The Ecology Center's community-based PFAS research has found “forever chemicals” in the fish in our SE MI rivers, the foam on our Great Lakes, and even the blood running through our veins. The Centers for Disease Control's (CDC) PFAS biomonitoring studies have found that over 97% of people in the U.S. have PFAS in their blood. Though this is an alarming percentage, certain PFAS, such as PFOS and PFOA, have declined in blood since 2002 thanks to the voluntary U.S. phaseout orchestrated by the EPA and nonprofit advocates. This being said, thousands of types of PFAS chemicals exist and the vast majority of these are not monitored for in blood.
“Evidence shows that reducing PFAS throughout our economy and consumer goods can lower the amount of PFAS in our bodies over time,” Erica Bloom, Toxics Campaign director, says. “Policies that ban PFAS in products and encourage safer chemistries lead to healthier people and wildlife.”
PFAS exposure is linked to numerous adverse health outcomes, particularly for vulnerable populations such as pregnant women, children, and individuals with pre-existing conditions. These include reproductive effects such as decreased fertility, developmental delays in children, increased risk of prostate, kidney, and testicular cancers, and increased cholesterol levels and risk of obesity. Some PFAS chemicals also interfere with the body's natural hormones and weaken immune systems.
While reducing PFAS in our bodies is essential, avoiding exposure is increasingly difficult in our modern built environments. These synthetic “forever” chemicals, so called because they do not break down easily and accumulate in the environment and food chain, are used widely for their resistance to heat, oil, and water. Certain professions, including construction, manufacturing, and firefighting, are particularly vulnerable to PFAS exposure. However, PFAS blood tests are expensive and only measure a minimal number of PFAS chemicals. For example, a worker exposed to fluorotelomers used in metal plating and firefighting foam would not learn about that exposure from current blood tests.
After Ecology Center staff tested their blood for PFAS, utilizing home testing kits and local lab services, they distributed test kits by EmpowerDX to six community members across Michigan. Among these were a mother and her adult daughter - Denise Trabbic-Pointer and her daughter Jennifer Snyder. Study participants also include a Detroit firefighter, a former firefighter diagnosed with cancer, a woman exposed to PFAS in her drinking water in Northern Michigan, and an environmental activist who has been a vegetarian for decades.
The chart below details their test results.
Denise & Jennifer's Story
Denise's workplace in the late 1970s utilized PFAS, and she calculated her blood levels during that time using published half-lives for PFOA and PFOS. Even the most conservative estimates revealed that her combined levels would have been above 20 ppb, a level associated with a higher risk for adverse health effects*. Had she known them, her levels would've been especially alarming since she was pregnant with Jennifer then.
“I was exposed in the workplace primarily to PFOA while pregnant and working in the Teflon area of the Toledo DuPont site. We wanted to know the PFAS levels in our blood these many years later. Thanks to the Ecology Center, we were able to test our blood. Both of my daughters and I have chronic health issues now that are known health risks associated with exposure to PFAS. My anger has led me to use my career-long knowledge of chemicals and health impacts to do what I can to tell my story, and to help workers and communities assess their exposures.” - Denise Trabbic-Pointer
The Ecology Center collaborates with impacted communities, health professionals, scientists, legislators, and environmental advocates to protect individuals like Denise and Jennifer from further PFAS exposure. Through our leadership within the Great Lakes PFAS Action Network (GLPAN), we've successfully worked alongside impacted community members, like Denise, to implement stronger federal drinking water standards, push for sustainable government purchasing practices, and advocate for more robust regulations to keep PFAS out of everyday consumer goods.
The Ecology Center supports enacting legislation to ensure that insurance covers PFAS testing costs, which cost anywhere from $400-$800, making it unaffordable for most Michiganders. Individuals like Denise and Jennifer deserve to know their PFAS levels. The National Academies of Science, Engineering, Medicine via the Committee on the Guidance on PFAS Testing and Health Outcomes has indicated a widespread desire for accessible testing, particularly in communities impacted by PFAS pollution. In addition to the need for accessible testing, the current PFAS testing kits need to test for more PFAS compounds. Current tests only measure 8 PFAS compounds out of thousands. Given these limitations, a blood test could provide false reassurance to individuals exposed to forms of PFAS that are not currently monitored in blood tests.
Get Involved
Contact your state representatives and let them know that Michiganders need protective actions taken immediately to prevent further PFAS contamination.
PFAS should be banned in everyday products whenever possible. Michigan legislators can take real action to protect communities from PFAS exposure by adopting the recently introduced Hazardous Products Act HB 5657. The Hazardous Products Act would ban PFAS in apparel, carpets, cleaning products, cookware, cosmetics, dental floss, fabric repellent, children's products, menstrual products, home textiles, ski wax, and upholstered furniture. Non-PFAS alternatives are available and worthwhile, given the enduring health and environmental costs of PFAS. Join us in calling on legislators to protect our communities from PFAS.
Let your representatives know that Michiganders shouldn't bear the cost of PFAS exposure testing, especially those at greater risk. Consider testing yourself if the following applies to you:
- You are an active or retired firefighter
- You work or worked at a chemical manufacturing facility
- You live or lived near a military installation
- You work or worked in the carpeting or cleaning industry
- You eat carry-out or fast food often
- You use or used nonstick cookware
- You wear water or stain-resistant clothing, uniforms, or shoes
- You work or worked in construction or food packaging
- You live in a community at risk for PFAS contamination
Or
- You wax or have waxed ski and sporting equipment
If you take a PFAS blood test, the PFAS Exchange “What's My Exposure” can help you interpret your results and what you can do next.
With community support and advocacy pushing for policy change, we can help end the problem of PFAS and protect Michigander's health for future generations.