New study makes concerning discovery about health risk to children in drinking water: 'An impact of exposure'
A new study out of Sweden found that exposure to perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), also known as "forever chemicals," can weaken children's immune systems.
Researchers tested 17,051 children aged 6 months to 7 years old from a Swedish community whose drinking water had been contaminated by forever chemicals. They published their findings in Environmental Research, which states that children who had high prenatal exposure to forever chemicals had an increased risk of ear infections.
The study also found that high exposure may be associated with a greater risk of eye and urinary tract infections, although researchers said more research must be done to further establish these associations.
"Although the explicit mechanisms for such an effect are unknown, the fact that we observed suggestive associations with several types of common infections suggests an impact of exposure on general immunity," researchers wrote in the study.
PFAS are known as forever chemicals because they take hundreds or thousands of years to break down. These chemicals can build up in the body and create health issues. Previous studies have examined how forever chemicals may be transferred from mother to child during pregnancy.
The fetal immune system starts developing within a few weeks of gestation. Prenatal exposure to PFAS can negatively impact this development as the child grows, according to this latest study. This means forever chemicals can impact a person's health before they are born, which can impair immune systems and increase the risk of infections.
Other studies have found that PFAS may increase the incidence of rare cancers or impact certain genes in the brain.
Researchers continue to look into the effects forever chemicals have on the human body. Some scientists have even found ways to destroy certain PFAS by using UV light and hydrogen.
Officials are looking at ways to tackle the issue of forever chemicals in everyday items to protect public health. The European Union is looking into a ban on PFAS in consumer products. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency also announced plans to curb the discharge of PFAS from industrial wastewater into local waterways.
Companies have also committed to phasing out packaging and products that contain forever chemicals.
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