You probably have “forever chemicals” in your body. Here’s what that means.

By Benji Jones | Vox | August 25, 2022

Read the full article by Benji Jones (Vox)

"Right now, you likely have something unnatural lurking inside your body. It was made by a large corporation and could potentially harm you.

That something is called PFAS.

Known colloquially as “forever chemicals,” PFAS — short for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances — are a large group of chemicals that make certain products nonstick or stain resistant. Research indicates that these chemicals can be dangerous. Exposure to PFAS is linked to cancers, weakened immune systems among children, weight gain, and a wide range of other health problems.

PFAS are a public health concern, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Yet companies are still producing them.

What’s especially alarming is that nearly all Americans have some amount of PFAS in their blood, no matter how healthy they might be. “We’re really seeing PFAS absolutely everywhere,” said Elsie M. Sunderland, an environmental chemist at Harvard who’s been studying PFAS for roughly a decade."

This content provided by the PFAS Project.

Topics:

• ChemicalsPFAS
• Environment
• Wildlife
• Affected community
• Health
• HealthEndocrine Disruption
• HealthCancer
• Measurement Techniques
• Monitoring Data
• PFAS Uses