Unsettling new findings indicate that "nearly 98%" of those tested in Queensland, Australia, have a detectable concentration" of forever chemicals in their bloodstreams, per a recent report in The Sydney Morning Herald.
What's happening?
Perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are part of a "large group" of substances dubbed "forever chemicals," so named because they persist both in nature and in the human body.
On May 27, the Australian Bureau of Statistics published national and state-specific data on PFAS blood levels in Australians over the age of 12, demonstrating that forever chemicals were "almost universally detectable in people."
University of Sydney professor Stuart Khan talked to the outlet about the findings.
"These are synthetic chemicals that have never occurred naturally. So for millions of years, our ancestors were never exposed to them, and now we're all walking around with these synthetic chemicals in our blood," he observed.
Why is the prevalence of forever chemicals in blood samples so concerning?
PFAS and related forever chemicals have been in industrial use since the 1940s — and scientists have repeatedly uncovered evidence suggesting they have a carcinogenic effect on humans.
After a comprehensive review of industry documents, research published in 2023 found industrial firms were aware that PFAS were "'highly toxic when inhaled and moderately toxic when ingested' by 1970, forty years before the public health community." Authors described the decades-long lag as a "consequential delay."
Cancer is not the only adverse health outcome associated with forever chemicals. Individuals in areas known to be highly contaminated with PFAS report higher rates of endocrine disruption, and the substances have been linked to a weakened vaccine immune response in children.
Khan expressed concern for what we've yet to learn about PFAS and their effects on human health when he spoke with the Herald. "It's hard to really see epidemiological evidence of impacts, but there's enough reason to be concerned," he began.
"Just the fact that we're all carrying this around in our blood is enough to wonder what are we going to find out in a few generations' time," Khan added.
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In Queensland, where the results in question emerged, the state government provides several resources for residents concerned about PFAS, and the municipality's multi-pronged response.
In the United States, similar research focused on drinking water and the impacts of forever chemicals is ongoing.
In possible defiance of PFAS' "forever" descriptor, scientists in late 2024 "became the first to remove the full spectrum" of chemicals from water samples "in a single process," primarily through a process called redox electrodialysis.
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