Everyday PFAS “forever chemicals” turn up in a surprising array of consumer and industrial products: they give nonstick cookware its slick surface, waterproof and stain‑resistant treatments to clothing, outdoor gear, carpets, and upholstery, and grease‑proof barriers to food packaging such as fast‑food wrappers, microwave‑popcorn bags, and pizza boxes They’re also added to cosmetics and personal‑care items—including shampoo, dental floss, nail polish, and eye makeup—plus cleaning products, paints, varnishes, sealants, and even some firefighting foams and electronics.

PFAS (per‑ and polyfluoroalkyl substances) are a broad class of man‑made chemicals characterized by strong carbon–fluorine bonds that confer resistance to water, oil, and heat, and include thousands of individual compounds. Teflon is the DuPont brand name for polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE), which is one specific fluorinated polymer within the PFAS family—so while all PTFE (Teflon) is technically a PFAS, not all PFAS are Teflon.

To minimize your PFAS exposure, opt for products labeled “PFAS-free” and steer clear of nonstick cookware or choose alternatives like stainless steel, cast iron, or ceramic-coated pans. Check clothing, upholstery, and carpets for stain‑ and water‑resistance treatments—if in doubt, select untreated natural fibers—and avoid fast‑food wrappers, microwave popcorn bags, and pizza boxes that often contain grease‑proof PFAS coatings. Drink filtered water using a certified reverse‑osmosis or activated‑carbon system proven to reduce PFAS levels, and read ingredient lists on cosmetics and personal‑care items, swapping out products that list “fluoro” or “perfluoro” compounds. Finally, support brands and manufacturers that commit to transparency and PFAS phase‑outs, and advocate for stronger regulations to ensure these “forever chemicals” are phased out of the marketplace for good.

PFAS are highly persistent, bioaccumulative chemicals that bind tightly to proteins in the body and resist metabolism and excretion, leading to chronic internal exposure . Epidemiological research has linked PFAS to a wide range of adverse health effects—including elevated cholesterol levels, immune suppression (such as reduced vaccine efficacy), altered liver enzyme function, pregnancy-induced hypertension, decreased birth weight in infants, and increased risks of kidney and testicular cancers—highlighting their endocrine-disrupting and carcinogenic potential. Their widespread environmental presence and failure to degrade through standard water and wastewater treatment processes make them a persistent and pervasive public health threat.

PFAS are used in a vast array of consumer and industrial products because their strong carbon–fluorine bonds impart water-, grease-, and heat-resistance. Common items include nonstick cookware; stain‑ and water‑repellent clothing, carpets, and upholstery; and grease‑proof food packaging such as fast‑food wrappers, microwave popcorn bags, and pizza boxes. They are also found in personal‑care and cosmetic products (including shampoos, dental floss, nail polish, and eye makeup), cleaning products, paints, varnishes, and sealants; building materials like wall paints and artificial turf; and specialized applications such as firefighting foams, electronics components, contact lenses, and mattress pads. Because PFAS are integrated into so many products and resist standard breakdown processes, residues accumulate in household dust, water supplies, and the broader environment, making them nearly impossible to avoid completely.

PFAS are synthesized through specialized chemical processes that polymerize fluorinated monomers—for example, the thermal polymerization of tetrafluoroethylene to form PTFE (Teflon)—using fluorination reactions that produce thousands of unique PFAS compounds for applications like nonstick cookware, stain‑resistant fabrics, and firefighting foams. During manufacturing and processing, PFAS can be released into air, water, and soil via effluent streams, atmospheric emissions, and industrial waste sites, contaminating surrounding environments. Furthermore, PFAS‑laden products degrade or wear down during consumer use—shedding particles into wastewater and landfill leachate or entering soils when biosolids are applied as fertilizer—perpetuating their release into ecosystems. Finally, routine use of PFAS‑containing materials—such as aqueous film‑forming foams (AFFF) for firefighting training and performance—can generate episodic but significant PFAS pulses to soil and groundwater near military bases and airports.

PFAS, often called “forever chemicals,” are extremely persistent organofluorine compounds that resist natural degradation and thus bioaccumulate in both organisms and the environment. In humans, PFAS exposure has been linked to a wide array of adverse health effects—including endocrine disruption, weakened immune response, elevated cholesterol, liver and kidney damage, developmental delays in children, and increased risks of certain cancers—according to the U.S. EPA’s current risk assessment of human health and environmental impacts. Ecologically, PFAS spread through air, water, and soil, contaminating surface waters and sediments, bioaccumulating up food chains, and posing direct contact risks to wildlife, as documented by state environmental agencies. Their high mobility and environmental persistence mean that once released, PFAS can travel great distances, turning localized pollution into a global environmental threat.

PFAS are often called “forever chemicals” because their strong carbon–fluorine bonds render them virtually indestructible in the environment, with estimated half‑lives of over 1,000 years in soils and more than 40 years in aquatic systems. In humans, long‑chain PFAS also bioaccumulate and are eliminated very slowly—typical serum half‑lives are approximately 2.7 years for PFOA, 3.4 years for PFOS, and up to 8.5 years for PFHxS. Short‑chain PFAS clear from the body more rapidly—on the order of days to weeks—but their continued manufacture and release mean that environmental and human exposures remain effectively constant. Consequently, PFAS residues persist globally long after their use has ended, sustaining ecological and health risks across generations.

