Not only are PFAS toxic — they’re bad at their job when applied to furniture: Study

By Tatum McConnell | Environmental Health News | April 4, 2023

Read the full article by Tatum McConnell (Environmental Health News)

“The group of chemicals referred to as PFAS are known for their ability to repel water and stains from fabric, but a new study found that treatments containing PFAS had a low impact on protecting furniture fabrics and that the fabric type did more to prevent stains.

PFAS, also known as ‘forever chemicals,’ are a family of chemicals added to fabrics, non-stick cookware, food packaging and other consumer goods for their purported ability to repel water and oil. They contain a strong chemical bond that makes them difficult to break down. This persistence has made PFAS, short for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, a widespread environmental pollutant found in drinking water, the blood of about 97% of Americans and even wild polar bears. PFAS are endocrine-disrupting chemicals, meaning they can impact the body’s hormones, and elevated levels of some PFAS have been linked to health concerns including kidney and testicular cancer, high cholesterol levels, low birth weights and decreased vaccine effectiveness in children, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

‘PFAS have been detected in the dust of homes,’ Jaime DeWitt, a professor of pharmacology and toxicology at East Carolina University who is unaffiliated with the study, told Environmental Health News (EHN). When textiles with PFAS coatings, including furniture, wear down they can release the toxics and increase exposure, she said.

In the new study, published today in the AATCC Journal of Research, scientists put PFAS fabric treatments to the test after hearing from textile manufacturers that the coatings might not be effective, Carol Kwiatkowski, an author on the study and science and policy senior associate at the Green Science Policy Institute, told EHN."

This content provided by the PFAS Project.