Everywhere and Everlasting: The Persistent Threat of Forever Chemicals

“Forever chemicals,” also known as per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), are everywhere. These collections of human-engineered chemicals degrade very slowly over time, are used in hundreds of products, are irresponsibly disposed of, and as a result have persisted throughout various ecosystems and are often detected in people’s bodies.¹ PFAS manufacturing dates back to the 1950s; however, testing for PFAS and environmental data reports were not available or implemented until the early 2000s. As such, concerns about their impact on human health were not effectively considered until the turn of the century.² For these reasons, expanding research on PFAS and their health impact has remained a concern of federal agencies including the CDC, FDA, and Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

What Does It Mean to Be Exposed to PFAS?

Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are known as "forever chemicals" because they do not degrade easily over time | image credit: Anzhela - stock.adobe.com

A report pulled from the CDC, utilizing data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, found that 97% of Americans had detectable levels of PFAS in their blood stream.¹ While various PFAS have been regulated and removed from commercial products, there are thousands of PFAS variants that have been developed over the years that still reside in hundreds of commercial goods. These chemicals undergo continually undergo developmental changes, which stresses the importance of expanding research in this area, implementing initiatives to regulate their use and limit exposure risks, and examining the consequences PFAS have on health outcomes.

At present, prior studies have drawn associations between PFAS and alterations in individual metabolism, ability to regulate one’s body weight, and increased risks of obesity during childhood.³ Researchers have also found that these chemicals can suppress the immune system and decrease antibody responses to booster vaccines, thus limiting one’s ability to fight infections.⁴ Furthermore, PFAS have been correlated with autoimmune complications and thyroid disease, adverse pregnancy outcomes, liver and kidney disease, fertility issues, and some cancers.⁵ This literature has also suggested that PFAS exposure can make women more vulnerable to developing type 2 diabetes and may delay puberty onset in younger girls.^6,7 These consequences have seemingly become more apparent over the years of study, creating real cause for concern regarding the future of PFAS use and their presence in people’s homes, the water they drink, the food they consume, the products they purchase, and more.

Where Are PFAS and Can They Be Avoided?

The short answer is: no, PFAS are a part of everyone’s day-to-day life. There are countless opportunities for human exposure to PFAS. These chemicals are frequently used throughout the electronics, automotive, aerospace, and construction industries, among others. Their widespread use and disposal methods have contributed to contaminated water sources, soil, and air.⁸ Consequently, PFAS accumulation has been found in the animals residing in these ecosystems—notably in fish, whose consumption could become an individual’s first line of exposure. Regulations have been set for safety thresholds of PFAS in water, but the EPA is not yet able effectively sample PFAS levels in the air.

Aside from the environmental impacts and associated exposure risks, PFAS are in countless everyday products, including but not limited to:

• Cleaning and sanitizing products
• Nonstick pots, pans, and other cookware
• Water- or grease-resistant products (paper, umbrellas, rain jackets, etc)
• Shampoo
• Dental floss
• Nail polish
• Makeup
• Stain-resisting compounds used on furniture, carpets, or other fabrics
• Food packaging, other packaging and paper products
• Leather and other textiles (including furniture)
• Wiring and cables
• Building materials
• Metal plating, and more^2,8

Eco-friendly trends are also affected by PFAS—notably, the uptick in paper straw use. While movements away from single-use plastic were created with hopes of reducing the impact of plastic pollution, a 2021 study discovered that 36 out of 38 samples of plant-based or biodegradable paper straws contained PFAS.⁹ The authors were confident these chemicals were purposely added to keep the straws water resistant; however, their results brought about speculation that PFAS may accidentally leak into consumer products “due to the usage of recycled contaminated paper fibers…or to contamination of source materials or the processing of water…[or] to biosolids, which are being used as fertilizer in agriculture.”⁹ This research, among other efforts, demonstrates the level of restructuring and consideration necessary to not only address environmental concerns of chemical pollutants, but also the potential danger to individual health. “The presence of PFAS in plant-based drinking straws demonstrates that they are not fully biodegradable, contributing to the direct human ingestion of PFAS and to the cycle of PFAS between waste streams and the environment,” the authors added.⁹

Not the Time to Panic

In recent years, the Biden administration has taken action to improve the regulation of PFAS and combat environmental pollution.¹ In additional, organizations such as National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences have invested in and funded numerous research efforts to broaden clinical understandings of the looming health consequences linked to PFAS and identify sources of contamination, as well as which approaches may counteract their accumulation in the body and effectively break down these chemicals. Stay tuned for the next the installment on PFAS, which will take a closer look at the impactful policies making a difference in this area and the future outlook of PFAS research.

References

1. Perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS). National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences. Updated May 3, 2024. Accessed August 9, 2024. https://www.niehs.nih.gov/health/topics/agents/pfc#:~:text=What%20Are%20PFAS?,degrade%20easily%20in%20the%20environment

2. Interstate Technology Regulation Council. History and use of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) found in the environment. Updated September 2023. Accessed August 9, 2024. https://pfas-1.itrcweb.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/HistoryandUse_PFAS_Fact-Sheet_Sept2023_final.pdf

3. Liu G, Dhana K, Furtado JD, et al. Perfluoroalkyl substances and changes in body weight and resting metabolic rate in response to weight-loss diets: a prospective study. PLoS Med. 2018;15(2):e1002502. doi:10.1371/journal.pmed.1002502

4. Kielsen K, Shamim Z, Ryder LP, et al. Antibody response to booster vaccination with tetanus and diphtheria in adults exposed to perfluorinated alkylates. J Immunotoxicol. 2016;13(2):270-273. doi:10.3109/1547691X.2015.1067259

5. Fenton SE, Ducatman A, Boobis A, et al. Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substance toxicity and human health review: current state of knowledge and strategies for informing future research. Environ Toxicol Chem. 2021;40(3):606-630. doi:10.1002/etc.4890

6. Sun Q, Zong G, Valvi D, Nielsen F, Coull B, Grandjean P. Plasma concentrations of perfluoroalkyl substances and risk of type 2 diabetes: a prospective investigation among U.S. women. Environ Health Perspect. 2018;126(3):037001. doi:10.1289/EHP2619

7. Pinney SM, Fassler CS, Windham GC, et al. Exposure to perfluoroalkyl substances and associations with pubertal onset and serum reproductive hormones in a longitudinal study of young girls in greater Cincinnati and the San Francisco Bay Area. Environ Health Perspect. 2023;131(9):97009. doi:10.1289/EHP11811

8. Environmental and health impacts of PFAS. Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources. Accessed August 9, 2024. https://dnr.wisconsin.gov/topic/PFAS/Impacts.html#:~:text=PFAS%20can%20reach%20groundwater%20and,for%20private%20drinking%20water%20wells

9. Timshina A, Aristizabal-Henao JJ, Da Silva BF, Bowden JA. The last straw: characterization of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances in commercially-available plant-based drinking straws. Chemosphere. 2021;277:130238. doi:10.1016/j.chemosphere.2021.130238