What Are ‘Forever Chemicals’ and How Do They Affect Our Health?

They are in nonstick cookware, waterproof clothing, stain-resistant carpets, fast-food packaging, cosmetics, paints and firefighting foam. PFAS, widely known as “forever chemicals,” have become embedded in modern life because they resist heat, water, grease and stains.

PFAS refers to a group of thousands of synthetic chemicals that began to be used widely in the 1940s. Their durability comes from an exceptionally strong bond between carbon and fluorine, one of the strongest known in organic chemistry. That same durability creates the central problem: PFAS do not break down in nature, or do so only extremely slowly over decades.

Once released, the chemicals can remain in the environment and travel through soil, water and air. The article describes contamination affecting drinking-water sources, farmland and wildlife around the world, from densely populated industrial areas to remote Arctic regions. Their persistence also allows them to accumulate in living organisms, including humans. Research by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found measurable levels in the blood of more than 95% of the U.S. population.

A growing body of research has associated long-term exposure, even at low levels, with serious health problems. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency says current scientific evidence indicates that exposure to certain PFAS can harm health. Reported associations include reduced fertility, higher blood pressure in pregnant women, developmental problems in children, low birth weight, behavioral changes, some cancers, weakened immune responses, reduced vaccine response, hormonal disruption, higher cholesterol and a greater risk of obesity. The World Health Organization has classified PFOA, one of the best-known PFAS compounds, as carcinogenic to humans.

People can encounter PFAS in several ways, often without realizing it. The article identifies drinking contaminated water as the most common route, particularly for communities near industrial areas. The supplied text ends while beginning to discuss other exposure pathways.