Per-and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances

{
  "id": "MLC-T-ENV-020491",
  "term": "Per-and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances",
  "field": "Environment",
  "definition": "1. Group of man-made chemicals that includes PFOA, PFOS, GenX, and many other chemicals. PFAS have been manufactured and used in a variety of industries around the globe, including in the United States since the 1940s. PFOA and PFOS have been the most extensively produced and studied of these chemicals. Both chemicals are very persistent in the environment and in the human body - meaning they don’t break down and they can accumulate over time. There is evidence that exposure to PFAS can lead to adverse human health effects.\n\n2. hCemicals that resist grease, oil, water, and heat. They were first used in the 1940’s and are now in hundreds of products including stain- and water-resistant fabrics and carpeting, cleaning products, paints, and fire-fighting foams. Certain PFAS are also authorized by the FDA for limited use in cookware, food packaging, and food processing equipment. Chemically, individual PFAS can be very different. However, all have a carbon-fluorine bond, which is very strong and therefore, they do not degrade easily. The widespread use of PFAS and their persistence in the environment means that PFAS from past and current uses have resulted in increasing levels of contamination of the air, water, and soil. Accumulation of certain PFAS has also been shown through blood tests to occur in humans and animals. While the science surrounding potential health effects of bioaccumulation is developing, exposure to some types of PFAS have been associated with serious health effects.\n\n3. for the purpose of this part, any chemical substance or mixture containing a chemical substance that structurally contains at least one of the following three sub-structures: 1) R-(CF2)-CF(R′)R″, where both the CF2 and CF moieties are saturated carbons. 2) R-CF2OCF2-R′, where R and R′ can either be F, O, or saturated carbons. 3) CF3C(CF3)R′R″, where R′ and R″ can either be F or saturated carbons.",
  "abbreviation": "PFAS",
  "references": [
    "EPA EV-Chemical Substances",
    "Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances, https://www.fda.gov/food/environmental-contaminants-food/and-polyfluoroalkyl-substances-pfas"
  ],
  "url": "https://mlchart.com/terminology/environment/per-and-polyfluoroalkyl-substances/"
}