“If you’re seeing it in humans, you’re likely going to see the effects in animals,” he said. But, Trasande said that’s difficult to do because the chemicals are so commonplace and long-lasting in the environment. Leo Trasande, a professor of pediatrics at NYU Grossman School of Medicine who has studied PFAS, said the best way to avoid negative health effects is reducing exposure. Natalia Soares Quinete, an assistant professor in the institute’s chemistry and biochemistry department, described the chemicals as “a long-term poison” that jeopardizes human health.ĭr. Scientists from the Florida International University Institute of Environment sampled more than 150 oysters from around the state and detected PFAS in every one, according to their study in August. The chemical has also been found in shellfish that are collected recreationally and commercially.
And more than 20 states have proposed or adopted limits for PFAS in drinking water, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. Gavin Newsom, a Democrat, signed a bill in September that bans the chemicals from cosmetics sold in the state. Environmental health advocates have said Maine’s law could be a model for other states, some working on their own PFAS legislation.Ĭalifornia Gov. In Maine, where the chemicals were detected in well water at hundreds of times the federal health advisory level, legislators passed a law in 2021 requiring manufacturers to report their use of the chemicals and to phase them out by 2030. PFAS-tainted sewage sludge has long been applied to fields as fertilizer and compost. T hey also have been used in firefighting foam and in agriculture. The chemicals get into the environment through production of consumer goods and waste. PFAS chemicals are an increasing focus of public health and environmental agencies, in part because they don’t degrade or do so slowly in the environment and can remain in a person’s bloodstream for life. Environmental Protection Agency launched an effort last year to limit pollution from the chemicals, which are linked to health problems including cancer and low birth weight.īut discovery of the chemicals in wild animals hunted for sport and food represents a new challenge that some states have started to confront by issuing “do not eat” advisories for deer and fish and expanding testing for PFAS in them.ĪP PHOTOS: In Delhi, migrants battered repeatedly by floods Sometimes called “forever chemicals” for their persistence in the environment, PFAS are industrial compounds used in numerous products, such as nonstick cookware and clothing. are finding elevated levels of a class of toxic chemicals in game animals such as deer - and that’s prompting health advisories in some places where hunting and fishing are ways of life and key pieces of the economy.Īuthorities have detected the high levels of PFAS, or per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, in deer in several states, including Michigan and Maine, where legions of hunters seek to bag a buck every fall. PORTLAND, Maine (AP) - Wildlife agencies in the U.S.
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