Freshwater fish caught in the United States could contain high amounts of harmful “forever chemicals,” a new study has found.
What are forever chemicals?
The study, published in the journal Environmental Research, found that locally caught freshwater fish in the continental United States contain dangerously high amounts of the dangerous toxin PFOS, or perfluorooctane sulfonic acid.
PFOS belongs to a a group of synthetic chemicals called PFAS, which are also known as “forever chemicals” because they are hard to break down and could contaminate the environment for long periods of time.
PFAS are used to make manufactured products nonstick or stain resistant, Elsie M. Sunderland, an environmental chemist at Harvard, told Vox.
While PFOS have been phased out of use, PFAS are still used in many products produced and sold in the United States, such as furniture, food packaging, cosmetics and more.
Are freshwater fish safe to eat?
According to the study, eating locally caught freshwater fish can raise the levels of PFOS in your blood.
David Andrews, co-author of the study, said that eating a single serving of fish would be the equivalent of drinking a month of contaminated water.
“Consuming even a single (locally caught freshwater) fish per year can measurably and significantly change the levels of PFOS in your blood,” Andrews stated, according to CNN.
“Exposure to PFAS ... has been associated with many health harms, including an increased risk of cancer, high cholesterol, thyroid disease, and reproductive and developmental harms,” the study reads.