The harmful “forever chemicals” known as PFAS are everywhere – as EWG scientists say, “Wherever we look, we find them.” But reducing exposure to these toxic substances is possible.
PFAS are in the blood of 98 percent of Americans. The health harms they can cause include greater risk of some cancers, suppressing the immune system and more. PFAS are linked with increased cholesterol, reproductive and developmental problems and other health harms.
PFAS have been used in hundreds of different consumer and industrial products, and these chemicals are detected across the globe. Contaminated drinking water, food and consumer product exposure explains in part why PFAS are found in nearly everyone. Many PFAS stay in the body for years, but reducing or eliminating exposure sources will ensure levels drop over time.
While it’s challenging even to identify what we’re up against in the PFAS crisis, you can still take simple steps to reduce your exposure. There are ways to avoid PFAS in three top aspects of daily life; in drinking water, in food and cookware, and in the clothes we wear.
Three ways to lower PFAS exposure
Here are three areas of your environment to evaluate as sources of PFAS contamination so you can lower your exposure as much as possible
Drinking water
This is a great place to start, since we use so much of it – and since, so often, it is contaminated with PFAS and a known exposure source. Some filters can eliminate or reduce PFAS in water.
EWG research shows that the majority of Americans are exposed to PFAS in their drinking water. To see what’s in your water, first find your location in our Tap Water Database and learn about the levels of PFAS that are estimated to be in your water.
The information in the database comes from water utilities, though, and they haven’t all tested and reported their results. So if you use a private well or if your water system is not on our map, it is worth considering a filter to reduce the levels of PFAS that may be in the water below detection limits and other contaminants. Then check our guide to filtering water for PFAS. Make sure to change the filter as directed.
Food packaging, food and cookware
What you eat – plus what it’s cooked on and how it’s contained – may be big sources of PFAS.
Food
Proposed drinking water regulations assume that for most people, most PFAS exposure – 80 percent – comes from places other than drinking water. Food is anticipated to be a major source of that exposure, but Food and Drug Administration tests of grocery store food have infrequently found PFAS above their detection limits.
Food packaging
Food packaging and storage containers, microwave popcorn bags and grease-resistant paper have been shown to use PFAS. Products made with these chemicals should be avoided whenever possible.
A research collaboration that EWG participated in found PFAS in half of fast food wrappers, and another study found higher PFAS levels among people who consume fast food more frequently.
To limit your exposure:
- Skip microwave popcorn, which is known to have very high levels of PFAS.
- Limit your consumption of foods packaged in paper board and paper-based takeout packaging.
- Avoid or limit consumption of freshwater locally caught fish, if possible. According to EWG research, even small amounts can raise your PFAS blood level. You don’t need to avoid fish otherwise, because commercial fish sold in grocery stores were not found to be similarly contaminated.
Cookware
Most nonstick pots and pans are made with one or more PFAS. But even though it’s always been the poster child for PFAS exposure, this cookware is not anticipated to be a major source of exposure.
But PFAS are easy to avoid in cookware, it makes sense to take that extra step, if possible.
- Switch to kitchen products you know are free from these substances – stainless steel, cast iron and glass.
- Carefully choose your cookware. Beware nonstick cookware claiming it’s free of PFOA, a notorious PFAS which has been phased out. The cookware may contain just-as-toxic replacement chemicals.
Clothing and textiles
Products made of PFAS-treated fabric are most known to consumers as being a source of exposure. Anything labeled water-, grease- or stain-resistant, including clothing, curtains, upholstery, carpeting, has likely been coated or treated with PFAS.
You can:
- Avoid aftermarket waterproofing stain-proofing treatments, unless advertised as free of PFAS.
- Do your homework before buying new clothing and textiles, like furniture, to make sure they’re free from these harmful chemicals. Shop from companies that have made commitments not to use PFAS in any of their products.
- Vacuum frequently using a vacuum fitted with a HEPA filter to get rid of household dust that may contain PFAS.
What else you can do
Where you live and work may affect how much you’re exposed to toxic chemicals like PFAS – for instance, if you live near a military installation or a manufacturing plant where PFAS are, or were, used, the chemicals may have seeped into the water and the soil. You can use EWG’s interactive map to check for known contamination sites near you.
But these are always factors outside our control. For most people, it is neither practical nor affordable to move because of chemicals that may be present where they live. So it’s a good idea to focus on what you can in other areas of everyday life, such as filtering your water.
It’s up to the federal government to protect us from harmful chemicals like PFAS. But it has mostly failed, though recently it has taken some steps to ban and regulate these chemicals.
States are also taking steps. For example, California enacted laws banning intentionally added PFAS chemicals from cosmetics, juvenile products, firefighting foam, food packaging and textiles sold in the state. Click here to urge your representatives to stop the PFAS contamination crisis.
It’s not possible to shop your way out of the PFAS contamination crisis. Until the government effectively regulates PFAS chemicals, every good choice you make when you shop can make a difference.
