“Known as ‘forever chemicals,’ PFAS chemicals used in products such as non-stick pans and stain repellents have long confounded scientists for their ubiquity in the environment – so commonplace that they show up in the blood of humans and animals in the furthest reaches of the earth, including polar bears in Greenland.
PFOA and PFOS, which like all PFAS chemicals are particularly slow to break down in the environment, continue to show up in U.S. water supplies in relatively low levels. But last year, towns in southeastern Massachassets began finding elevated levels of PFAS chemicals, including PFOS and PFOA, in their public water systems, said Kyla Bennett, science policy director at the nonprofit Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility.”
