PFAS are everywhere—and the EPA has a new plan to fight back

Ever-present 'forever chemicals' linger in our environment, as well as our bodies, and have been linked to serious harm.

  PFAS ‘forever chemicals’ are widespread and threaten human health – here’s a strategy for protecting the public

But over time, evidence has slowly built that some commonly used PFAS are toxic and may cause cancer. It took 50 years to understand that the happy accident of Teflon’s discovery was, in fact, a train wreck.

  A Crisis of Confidence in America’s Tap Water

The chemical industry has said that the more than 600 PFAS in use today are essential for manufacturing products like cellphones and medical devices and that the chemicals have different qualities and shouldn’t be regulated together. “What we should be focused on is, where are materials getting into the environment and are they at levels that might be unsafe,” said Robert Simon, a vice president with the American Chemistry Council.

  How chemicals like PFAS can increase your risk of severe COVID-19

Research has shown that people who are exposed to EDCs are more likely than others to develop metabolic disorders, such as obesity, Type 2 diabetes and high cholesterol, and they tend to have poorer cardiovascular health. EDCs can also interfere with normal immune system function, which plays a critical role in fighting off infection.

  Scientists Dig Into Hard Questions About The Fluorinated Pollutants Known As PFAS

Scientists are ramping up research on the possible health effects of a large group of common but little-understood chemicals used in water-resistant clothing, stain-resistant furniture, nonstick cookware and many other consumer products.

 A Teflon chemical contaminating the drinking water of millions may soon be banned

The group of UN experts—the review committee of the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants—made the recommendation to globally ban both PFOA (perfluorooctanoic acid, an ingredient in Teflon, the chemical used to make non-stick cookware, as well as waterproofed clothing and other products) and PFOS (perfluorooctane sulfonate, often used as a firefighting foam, especially at airports and on military bases). The sole exception for PFOS would be for use in implantable medical devices, and would expire in five years.

 Breaking Down Toxic PFAS

Though regulators have been aware of the PFAS crisis for some time, the federal EPA’s plan to address PFAS contamination falls far short of what is needed to protect communities.

 Scared about ‘forever chemicals’ after watching Dark Waters? Here’s what you need to know.

Many manufacturers have stopped using PFOA—but they’ve switched to other chemicals that could be just as bad.

 Scientists Dig Into Hard Questions About The Fluorinated Pollutants Known As PFAS

Scientists are ramping up research on the possible health effects of a large group of common but little-understood chemicals used in water-resistant clothing, stain-resistant furniture, nonstick cookware and many other consumer products. In short, they are all around us. And as a result, they've found their way into the soil and, especially in some regions, into our drinking water.

 Takeaway food packaging may be source of synthetic chemicals in blood

People who eat home-cooked meals have lower levels of potentially harmful chemicals in their blood. Tools used to package and prepare restaurant and takeaway meals may be to blame. PFAS, short for perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances, are a widely used group of chemicals that are resistant to heat and don’t easily degrade. Because of this, they are used in non-stick cookware, stain-resistant or water-resistant fabrics, and firefighting foams.

 We should be cautious, but not concerned: there’s little evidence PFAS exposure harms our health

Yes, PFAS might have been picked up in a few new places. But the latest evidence suggests the levels at which we’re exposed are very unlikely to affect our health.

 WTF Are Forever Chemicals?

The technical name for these chemicals is “per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances,” or PFAS. PFAS are a broad class of around 5,000 different synthetic chemicals that various industries have used widely since the 1940s, according to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Like, really widely.

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

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.

 ‘Forever chemicals’ are everywhere – here’s what you need to know about them

Whether you’ve heard of them before or not, “forever chemicals” are all around us. Stain-resistant carpets, non-stick pans, mascara and even some food packaging all contain these chemicals. But while these products can be very useful to us, the chemicals they contain have a darker side.

 ‘Forever chemicals’ have made their way to farms. For now, levels in your food are low – but there’s no time to waste

They stop your food from sticking to the pan. They prevent stains in clothes and carpets. They help firefighting foam to extinguish fires. But the very thing that makes “forever chemicals” so useful also makes them dangerous.

 ‘Forever Chemicals’ In Your Drinking Water, It Is Worse Than Previously Thought

Nothing lasts forever. Except for perhaps that drunk text that you sent and PFAS in your drinking water.

Teflon and Your Home

Health Entertainment Network explores the world of non stick pans.

