As I walked into the medical clinic for my blood test, all I was thinking about was how to avoid looking like a weakling on camera. I didn’t really consider what the testing would reveal.
I’m not very good with needles – but as part of a BBC Panorama investigation into the so-called Forever chemicals, I was being tested to see what the levels of them were in my blood. As a mother of two young children, I also wanted to know if they were having any impact on my family.
Forever Chemicals, or PFAS, is a group of approximately 10,000 chemicals. They have been used for decades in everything from waterproof clothing to cookware, electronics and medical devices.
They are persistent pollutants, meaning they are not easily degraded and instead accumulate in the environment.
They are present in our homes, our water and our food.
Scientists have linked a small number of these to serious harm such as infertility and cancer.
According to preventive health care expert Dr. Sabine Donai, any level of PFAS above 2ng (nanograms) per milliliter of blood is considered to pose a health risk. She’s never met anyone who doesn’t have at least some PFAS in their blood.
My result was 9.8ng per ml.
Dr. Donai broke the news very softly – but it still affected me greatly.
The chemicals in my blood forever would “probably” have an impact on my health, he told me.
I also learned that, sadly, my body may have rid itself of some of these chemicals during pregnancy, passing them on to my babies.
This was the moment when this investigation ceased to be just a job and started feeling very personal.
“They (PFAS levels) may have been even higher before your pregnancy,” Dr. Donai told me.
“You must have given it to your children.”
I was concerned, but I was also angry at how this could happen without my knowledge and very little control.
I wanted to learn more about these substances and the health issues associated with them.
PFAS chemicals “don’t break down,” said Stephanie Metzger of the Royal Society of Chemistry.
“Once they enter our body, they stick around and slowly multiply until they start interfering with our systems.
“Some PFAS have been linked to thyroid problems, some to kidney and liver cancer, and some have been shown to affect fertility.”
As far as I’m concerned, it’s “impossible” that I’ll be able to get my levels down to zero, Dr. Donai said.
“But you can reduce it over the next two or three years with a strategy.”
He suggested I increase my fiber intake – either by eating more oats, barley, beans, nuts and seeds, or by taking gel-forming fiber supplements. Increased fiber in our diets is “the strongest evidence to date that it can help,” he said.
That said, if I did these things, menstruation would also help reduce my current PFAS levels over time.
They also told me to identify the biggest sources of risk in my home — replace my cookware, use water filters, change cleaning products, check my makeup and hair color and be wary of “waterproof” labels.
Similar advice was given to mum-to-be Pam Kavanagh, who we met at her Berkshire home along with Dr Federica Amati of Imperial College London.
Pam was curious to learn how to reduce her child’s potential household exposures to PFAS — and Dr. Amati has studied how babies and children may be forever affected by the chemicals.
“When we drink tap water, we are at different levels of exposure to PFAS depending on where you live,” Dr. Amati said.
Simply purchasing a water filter can help reduce the risk, he said — whether it’s a jug with a filter, or a filter installed in the actual sink.
Dr. Amati advised that any non-stick frying pan with scratches should be thrown away.
Stainless steel or ceramic pans “are much safer,” he said.
Carpets can be treated with PFAS to make them more stain resistant, he said, adding that people should vacuum their carpets every day.
“Making sure you ventilate the room by opening the windows every day is a good idea (because) it actually accumulates as house dust,” he said.
After this Dr. Amati turned to children’s clothes. Pam was “stunned” to learn that waterproof or stain-resistant clothing could contain PFAS. Manufacturers are not obliged to disclose this information.
The BBC has learned that some children’s products are not, despite claiming to be PFAS-free.
We found PFAS in a children’s coat we purchased from the Mountain Warehouse website a few months ago, although the site says none of its children’s products are made with forever chemicals.
Mountain Warehouse told the BBC that the jacket we tested came from a small batch of old stock, made more than three years ago.
Although the coat “meets UK safety standards”, the product has now been withdrawn from sale.
The company said it is working to “eliminate PFAS from all products as quickly as possible” and “make all manufactured children’s clothing PFAS-free by 2023”.
If clothing containing PFAS “comes into prolonged contact with human skin” there is a possibility that the chemicals could be absorbed into the skin, explained Professor Stuart Harrad at the University of Birmingham, who tested the coat for us.
According to the European Food Safety Authority, our greatest exposure to forever chemicals comes from food – particularly fish, meat, eggs, fruit and fruit products.
I learned that an innocent-looking strawberry could have PFAS exposure because “chemicals can be added to pesticides to help it stick better to the fruit, so it doesn’t get washed away when it rains,” explained Professor David Megson of Manchester Metropolitan University.
Professor Megson told me that of all the items we prepared for picnics, a bottle of wine may have the greatest risk of PFAS.
“We store hundreds of grapes in each bottle. As the widespread pesticide breaks down, the PFAS bits are left behind,” he said.
PFAS chemicals are so embedded in modern life that none of us can completely avoid them. They have made our lives convenient and our products durable – but at a potential cost we are only now beginning to count.
The European Commission is consulting on a complete ban on about 10,000 PFAS chemicals. The UK government says it is considering banning or restricting some chemicals, but has not committed to a complete ban. It told us it is “working closely with regulators to assess the levels of PFAS in the environment, their sources and potential risks” to inform its approach to “policy and regulation”.
The Chemical Industries Association argues that PFAS chemicals have many essential uses, and safer alternatives are not yet available. It said “regulators and the industry need to work together in determining the transition period” to bring the option to the market.
When I first got the blood test, I thought it would make for an interesting scene for our documentary.
But once you know these chemicals are in you, you may not know it.
Making a plan to reduce your risk is a small relief. But I’ll be honest, that’s also another thing to worry about.
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