A first-of-its-kind study has measured the toxicity of several types of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), better known as “forever chemicals,” when mixed together in the environment and in the human body.
A first-of-its-kind study has measured the toxicity of several types of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), better known as “forever chemicals,” when mixed together in the environment and in the human body.
The good news: Most of the tested chemicals’ individual cytotoxicity and neurotoxicity levels were relatively low.
The bad news: The chemicals acted together to make the entire mixture toxic.
“Though they are structurally similar, not all forever chemicals are made equal — some are more potent, others less. When mixed, all components contributed to the mixture’s cytotoxicity and neurotoxicity,” says the study’s first-author, Karla Ríos-Bonilla, a chemistry PhD student at the University at Buffalo.
Read more at University at Buffalo
Image: University at Buffalo PhD student Karla Ríos-Bonilla (left) and Diana Aga, director of the UB RENEW Institute, are authors on a study that assessed the mixture toxicity of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), also known as forever chemicals. (Credit: Photo: Meredith Forrest Kulwicki/University at Buffalo)
