Read the full article by Jonathan Sharp (Veterans Health Today)
“A growing number of US veterans have developed serious health ailments after facing prolonged exposure to toxic chemicals they could not avoid during their military duties. This pervasive, unsafe exposure to toxic agents resulted in adverse health effects such as neuroendocrine and immune dysregulation, autonomic nervous system irregularities, and multiple types of cancer.
Further research into the mechanisms that underlie such health effects in exposed veterans is paramount to developing biomarkers of exposure and effect and preventing similar problems for military personnel in future deployments, and also for developing new treatments.
On February 4, 2021, the expert committee appointed by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM) has held its first meeting to consider current evidence regarding human health effects of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS)—a group of synthetic organofluorine chemical compounds.
In 2022, the NASEM is expected to provide the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR), and the National Institutes of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) ‘an objective and authoritative review of current evidence regarding human health effects of those PFAS being monitored in the CDC’s National Report on Human Exposure to Environmental Chemicals,’ and also recommendations regarding potential changes to CDC and ATSDR PFAS clinical guidance…”