Microplastics can cross the gastrointestinal barrier and accumulate in human tissues, where they induce oxidative stress, inflammation, and DNA damage, as shown by in vitro studies revealing mitochondrial dysfunction and genotoxic effects. Inhaled microplastic fibers further harm respiratory health by triggering airway inflammation and exacerbating conditions like asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Additionally, microplastics serve as vectors for endocrine‑disrupting chemicals such as phthalates and bisphenols, which can leach into the body, interfere with hormonal signaling, and contribute to metabolic, reproductive, and immune system disorders over the long term.

To minimize ingestion of microplastics, drink filtered water using a high‑quality reverse‑osmosis or activated‑carbon system and avoid bottled water in single‑use plastic containers. Whenever possible, choose fresh, unpackaged produce and whole foods over heavily processed items, and store or reheat food in glass, stainless‑steel, or ceramic containers instead of plastic. Reduce consumption of seafood known to contain higher microplastic loads—like shellfish and small fish eaten whole—and use a lint‑catching bag or built‑in microfilter when washing synthetic textiles to keep fibers out of wastewater and, ultimately, your plate.

Microplastics are tiny fragments of plastic no larger than 5 millimeters—about the size of a sesame seed—that either enter the environment directly as manufactured particles (such as microbeads in cosmetics and fibers shed from synthetic clothing) or form when larger plastic debris breaks down through UV exposure and mechanical abrasion. Because of their small size and buoyancy, they disperse widely in water, air, and soil, making them difficult to capture and removing them from ecosystems—and from our bodies—particularly challenging.

Humans can and do eliminate many ingested microplastics primarily via the fecal route—studies detecting varied plastic fragments in human stool confirm that particles retained in the gut are expelled rather than absorbed. Inhaled microplastics trapped in the respiratory tract are often cleared by mucociliary action and swallowed, joining the gastrointestinal excretion pathway. However, very small particles—especially those below a few hundred nanometers—can sometimes cross cellular barriers and enter the bloodstream or tissues, where their retention and removal remain poorly understood.

Marine products—especially filter‑feeding bivalves like mussels and oysters—harbor the highest microplastic loads because they concentrate particles suspended in the water during feeding. Sea salt consistently ranks high too; table salt samples have been found to contain thousands of plastic fragments per kilogram, reflecting pervasive contamination of source waters. Other staples such as honey, beer, and sugar also carry detectable microplastic burdens from environmental and processing pathways. Even fruits and vegetables—particularly apples and carrots—can accumulate microplastics from soil and irrigation water, with studies reporting measurable particle counts in common produce.

Microplastics serve as passive samplers and vectors in the environment, adsorbing hydrophobic contaminants like persistent organic pollutants and heavy metals onto their large surface area while providing floating substrates for microbial biofilms (the “plastisphere”), thereby altering pollutant transport, microbial ecology, and biogeochemical cycles in aquatic and terrestrial systems.

Perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) is harmful to humans: epidemiological and toxicological studies link PFOA exposure to elevated cholesterol, immune suppression (including reduced vaccine efficacy), altered liver enzymes, pregnancy‑induced hypertension, decreased birth weight, and increased risks of kidney and testicular cancers.

PFOA and Teflon are not the same chemical: PFOA is a small‑molecule fluorosurfactant used as a processing aid, whereas Teflon is the DuPont brand name for polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE), the polymer whose emulsion polymerization historically relied on PFOA.

Although major U.S. manufacturers phased out PFOA production by 2015 under the EPA’s PFOA Stewardship Program, trace amounts of PFOA still occur in stain‑ and water‑resistant carpets, upholstery, waterproof apparel, food‑contact materials, and certain firefighting foams and sealants.

PFOA is not comprehensively banned in the United States; rather, its production was largely phased out voluntarily, and in April 2024 the EPA designated PFOA (and PFOS) as hazardous substances under CERCLA—triggering cleanup obligations but not an outright prohibition on all uses.

Animal and human studies have documented that PFOA exposure can cause tumor formation, neonatal death, and toxic effects on the immune, liver, and endocrine systems, with associations observed between PFOA blood levels and elevated cholesterol, thyroid disorders, and reduced vaccine response.

PFOA and related PFAS affect health by mimicking or disrupting hormonal signaling, exacerbating inflammation and oxidative stress, impairing immune function, and accumulating in organs—contributing to chronic diseases such as cardiovascular disorders, metabolic dysfunction, and certain cancers.

The U.S. EPA’s enforceable Maximum Contaminant Levels (MCLs) for drinking water are set at 4 parts per trillion (ppt) for PFOA and PFOS individually and 10 ppt for PFNA, PFHxS, and GenX, while the non‑enforceable health goals (MCLGs) for PFOA and PFOS remain at zero, reflecting that no safe threshold has been established.

To avoid PFAS poisoning, install certified home water treatment systems (e.g., reverse‑osmosis or activated‑carbon filters), choose PFAS‑free consumer products (avoiding nonstick cookware and stain‑resistant textiles), and support brands committed to phasing out PFAS—while advocating for stronger regulations.