Forever chemicals have been found in drinking water, breakfast cereals, teflon pans, bread and wine and have been linked to damage to human endocrine and reproductive systems.
Sometimes called PFAS - short for per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances - the chemicals are known and increasingly feared for their seeming indestructibility once they leach from pesticides or from industrial use into nature.
Several recently published studies have hammered home the case against PFAS, with suggestions that prenatal exposure could impair embryo development before leaving babies more likely to develop asthma and even leukemia after birth.
In mid-May, a team based at the Barcelona Institute for Global Health found that prenatal exposure to "common environmental chemicals" could lead to reduced weight at birth.
The study, published in the journal Environmental Science & Technology, followed the release of University of California, Irvine, research warning that PFAS leave babies facing a higher risk of acute lymphoblastic leukemia, the most common childhood cancer.
"By capturing exposures during a critical window of development, we are gaining a clearer picture of how environmental contaminants may contribute to childhood cancer risk," said Veronica Vieira, professor of environmental and occupational health at UC Irvine.
Meanwhile, a team of researchers based at the University of Adelaide found that trace levels of forever chemicals in tap water stunt the development of mice embryos, meaning that water “deemed safe for human consumption” could have “detrimental effects on mammalian embryo development.”
The Australian team, writing in the journal Environmental Research, said their research adds to an "accumulating evidence base that female fertility is highly sensitive to environmental toxicants including in drinking water" and "substantiates the need for more stringent policies for water quality standards, to reduce risks of exposure to PFAS and other chemicals."
Earlier in April, the journal PLOS Medicine published findings from a Lund University-led team that sought to track the effects of the chemicals on children in Sweden. They concluded that "very high prenatal PFAS exposure was associated with a higher incidence of childhood asthma."
It is “biologically possible” that forever chemicals could undermine lung development before birth, according to the researchers, who explained that the process “begins early in embryonic development and extends through adolescence” and “is highly sensitive to disruption by environmental toxicants.”
Experts have been advising shoppers to look for products labelled PFAS-free or fluorocarbon-free and to take extra care with coated or stain-repellent items, such as non-stick frying pans and textile proofing treatments.
However, products containing PFAS are generally not required to carry warnings and their widespread use and long-term impact mean that most consumers are simply forced to ingest some form of PFAS, even if they try to avoid them.
