A study conducted by University of Arizona researchers found babies of mothers exposed to PFAS, or forever chemicals, during pregnancy had lower birth weights and higher rates of infant mortality.
Researchers studied births between 2010 and 2019 in New Hampshire, because it was the only state that had data on PFAS contamination sites, groundwater wells and individual births.
The team found outcomes were worse for families whose drinking water was downstream from a contaminated site compared to those whose water was upstream.
Study author Derek Lemoine says PFAS were linked with a three times increase in infant mortality.
“One simple takeaway from our study, leaving aside the policy side of it, is just if you have a pregnant mother in your household, it may not be a crazy thing to do just to filter your water," Lemoine said.
By comparing households who got water downstream from PFAS contamination sites compared to those upstream, the researchers were able to eliminate other lifestyle factors.
The study also found PFAS exposure was linked to $8 billion in social costs on the babies born each year, such as medical care and reduced lifetime earnings.
"For each year's birth cohort, the cost of PFAS exposure from sites like these is at least $8 billion based on the health costs and wage losses and such that they should see throughout the rest of their lives," Lemoine said.
The study was published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
-
The risk of human-caused wildfire is high due to hot and dry conditions. Certain activities are now restricted within state trust lands in Gila, Maricopa and Pinal counties, as well as the Tonto National Forest. -
Overdose deaths fell in the vast majority of states, although seven saw at least slight increases, including jumps of 10% or more in Arizona, Colorado and New Mexico, the preliminary data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention showed. -
Lithium is a key metal for electric vehicle batteries and there is a global push to find new sources of it. There is currently only one lithium mine in operation in the United States, but that is about to change — and drastically. -
A federal hydrologist appeared to be momentarily at a loss for words Thursday as he described how dire the latest forecast has gotten for how much water will flow through the Colorado River Basin this summer. -
Temperatures in Phoenix will be about 14 degrees hotter than normal Monday and Tuesday. Climate Central ranks the weather event at the highest end of its Climate Shift Index scale.
