Chemical compounds carry risks

WASHINGTON: The chemical compounds are all around you. They’re on many fabrics, rugs and carpets, cooking pots and pans, outdoor gear, shampoo, shaving cream, make-up and even dental floss. Increasing numbers of US states have found them seeping into water supplies.

There’s growing evidence that long-term exposure to the perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl compounds, or PFAS, can be dangerous, even in tiny amounts.

The US Environmental Protection Agency is looking at how to respond to a public push for stricter regulation of the chemicals, in production since the 1940s. A decision is expected soon. At hearings around the country last year, local and state officials asked the agency to set a maximum level for PFAS in drinking water in the US. It will take that, officials said, to stop contamination and hold polluting parties responsible.

But it’s more than a US problem. In Europe, Australia, Asia and elsewhere, regulators and consumers are confronting discoveries of PFAS contamination, especially around US military bases, where they’re used in firefighting foam.

Industries use the chemicals in coatings meant to protect consumer goods from stains, water and corrosion.

DuPont says its scientists invented the earliest form of the non-stick compound in 1938. They were impressed with how water and grease slipped off the new substance and how it seemed never to break down – winning it the name “forever compound”. Various types were soon on the market, first in Teflon products. Thousands of variants have been produced since.

By the 1970s, manufacturers conceded that PFAS were building up in the bodies of employees who worked with them.