PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances), often called forever chemicals, are showing up in everything from cosmetics to nonstick pans. UMKC engineering professor Dr. Megan Hart said understanding what they are and how to avoid them can help protect your health.
This man-made and pervasive group of chemicals has a unique structure with one side attracting water (hydrophilic) while the other repels it (hydrophobic). This combination means PFAS can make things stain resistant or non-stick, allow them to spread easily, and even put out fires.
But once PFAS enter the environment, they take thousands of years to break down. Millions of humans have PFAS in their bloodstream, and we are just beginning to understand the health risks it can bring.
“If you accumulate these in your body extensively, you have really old pans or you have the really old type of carpet, that means it will accumulate in your system,” Hart said. “You have a higher chance of health problems [like] cancer or passing [PFAS] along to your fetus.”
People consume the most amount of PFAS through unfiltered drinking water, except for firefighters, who get more from the foam they use. These two sources have become such an issue for local people’s health that Kansas City joined a nationwide lawsuit seeking damages over PFAS contamination.
Hart suggested ways to avoid forever chemicals with simple practices like changing your HVAC filter and giving blood every two months, vacuuming your carpet more frequently, and getting rid of your old nonstick pans.
Hart and her students are also developing a machine to break the fluoride-carbon bond in PFAS that keeps the chemicals from decomposing.
- Dr. Megan Hart, associate professor at UMKC
