ANDERSON — The discovery of Teflon led to the invention of non-stick cookware, which revolutionized home cooking, but it came at a cost to the environment and human health.
Teflon is one of about 5,000 polyfluoroalkyl substances, known as PFAs or forever chemicals, in existence. Some scientists believe there could be up to 15,000.
“It depends on how you define them. That’s one of the controversial issues right now, how we define PFAs,” said Jennifer Freeman, a toxicologist at Purdue University. “Most people agree that there’s 5,000.”
Forever chemicals are known for their resistance to water, grease and heat. They don’t break down like other chemicals do.
“There’s nothing on the planet that eats it naturally, so, getting this stuff out of the environment is not going to happen naturally,” said Graham Peaslee, professor emeritus of chemistry at the University of Notre Dame.
“If you are an organism in the soil or a fish or cow, it goes through the food chain,” he continued. “As this stuff is water soluble, it gets drunk by something, gets eaten.”
Depar tments of natural resources throughout the United States have warned against hunting and fishing in certain bodies of water in part because fish and game in those locations have higher than normal concentrations of forever chemicals. Several Indiana cities have water systems contaminated by forever chemicals. According to data published by USA Today, Marysville and Charlestown had the highest concentration of forever chemicals in their water systems.
The Marysville Otisco Nabb Water Corporation’s pump station, located north of Charlestown along Indiana 3, had 3.4 times more than the limit set by the United States Environmental Protection Agency.
Charlestown, a city located near the Indiana-Kentucky border off Interstate 65, surpassed the EPA’s limit by 3.3 times. The data was last updated on July 10.
Water systems in cities like Paoli, South Bend, Center Point, Morgantown and Ramsay have also surpassed the EPA’s limit.
Forever chemicals have been associated with hormone disruptions and various types of cancer. However, the extent to which exposure to PFAs can be blamed is unknown.
According to Freeman, there are several ways in which a person could be exposed to PFAs.
The most common way is by using products containing the chemicals. Products ranging from water-resistant smart watch bands to feminine hygiene products have been found to contain PFAs.
A group of Indiana scientists tested 59 reusable hygiene products including period underwear, menstrual cups and pads. About 30% of those products contained forever chemicals. The amount was consistent with intentional use during the manufacturing process.
Each product category had at least one that did not contain intentional levels of forever chemicals, leading the authors to conclude that the use of forever chemicals was unnecessary.
“All uses except for one or two are unnecessary,” said Peaslee, one of the study’s authors. “I recently saw an ad for a waterproof swimsuit. It’s treated with PFAs, and I said, ‘Why does a swimsuit need to be waterproof?’” “The advertisement was ‘You can go from the swimming pool to the bar without a towel.’ This is absurd,” he continued.
The average consumer may not need something extremely waterproof, but firefighters do.
Firefighters are particularly at risk for adverse health effects related to forever chemicals — everything from dust and debris to their gear and fire extinguishing foam contains these chemicals.
Fire departments throughout the United States have been looking into seeking PFAs-free alternatives.
The Boone County Fire Protection District in Missouri recently adopted SoyFoam, a PFAs-free firefighting foam.
It has been deemed effective for both Class A and B fires.
“Class A would be classic combustibles like wood and paper, a Class B fire is fuel, so oil, gasoline, flammable liquid fires,” assistant chief Gale Blomenkamp said.
“It breaks down the surface tension of the water, makes it more absorbable into the Class A materials. For Class B fires, it cools the fire and creates a vapor barrier so it doesn’t re-ignite once the fire is put out.”
Class B foam, also known as AFFF, is of particular concern because it contains the most PFAs.
The Indiana Department of Homeland Security has been collecting Class B firefighting foam containing forever chemicals and encouraging departments to adopt alternatives.
As of December 2024, it has collected 48,034 gallons of foam.
The Indiana General Assembly has also prohibited the use of PFAs-laden foams for training purposes as of 2020.
According to Tony Murray, president of the Professional Firefighters Union of Indiana, eliminating PFAs in firefighting gear is an ongoing issue in Indiana.
“One of the things we need to make sure of is that there’s independent testing of those materials,” Murray said. “We need to make sure that it’s not a regrettable substitution. It occurs when one harmful chemical like PFAs is replaced with another that is equally dangerous.
“Not only are we concerned about PFAs getting out of the gear but all toxic chemicals being free from the gear,” he continued. “Firefighters don’t have choice in a lot of respects when it comes to the type of gear they’re provided, and with the increase in occupational-related cancers, we need to eliminate any possible risk of carcinogen or other illness-causing agents.”
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