Read the full article by Carey Gillam (The New Lede)
“Residents of a Michigan community whose drinking water was polluted with toxic chemicals from a long-shuttered paper mill continue to have high levels of the compounds in their bodies, even years after the community switched to alternate water supplies, according to a new study.
A team led by researchers from Michigan State University (MSU) measured levels of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in blood samples taken from people living in the area of Parchment, Michigan, coming up with data the researchers said underscores how difficult it is to purge PFAS from the bodies of people exposed to them.
PFAS, also known as ‘forever chemicals’ because of the difficulty in eradicating them, are a class of chemicals that include several types linked to cancers and other health concerns. Two of the types known to be particularly hazardous, perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS), were found in 100% of the blood samples.” …