Forever Chemicals: Challenges and Opportunities for Researchers

There is substantial academic, regulatory, and public attention to per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), often dubbed “forever chemicals” due to their resistance to degradation. PFAS are used in a wide variety of production processes and consumer products, are found in food and drinking water sources, and are subsequently present in samples of human blood, breast milk, and environmental media collected in the United States and globally. Exposure to PFAS has been linked to a litany of health effects, including kidney and testicular cancer, immune system hypersensitivity and suppression, endocrine disruption, and adverse reproductive outcomes such as decreased fertility and lower birth weights. However, certain health outcomes are understudied in human populations, and many questions remain unanswered, with notable gaps in the literature regarding exposure pathways, health burdens, replacement PFAS (new persistent chemicals), and disparate impacts. Regulation of PFAS is just beginning for many environmental pathways, and research opportunities described in this article can potentially inform the development of new policies to address the PFAS problem.