“This webinar is part of a series organized by CHE and the Boston University Superfund Research Program (BUSRP). Learn more about the CHE-BUSRP Partnership.
PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances) are a group of man-made chemicals that include PFOA, PFOS, GenX, and many other chemicals that have been manufactured and used in a variety of industries around the globe since the 1940s. There is evidence that exposure to PFAS can lead to effects on health such as increased cholesterol levels, weight profiles and changes in liver function, changes in growth, learning, and behavior of infants and older children, immune system function, lowering a woman’s chance of getting pregnant, decreased birth weight in infants, interference with the body’s natural hormones, pregnancy-induced hypertension, and increased risk of testicular and kidney cancers.
PFAS have been used to make household and commercial products that resist heat and chemical reactions, and repel oil, stains, grease, and water, such as nonstick cookware, stain-resistant carpets and fabrics, water-repellant clothing, paper and cardboard food packaging, and fire-fighting foams. While consumer products and food are a large source of exposure to these chemicals for most people, drinking water can be an additional source of exposure in communities where these chemicals have contaminated water supplies. PFAS do not break down easily and therefore persist for a very long time in the environment, especially in water. Elevated levels of PFAS have been detected in hundreds of public water systems in the US. This webinar will focus on the latest information about PFAS exposure and health, laboratory measures and interpretation of contamination and exposure data, and steps that communities should take when drinking water contamination by PFAS is discovered.
Note: This webinar is a follow-up to our teleconference call on this topic in December 2016, Out of the Frying Pan, into the Drinking Water: Health Hazards and Community Responses to Water Contaminated with PFCs”
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