PFAS: Researchers Have Warned of 'Forever Chemicals' for Years

The EPA recently announced that PFAS are more toxic than once thought, however, researchers have raised concerns about the health consequences of exposure to these ‘forever chemicals’ for years. Today, we are highlighting documents submitted by Taft Law to the EPA’s TSCA Confidential Business Information in 2013 on the health effects linked to PFAS and PFO exposure.

The first article attached in the submission is “Circulating Maternal Perfluoroalkyl Substances during Pregnancy in the C8 Health Study” published by Environmental Science & Technology. The article addresses gaps in research on the health effects of PFAS by investigating “variation in PFAS levels in pregnant women during gestational trimester and comparing them with those of non-pregnant women in a large geographic area where exposure to PFOA in drinking water had resulted from toxic waste disposal.” The authors of this study found that “pregnant women had lower circulating PFOA and PFOS concentrations in peripheral blood than nonpregnant women and that PFOA levels were consistently lower throughout all trimesters for pregnancy, suggesting transfer to the fetus at an early stage of gestation.” The two other articles included in the submission are titled “Serum Polyfluoroalkyl Concentrations, Asthma Outcomes, and Immunological Makers in a Case-Control Study of Taiwanese Children” and “Perfluorooctanoic Acid Exposure and Cancer Outcomes in a Contaminated Community: A Geographic Analysis” both published by Environmental Health Perspectives.

Check out the document with all the articles here!