How to limit PFAS in your drinking water and food, according to experts

Used since the 1950s to make consumer products nonstick, oil- and water-repellent and resistant to temperature change, PFAS chemicals have been linked to serious health problems, including cancer, fertility issues, high cholesterol, hormone disruption, liver damage, obesity and thyroid disease.

About 15% of the U.S. population, or more than 43 million people, rely on drinking water from wells, according to the States could apply for up to $6 billion in grants from 2022 to 2026, however, to counter PFAS pollution and address the needs of small or disadvantaged communities.

Called forever chemicals because they never break down in the environment, PFAS can take years to completely leave the body, according to a 2022 report by the prestigious National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine.

Even with no additional exposure, five years from now you would still have 5 nanograms,” Jane Hoppin, director of the Center for Human Health and the Environment at North Carolina State University in Raleigh, told CNN previously.

Carpets, couches, stain-resistant clothes, commercial aircraft, low-emission vehicles, cell phones and cosmetics – the list of popular products that contain PFAS are too numerous to mention and nearly impossible to avoid.

The 2022 National Academies report set “nanogram” levels of concern and encouraged clinicians to conduct blood tests on patients who are worried about exposure or who are at high risk.