Forever chemicals are everywhere, including in the blubber of Greenland killer whales. Photo: Unsplash
For a few years now, we’ve all been aware of the fact that pretty much everything is full of “forever chemicals.” That term refers to per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, which you might’ve heard called PFAS. We know there are a lot of them that have made their way into nearly every facet of life, but new research suggests that we might be underestimating just how many. Blubber samples taken from killer whales in the Arctic were found to have five new compounds of PFAS that had not been previously documented.
PFAS are found in many common products that you’ll find in your house. Non-stick pans, water-resistant clothing, shampoo, dental floss, hell, even contact lenses. They’re called forever chemicals for a fairly obvious reason: they stick around in the environment for… well, basically forever. They’ve been linked to an array of health effects, including low fertility, an increased risk of certain kinds of cancer, hormonal disruption, weaker immune systems, and way more. They are in so many things that we use every day that it has led to pretty wild concentrations in our bodies and the bodies of other animals we share the planet with.
The new research, published in Environmental Science and Technology Letters, looked at killer whale tissue samples collected in Greenland and Sweden. Using mass spectrometry techniques, they were able to add a few more PFAS to the growing list of about 15,000 already known forever chemicals. The five new compounds differ from most others, in that they are lipophilic. That means that instead of binding to liver tissues or blood, they bind to fat.
“We may be underestimating the PFAS body burden in marine mammals,” said Jonathan Benskin, a Stockholm University professor, per the university’s press release. “Blubber can represent up to half a marine mammal’s body mass, so neglecting fat-soluble PFAS could significantly undermine the accuracy of exposure assessments.”
After realizing the implications of their findings, the scientists involved say more in-depth studies need to be done on PFAS that are fat-soluble, especially in marine mammals living in the Arctic, where more fat is necessary to survive.
