Where do 'forever chemicals' in drinking water come from? - By Richard Gray
Forever chemicals are in the water we drink, the packaging of food we eat, the utensils we cook with, the beds we sleep in, the clothes we wear and even within our own bodies. There is no escaping forever chemicals, a set of long-lasting and potentially harmful human-made substances that infuse almost every environment on the planet.
The US government is now proposing its first-ever restrictions on six of these chemicals, known as per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS). The environmental Protection Agency (EPA) says the restrictions could, over time, prevent thousands of deaths, if they are implemented. The European Commission is also preparing to ban a set of PFAS compounds in fire-fighting foams.
Some companies have already begun phasing out the most closely-studied PFAS chemicals - PFOS and PFOA. These are hazardous to the human immune system, and have been linked to negative affects on fertility, childhood development and metabolism.
Forever chemicals earned their name for a reason - they are persistent. They not only survive for a very long time without breaking down, they have the worrying ability to accumulate within living organisms. This means that even low levels of exposure can gradually build over a time to a point where they become harmful.
Read the entire article here - https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20230315-where-do-forever-chemicals-in-drinking-water-come-from
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