EWG Explains: PFAS

In 1946, DuPont introduced nonstick cookware, which featured a chemical coating with the brand name of Teflon. Today, the entire family of fluorinated compounds, commonly known as PFAS, is found not only in pots and pans but also in the blood of nearly all people around the world, including 98 percent of Americans. It's even found in the blood of newborn babies.

But how do chemicals used in cookware get into our bodies?

PFAS chemicals are used in a staggering array of consumer products and commercial applications – from nonstick pans to stain repellent carpets, waterproof clothing, fast food wrappers and firefighting foams. PFAS are even in personal care products and cosmetics.

When we make, use and dispose of these products, PFAS are released into the environment, polluting the water that we drink and the land that produces our food. Because they contain a strong carbon-fluorine bond, PFAS don't break down. They can remain in the environment and people for decades. That's why they're often called "forever chemicals."