Is Your Drinking Water Contaminated with Toxic Non-stick Chemicals?

PFOA and PFOS are just two members of this large family of chemicals, which do not break down in the environment. They’ve spread to the farthest reaches of Earth, are in virtually every American’s blood and can be passed from mother to child in the womb and in breast milk. PFOA and PFOS have been phased out in the United States, but scientists have raised concerns that the new chemicals that replaced them may be no safer.

America's Next Water Contamination Crisis May Already Be Here

The family of chemicals called PFAS have been used in everything from carpeting to fast food wrappers. They also may have contaminated America's water.

Concern Grows Over Tainted Drinking Water

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency hasn’t declared PFOA harmful to humans, but it has raised concerns about the safety of the chemical in drinking water.

Get the Facts: PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances)

PFCs are a class of chemicals used to repel oil and water from clothing, carpeting, furniture, food packaging, and non-stick surfaces on cookware. These likely human carcinogens are known to contaminate our products, food, and water.

How Safe Is Your Cookware?

Exposure to PFOA primarily comes from consumer products, but can also stem from environmental contamination and bioaccumulation, especially in marine animals. Many people who live in areas of high PFOA contamination, especially near facilities manufacturing PFOA products, have shown an alarmingly elevated body burden of PFOA.

New York Town Discovers a Possibly Toxic Problem

The findings in Cohoes, N.Y., are adding to concerns that ‘forever chemicals’ contribute to air pollution

People Are Still Exposed To the Teflon Chemical At Unsafe Levels, Group Says

Are we going to find out in 50 years or in less time that these alternatives, the new generation of PFCs, are just as dangerous?” Walker asks. “It just seems like just a real egregious failure of the law.”

PFCs From Food Wrappers Could Reduce Effectiveness of Vaccines

PFCs, found in pizza boxes, fast-food wrappers, popcorn bags, certain clothing, and more, have been tied to a lower level of antibodies in kids.

PFCs, Manufacturing Chemical, Could Affect Women’s Thyroid Functioning

“Although some PFCs such as PFOS have been phased out of production by major manufacturers, these endocrine-disrupting chemicals remain a concern because they linger in the body for extended periods,” study researcher Dr. Chien-Yu Lin, M.D., Ph.D., of En Chu Kong Hospital, said in a statement. “Too little information is available about the possible long-term effects these chemicals could have on human health.”

Reining in the Chemical Industry’s Deadly Deceptions

Over decades, DuPont continued to market dangerous products made with PFOA — and continued to dump PFOA-laden waste, not only on the farm but also in areas that ultimately poisoned the drinking water for 70,000 people. Products with PFOAs were worth $1 billion in annual profits to DuPont, until the company finally agreed to stop producing the chemical in 2013. Today, DuPont has spun off its chemical business, which now operates as a “new” independent company called Chemours.

The Chemical Marketplace: PFOA

As is the case of so many other halogenated organic compounds, the remarkable stability of PFOAs is also its curse. As best as we can tell, once PFOA enters the environment, it never breaks down. Consequently, PFOA is ubiquitous [pdf] throughout the environment — on every continent, in the ocean, in fresh water systems, and in the bodies of animals around the globe. It’s even a common component of household dust.

The Lawyer Who Became DuPont’s Worst Nightmare

Rob Bilott was a corporate defense attorney for eight years. Then he took on an environmental suit that would upend his entire career — and expose a brazen, decades-long history of chemical pollution.

NonStick Pans - Are You Cooking Healthy Food in a Toxic Pan?

Fried foods sticking to the cookware were the bane of the kitchen worker. In the 1950's, cooking was revolutionized with the introduction of Teflon - non-stick pots and pans coated with PolyTetraFluoroEthylene (PTFE), a synthetic fluorocarbon. Nowadays it seems that most people can't cook without their nonstick pans.

At least 12 military bases contaminating water supply with toxic PFAS

Dangerous levels of toxic PFAS are contaminating water supplies in areas around at least 12 military bases, new Department of Defense testing has revealed, drawing concern from public health advocates that the DoD is not doing enough to protect the public.

Why EPA’s long-awaited proposal on two ‘forever chemicals’ is bound to be controversial

PFAS manufacturers obscured what they knew about the compounds’ dangers for decades, even as they dumped it into landfills and waterways, leaving the EPA and communities scrambling to catch up.