Researchers make alarming discovery after studying contaminants in drinking water: 'Shouldn't be in our blood'

A nationwide study of thousands of people living near drinking water contaminated by PFAS found that nearly all of them have these "forever chemicals" in their blood.

What's happening?

The study, summarized by The Philadelphia Inquirer, looked at adults and children across eight states, finding that 99% of them had perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances in their bloodstreams.

The publication added that study participants living in two Pennsylvania counties — Bucks and Montgomery — near military bases drank from private wells that contained PFAS in amounts that were thousands of times over the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's drinking water standards. About 30% of people tested in those two counties had high enough levels to fall within a range that the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine recommends for medical testing.

"We have some idea for some of the major health outcomes that we're looking at, like blood cholesterol levels, thyroid disease and thyroid hormones, metabolic syndrome, blood pressure," Dr. Robert Laumbach, an associate professor at the Rutgers School of Public Health, told the publication. 

Why is PFAS exposure concerning?

While the science is evolving, the EPA says PFAS exposure has already been linked to a variety of health problems, including decreased fertility, increased risk of certain cancers, and reduced ability of the body's immune system to fight infections.

These chemicals, which have been used in consumer products such as nonstick cookware and water-resistant clothing as well as in firefighting foams for almost a century, are being discovered in water across the globe. For instance, scientists recently announced that one New Mexico lake has the highest PFAS concentrations of any place in the world. 

What's being done about PFAS?

"The key is certainly that these compounds shouldn't be in our blood, but they are and we have to deal with that," Laumbach said. "What can we do to stop the exposure?"

That's a conundrum scientists are trying to tackle. And although PFAS are nicknamed forever chemicals for a reason — it's extremely difficult to remove them from the environment — researchers are making some breakthroughs. For instance, a team at the University of Illinois found a way to remove the full spectrum of PFAS from water in a single process, and another group at the University of Rochester is doing similar work.

You can help reduce your exposure by avoiding nonstick cookware and limiting your purchases of stain- and water-resistant clothing. PFAS Central also has a list of PFAS-free products.

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