There's rising belief in scientific, academic and government circles that the greatest challenge to human health in the coming years is the impact of PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances) - aka "forever chemicals" - in our bodies.
While their future impact on our health and the environment is cause enough for concern, the reality is that they've already been integrated into our daily lives for years through the water we drink and the products we use. How aggressively we tackle this issue in 2023 could determine whether this decade is known for putting an end to PFAS or for when we had a chance to do something but didn't.
We have to get better at identifying these chemicals and filtering them out if they're being used in levels high enough to be deemed unhealthy.
Like anything else, getting people to be determined and committed enough to sustain the initiative will be a challenge. We're easily distracted these days. One minute we're 100% focused on ridding the world of dangerous chemicals and the next minute we're intensely debating whether a dress is black and blue, or white and gold. Humans are terrible multi-taskers.
PFAS are a family of ubiquitous synthetic chemicals that linger in the environment and the human body. PFAS exposure is linked to problems like cancer, obesity, thyroid disease, high cholesterol, decreased fertility, liver damage and hormone suppression, according to the US Environmental Protection Agency. In June 2022, based on the latest science, the EPA issued health advisories that said the chemicals are much more hazardous to human health than scientists originally thought and are probably more dangerous even at levels thousands of times lower than previously believed.
https://www.cnn.com/2023/07/05/health/pfas-nearly-half-us-tap-water-wellness
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