A new study published with University of Arizona scientists has found that firefighters aren’t the only frontline workers exposed to PFAS. Health care workers also had elevated levels of two specific chemicals in their blood.
Scientists intended to study the levels of PFAS concentrations found in the blood of frontline workers in Arizona.
They found that PFAS — those so-called forever chemicals that can produce health risks due to how they accumulate in the body — develop at higher concentration levels in firefighters. But Jeff Burgess, director for the Center of Firefighter Health Collaborative Research at UA, said what surprised them was the levels in health care workers.
“We were surprised to find a couple of these PFAS at higher detection rates in healthcare workers as compared to other essentials workers group,” he said.
Burgess said one possibility is that the protective gear healthcare workers use is exposing them to the specific PFAS chemicals found in the study.
The study was published in the Journal of Exposure Science & Environmental Epidemiology.
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