New study reveals how a single toxic exposure could put 20 subsequent generations at risk: 'This is not going to go away'

Environmental toxic exposure can have staggering long-term effects for generations, according to new research from Washington State University published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

What's happening?

Epigenetics is a field of study that examines how environmental factors and behaviors influence gene function in the absence of changes to underlying DNA.

In the Feb. 17 study, WSU researchers observed laboratory rats to determine how far the "intergenerational effects of toxic exposure" extended through their descendants.

For the research, the authors focused on exposure to vinclozolin, a common fungicide used on produce and soil. 

Vinclozolin is a known endocrine disruptor with established adverse reproductive outcomes, classed as a probable carcinogen by the Environmental Protection Agency.

A press release from WSU Insider noted that biologist and co-author Michael Skinner published a paper in late 2025 documenting impacts spanning 10 generations following a single exposure to vinclozolin.

Skinner co-authored the Feb. 17 PNAS study, which identified the same effect across 20 generations.

"Essentially, when a gestating female is exposed, the fetus is exposed, and then the germline inside the fetus is also exposed," Skinner explained, citing the cells that transmit genetic data.

Why is this study concerning?

While the research was conducted on rats, Skinner told WSU Insider that their findings were directly applicable "for deciphering rising disease rates" in humans.

Skinner used the example of a cancer triggered by a distant ancestor's long-ago exposure to a carcinogenic environment or substance, a worrisome consideration.

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Public health advocacy group U.S. Right to Know covered the study, noting that while rat lifespans are typically 1 to 4 years, the effects observed by the researchers could persist in human lineages for centuries.

Vinclozolin is known to be harmful, but it's far from the only documented compound that poses an environmental public health risk — and that's not even considering the battery of man-made chemical compounds researchers have yet to identify.

Similar findings on microplastics and nanoplastics in seabirds indicate that persistent environmental hazards have long-lasting, epigenetic effects. 

Consistent research demonstrating the long-term effects of environmental contaminants was worrisome on its own, more so against the backdrop of the EPA's ongoing efforts to weaken drinking water standards and its rescission of the "Endangerment Finding."

Amid repeated studies linking air pollution and water contamination to lasting epigenetic damage, those decisions threatened to undo decades of environmental remediation.

What's being done about it?

"This study really does say that this is not going to go away. We need to do something about it. We can use epigenetics to move us away from reactionary medicine and toward preventative medicine," Skinner told WSU Insider.

Understanding critical environmental issues like toxins and their effects on humans and wildlife is important, given the proven risks they pose, and calling on lawmakers to take action is one way to effect change.

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