"LEILA FADEL, HOST: In Minnesota, scientists have launched what's believed to be the first statewide effort to measure PFAS in the air. PFAS, called forever chemicals, are found in all sorts of products from nonstick cookware to cosmetics. They don't break down in the environment, and studies link some of them to health risks like cancer, high cholesterol and liver damage."
"Scientists routinely find the human-made chemicals known as PFAS in soil and water near sources like manufacturing plants, landfills and airports. But Summer Streets, a research scientist at the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency, says sometimes the chemicals show up more mysteriously in remote areas. STREETS: That air pathway is really important for moving PFAS all around the environment, not just in Minnesota, but globally."
PFAS are persistent 'forever chemicals' present in products such as nonstick cookware and cosmetics that resist environmental breakdown and are linked to cancer, high cholesterol, and liver damage. PFAS frequently appear in soil and water near manufacturing plants, landfills, and airports, yet they also emerge in remote locations with no clear local source, indicating atmospheric deposition via rain, snow, or dust. Airborne transport moves PFAS across environments and into lakes, rivers, and fish. High costs and logistical limits of traditional air monitoring have led to volunteer collection of pine needles as a low-cost, deployable sampler to map airborne PFAS.
Read at www.npr.org
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