How would you feel if the food you were eating was contaminated? Recent studies have found that eating one freshwater fish caught in a river or lake in the United States is the equivalent of drinking a month’s worth of water contaminated with toxic “forever chemicals”. A team of researchers analyzed more than 500 samples from rivers and lakes across the United States. The total PFAS level in the freshwater fish was 278 times higher than what has been found in commercially sold fish. Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are a diverse group of human-made chemicals used in a wide range of consumer and industrial products. PFAS do not easily break down and some types have been shown to accumulate in the environment and in our bodies.

The invisible chemical, called PFAS, were first developed in the 1940s to resist water and heat and are now used in items such as non-stick pans, textiles, fire suppression foams and food packaging. PFAS are key ingredients in jet fuel firefighting foam, industrial discharge and many household products, including certain types of food packaging. For decades, they have leached into drinking water supplies while also contaminating irrigated crops and fish that inhabit local waterways. The indestructibility of PFAS, per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, means the pollutants have built up over time in the air, soil, lakes, rivers, food, drinking water and even our bodies.There have been growing calls for stricter regulation for PFAS, which have been linked to a range of serious health issues including liver damage, high cholesterol, reduced immune responses and several kinds of cancer. Last year, the Environmental Protection Agency lowered the level of PFOS in drinking water it considers safe to 0.02 parts per trillion. 

“You’d have to drink an incredible amount of water. We estimate a month of contaminated water  to get the same exposure as you would from a single serving of freshwater fish,” Andrews stated. Dozens of Colorado cities and towns are also working with the state on plans to reduce PFAS contamination in their drinking water supplies, after the EPA’s sharp revision downward of guidance levels in June 2022. Some cities will have to spend tens of millions of dollars on new treatment plants with the equipment to filter out the most dangerous PFAS compounds.