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It may already be in your drinking water — and you would never know it.
Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are a group of thousands of man-made chemicals used in industrial and consumer products since the 1940s. Because of their extraordinary chemical stability, they resist breakdown in the environment — earning them the nickname “forever chemicals.” PFAS are now detectable in the blood of people and animals across the globe, and drinking water is one of the most common and consequential routes of human exposure. The more science reveals about these compounds, the clearer it becomes: PFAS pose serious health risks even at very low levels, and the environmental public health workforce has a critical role to play in detection, assessment, and community protection.