“Forever chemicals” exposure risk depends on neighborhood location, study says

Original story by Zara Abrams

A new study led by USC’s Keck School of Medicine has found that neighborhood factors, such as proximity to industrial pollution or food access, affect the levels of PFAS present in people’s blood.

PFAS, or per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, are also known as “forever chemicals” because of their persistence in the environment. They have been linked by numerous studies to a growing list of health problems, such as cancer and fertility issues.

The study found several factors associated with higher levels of PFAS in the blood of study subjects: living in a neighborhood with low food access, living in a water district with PFAS contamination, and living within a 3-mile radius of a PFAS-polluting facility or Superfund site.

Wrigley Institute faculty affiliates Sandrah Eckel and John Wilson contributed to the study, which was supported by the USC President’s Sustainability Initiative, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, National Institutes of Health, Environmental Protection Agency, and Hastings Foundation.

Read the full story on the USC Keck website >>

Read the full paper in the journal Environmental Research >>