PFAS , sometimes called forever chemicals, are per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances that are used in various products. In February, the United States Environmental Protection Agency established the first ever, nationwide standards to protect communities from PFAS in their drinking water. On this week’s episode of HealthConnections, Dr. Carole Myers, a professor emeritus in the University of Tennessee College of Nursing, talks with Dr. Nikki Labbe, a biomass chemistry professor and assistant director of the University of Tennessee Center for Renewable Carbon, will help explain PFAS and what is being done to protect against them.
WUOT’s Carole Myers: Dr. Labbe, welcome to HealthConnections.
Nikki Labbe: Thank you, Dr. Myers, for having me today.
Please tell us more about PFAS.
Yes, as you mentioned Dr. Myers, PFAS cover thousands of manmade chemicals and for decades they have been used widely to waterproof and sandproof a lot of consumer and industrial products, such as nonstick cookware, takeout containers, cleaning products, shampoo, cosmetics, firefighting uniforms and a lot more. Because of this widespread use, PFAS are found in water, air and soil across the nation and the globe.
So very pervasive. What are the human and animal health concerns associated with the PFAS?
So, as you mentioned PFAS are called forever chemicals because they break down very slowly and can accumulate in people, animals and the environment. They were found recently in nearly half of the country’s water supply. So, scientific studies have shown that exposure to some PFAS in the environment may be linked to harmful health effects in humans and animals. For example, it has been shown that exposure to certain levels of PFAS may lead to decreased infertility in women, developmental delays in children and increased risk of some cancers. These are just a few examples.
So these are examples of things that are known about PFAS, what don’t we know?
Well we don’t know everything, of course, because there are thousands of them and they have potentially different effects and toxicity levels. The problem is most of the studies have focused on a limited number of better known PFAS compounds and also people can be exposed to PFAS in different ways and in different stages of their life. Finally, the types and uses of PFAS change over time so all these reasons make it challenging to track and assess how exposure to these chemicals occurs and how they will affect human health. We definitely need more research to better understand PFAS and answer critical questions such as how to better measure PFAS in the environment, how to remove PFAS from drinking water, how to manage and dispose of PFAS and, importantly, what are the solutions to replace PFAS in all these products we just mentioned.
I’m fascinated by the idea of what would replace these FPAS. What is on the horizon from your perspective?
Yes, at the University of Tennessee we do quite the different projects related to bio-based solutions, that means using plants as the chemical factory to make the products that will be replacing petroleum-based chemicals like PFAS.
This transcript has been lightly edited for content.
