A first-of-its-kind study has measured the toxicity of several types of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), better known as "forever chemicals," when mixed together in the environment and in the human body.

A first-of-its-kind study has measured the toxicity of several types of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), better known as “forever chemicals,” when mixed together in the environment and in the human body.

The good news: Most of the tested chemicals’ individual cytotoxicity and neurotoxicity levels were relatively low.

The bad news: the chemicals acted together to make the entire mixture toxic.

The study is novel in that it assesses the mixture toxicity of PFAS. These synthetic compounds have been widely used in consumer products—from nonstick pans to makeup—for decades, and they can take hundreds to thousands of years to break down, if ever. They are estimated to be in at least 45% of the nation’s drinking water and in the blood of practically every American, and they have been linked to cancer and neurodevelopmental disorders.

  • partial_accumen
    2•4 hours ago

    Art imitates Life

    This is the same as the plotline in the 1984 Tim Burton movie Batman where the Joker was poising the residents of Gotham City by putting benign components of the poison in health care products like shampoo and toothpaste that would combine in the human body for the deadly poison.