Read the full article by Harry Cockburn (The Independent).
“The group of fluorine-based chemicals known now as ‘forever chemicals’ have come to be extremely widely used since their discovery in the mid-20th century. From greaseproof food wrappers and non-stick cookware, to dental floss, mascara and firefighting foam, they have been used in huge quantities for decades.
Their popularity is due to their seemingly miraculous properties – they can repel water and oil, resist high temperatures and offer incredible durability.
However, they do not degrade easily, with some compounds expected to last hundreds or thousands of years, and they can leach into drinking water, contaminate food and eventually accumulate in the human body and in animals.
They have already been linked to cancers, cardiovascular disease, dementia and infertility.
New research by a team at the University of California has found that early exposure to these chemicals, also known as PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances), was associated with a higher risk of acute lymphoblastic leukaemia, the most common childhood cancer.”…