Not any level of PFAS exposure will lead to these health consequences, of course. And even heavy exposure does not necessarily mean that you're going to get sick; putting in your contact lenses every morning is not a sure road to cancer or high cholesterol. But enough of these ills have turned up in enough people exposed to PFAS that the EPA and the larger community of scientists are justifiably worried about them—especially because of their persistence in the environment.
"This entire class of chemicals is probably the most persistent class of manmade chemicals that have ever been made," says Scott Belcher, an associate professor of biological sciences at North Carolina State University, who was a scientific advisor for the contact lens study. "Once they're there, they're not going away."
PFAS are included in uncounted products from clothing to furniture to pizza boxes to food wrappers to cooking utensils to electronics to fire-fighting foam to shoes and much, much more. The chemicals are used to make pots and pans non-stick; textiles more durable and stain resistant; food packaging resistant to grease; shoes and clothing water-resistant; and paper and cardboard stronger, among multiple other uses. So widespread is the planet's PFAS load that, according to one 2022 study in Environmental Science and Technology, the chemicals actually fall from the sky in rain, with the clouds having picked up PFAS in water evaporating from contaminated oceans.
"Every raindrop has PFAS in it," says Belcher. "It is really earth-shaking for me and eye-opening for folks."
For most people, however, everyday life inside their homes is where they're most likely to encounter PFAS on a regular basis. Here is a non-exhaustive list of some personal possessions and parts of your household that are exposing you to forever chemicals:
Body care products including shampoo, dental floss, toilet paper, tampons, and pads
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) lists many brands in these product categories as harboring PFAS, which are added to the products because the chemicals make them more durable, water resistant, or smoother spreading. But those qualities come at a price: some of the products, like dental floss and shampoo, are used in the mouth or near the eyes—mucus membranes that readily absorb contaminants. Multiple brands of both floss and shampoo now advertise themselves as PFAS-free, and the number of such products is growing.
In February, Mamavation and Environmental Health News conducted a study of PFAS in menstrual care products, including tampons, pads, sanitary napkins and period underwear, and found most of them contaminated to one degree or another with the forever chemicals. (Mamavation is not a scientific organization but a self-established wellness site, and Leah Segedie, its founder and editor, is not a scientist, but an author and consumer activist. Still, she conducts her PFAS studies only in conjunction with certified labs.)
In March, a study published in Environmental Science and Technology Letters found PFAS in most brands of toilet paper sold around the world, a huge problem in the U.S. where over 19 billion lbs. of wastepaper are flushed away annually, posing a massive disposal and wastewater contamination problem. (A bidet eliminates the problem of toilet paper almost entirely, though most U.S. households are not equipped with them.)
