Invisible, omnipresent “forever chemicals” have been linked to a wide range of serious effects on human health, prompting growing calls for them to be banned.

While there is firm evidence that at least one of the more than 4,000 human-made chemicals called PFAS causes cancer, researchers are still attempting to fully understand their broader health impacts.

Other linked diseases

More broadly, observational studies have suggested that exposure to PFAS chemicals is associated with increased rates of cancer, obesity, thyroid, liver and kidney disease, higher cholesterol, low birthweight, infertility and even weaker responses to vaccines.