An old cholesterol drug could help clear PFAS

By Saima Sidik | C&EN | February 4, 2026

Read the full article by Saima Sidik (C&EN)

"Paul Smith, a retired nurse anesthetist, has been contending with chronic lymphocytic leukemia since 2012, and his doctor suspects a tumor is forming in his pituitary gland. But despite the uncertainty about his health, a well-known cholesterol management drug is giving him a bit of hope.

Smith lives in a part of Barnstable, Massachusetts, called Centerville, where a local firefighter-training school and nearby airport contaminated the water supply for decades. The facilities allowed environmental leaks of fire-suppressing foam laden with per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, also known as PFAS or “forever chemicals.”

Smith had been drinking the tainted water for years before he learned that it was sending his levels of certain PFAS soaring. In 2022, the Silent Spring Institute, a nonprofit health research organization, commissioned a study that included Centerville."

Topics:

• ChemicalsPFAS
• Health