental Protection Agency’s advisory levels of PFAS in drinking water were 70 parts per trillion. However, in June 2022, the EPA lowered the number to .004 parts per trillion for PFOA and .02 parts per trillion for PFOS.
“The updated advisory levels, which are based on new science and consider lifetime exposure, indicate that some negative health effects may occur with concentrations of PFOA or PFOS in water that are near zero,” according to the EPA report.
The best way to find out how much PFAS you’re exposed to in your tap water is to check your annual water quality report issued by your local government.
“If you really look at it, you get to see everything that’s been tested for,” Nadler says. “You see the number of times a certain chemical came up higher than what, let’s say, the state health department might allow for.”
Missed yours this year? Fear not. Most, if not all, water suppliers will have this copy online.
You can also check the EWG’s tap water database, where you can search by zip code to see what contaminants are found in your area’s water.
Do water filters remove PFAS?
Although a water filter won’t get rid of all chemicals in your drinking water, it will significantly cut down your exposure.
“The good news is that even your basic countertop-pitcher style filters will reduce the level of PFAS in drinking water, as long as you use it correctly and change out the filter,” Evans says.
Bartell recommends a granular activated carbon filter or reverse osmosis filter that has been officially certified to remove PFOA and PFOS.
PFAS in marine life
In addition to lurking in the water, PFAS can contaminate marine animals, like fish. A recent study showed that PFAS can accumulate inside fish, particularly salmonids, which includes fish like salmon, trout and char.
Graham Peaslee, the researcher behind the initial Thinx discovery and co-author of the study on PFAS and fish, and others, says that the findings may have implications for how humans can come in contact to PFAS through their diet, which is “an important route of exposure.”
PFAS Testing
You may want to find out how much PFAS is in your blood after reading this, but PFAS testing has its limits.
You’ll have to seek out a specialty lab to perform the test, and health insurance probably won’t cover the cost. According to the scientific research organization Silent Spring Institute, testing is only available for 40 of the thousands of different PFAS. Additionally, the test will not be able to tell you the source of your exposure or for how long you’ve been exposed.
Even if you do get tested, it’s important to note that not all blood tests will tell you the same thing. Some blood tests look at blood sera, which is a fluid or serum in the blood, to test for PFAS. This can detect some but not all chemicals in the family.
According to Peaslee, who is also a professor of chemistry and biochemistry at the Department of Physics and Astronomy at the University of Notre Dame, one common PFAS that does not accumulate in blood sera is PFHxA. PFHxA is a breakdown of PFAS often from consumer products like stain-resistant fabric. Instead of using a blood sera test, checking for PFHxA can require a whole-blood test. In places where these have been conducted, “PFHxA is about the third most abundant PFAS found in blood,” Peaslee says.
In contrast, some PFAS accumulate at higher concentrations in the blood sera. These chemicals may appear less prevalent on a whole-blood test due to differences in proportions.
If the test results show that you have elevated levels of PFAS in your blood, there could be preventive measures, such as more frequent screenings for the conditions related to high PFAS exposure. For example, if you have a blood concentration above 20 nanograms per milliliter for seven types of PFAS, then physicians can perform additional health screenings similar to those for people with a close family history of certain cancers.
Reducing Your Exposure
There isn’t really a way to live without PFAS, as hard as you may try. But there are ways to reduce risks of exposure.
Avoiding clothes or furniture labeled water- or stain-resistant, using cast-iron instead of nonstick cookware and filtering your water is a great place to start.
“Don’t panic, but do read the labels and ask the questions,” Peaslee says.
Some questions to ask yourself before using or purchasing a product:
— Does this product contain properties that have been associated with PFAS? Examples include waterproof, long-lasting or fast-drying labeling.
— Does anything on the label mention PFAS? Look for a product that says “Contains no intentional PFAS.”
— Remember that even products that do not contain intentional PFAS may contain unexpected sources, so determine how much risk you are personally willing to take.
By not purchasing a product that contains PFAS, if this information is clear, consumers may be able to put pressure on manufacturers to make better products, Peaslee says.
“The power of the consumer is significant,” he adds. But unfortunately, an individual approach isn’t going to solve a systematic problem nor change the PFAS landscape overnight. So, researchers like Peaslee are keeping at it, with “lots of papers to come until public pressure changes manufacturing patterns.”
Peaslee adds that in the last few years alone, research on PFAS has “exploded.”
“As little as ten years ago there were six peer-reviewed articles a month published on PFAS and health (human health, public health, ecological health) from around the world, while last year there were more than 54 publications a month on PFAS and health,” Peaslee says. “There is so much research occurring on this topic that we are finding out new things every day.”
While discovering new sources of PFAS exposure may not seem like a reason to celebrate, the fact that researchers are committed to studying PFAS can be viewed as a good thing. The more information available, the more tools we have to build a healthier future.
Through advocacy work, you can also pressure lawmakers to set regulations to include PFAS testing requirements for products, and for consumers to be transparent about the materials they use in their manufacturing processes.
“(If) we all sit back and wait for somebody else to do it, nobody’s going to do it,” Evans says. “But if we each take it upon ourselves to write that letter, to send that email, over time, as a group, we can have a huge impact.”
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The Dangers of PFAS originally appeared on usnews.com
Update 08/14/23: This story was published at an earlier date and has been updated with new information.
