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What is PFAS
"Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances" - a.k.a. "forever chemicals." A class of chemicals that were first synthesized in the 1930’s. They have been used for water, heat, and oil resistant technologies. They contain a very high amount of the naturally occurring chemical element, fluorine. As a result, they are extremely stable and virtually indestructible. (source)
The reason they are called “forever chemicals” is that they stay in the environment and your body for a very long time - up to decades. They are in almost every American’s body. They cause cancers, metabolic disorders, endocrine disorders, and more. We believe this is because they mimic natural substances in the human body. (source)
Health effects of PFAS
European Environment Agency (Q632988) (original image)Mrmw (vectorization), CC BY 2.5 DK <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.5/dk/deed.en>, via Wikimedia Commons
Sources of Exposure
There are many ways to be exposed to PFAS.
The main sources, in order of risk:
Diet (including food packaging)
Water
Dust
(source)
Blood Testing
If you are curious about your own prior exposure to PFAS, you can get your blood tested. This can help inform your future initiatives to avoid exposure.
You can get these from in-person testing labs, which will draw your blood with IV.
There are also mail-order kits that draw less blood using finger pricks.
But…
They are expensive. Additionally, there are no approved treatments to remove PFAS from the body. The CDC says that “A blood test for PFAS will not identify a current or future health problem or provide information on treatment.” (source)
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