Everywhere and Everlasting: The Persistent Threat of Forever Chemicals
The persistence of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), otherwise known as "forever chemicals," poses a great threat to the environment and public health, as demonstrated by continually emerging research.
“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).