Scientists at the Environmental Working Group and Indiana University have for the first time conducted a review of 26 fluorinated chemicals, or PFAS, and found that all display at least one characteristic of known human carcinogens.
Scientists at the Environmental Working Group and Indiana University have for the first time conducted a review of 26 fluorinated chemicals, or PFAS, and found that all display at least one characteristic of known human carcinogens.
The study, published today in the journal International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, found that the most well-studied PFAS compounds – PFOA, formerly used by DuPont to make Teflon, and PFOS, formerly an ingredient in 3M’s Scotchgard – exhibit up to five key carcinogenic characteristics.
“Our research has shown that PFAS impact biological functions linked to an increased risk of cancer,” says Alexis Temkin, Ph.D., EWG toxicologist and the primary author of the new study. “This is worrisome, given that all Americans are exposed to PFAS mixtures on a daily basis, from contamination in water, food and everyday products.”
Americans are exposed to hundreds of cancer-causing chemicals, many of which can build up in the body over time. Changes in the body, such as hormonal dysregulation and weakened immune system, increase cancer risk, and PFAS chemicals cause many such changes. The International Agency for Research on Cancer classifies PFOA as a possible human carcinogen. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency says both PFOS and the PFOA replacement chemical GenX show evidence of carcinogenicity.
Read more at Environmental Working Group
