$8+ billion a year
By Nick Prevenas, University of Arizona
edited by Stephanie Baum, reviewed
by Robert Egan
The study, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, builds on previous research into how PFAS—per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances—can negatively impact health when the chemicals contaminate drinking water.
The
research team studied all births in New Hampshire from 2010–2019, focusing on
mothers living near PFAS-contaminated sites.
Health impacts and economic costs
The research shows that mothers receiving water from wells
that are downstream (in
groundwater terms) of PFAS-contaminated sites, as opposed to comparable mothers
receiving water from upstream wells, had higher first-year infant mortality,
more preterm births (including more births before even 28 weeks), and more
births with infants weighing less than 5.5 pounds (including more births with
weights less than even 2.2 pounds). These findings build on earlier laboratory
and public health research, but offer new evidence based on real-world exposure
across a large population.
Extrapolating to the contiguous U.S., PFAS
contamination imposes costs of at least $8 billion on babies born each
year, which encompasses medical care, long-term health impacts and reduced
lifetime earnings. The results indicate that the potential health benefits of
PFAS cleanup and regulation may be substantial.
"If we compare costs we're finding versus the cost of
cleaning up PFAS, the answers are obvious," said study co-author Derek
Lemoine, a professor of economics and director of graduate studies in the U of
A Eller College of Management. "Removing PFAS from drinking water not only
results in drastically improved health outcomes. It also produces a significant
long-term economic benefit."
Research collaboration and study background
Lemoine and fellow Eller economics professor Ashley Langer
collaborated on the research with Bo Guo, an associate professor of hydrology
and atmospheric sciences, in the College of Science, after meeting at an event
hosted by the Arizona Institute for Resilience to foster collaborative research
across disparate fields of study. Lemoine and Langer took an immediate interest
in Guo's years-long research into PFAS, while Guo was fascinated by the
economists' research into long-term health and economic impacts.
Eller economics alumnus Robert Baluja and postdoctoral
researcher Wesley Howden also contributed to the study.
PFAS background and ongoing risks
PFAS were originally developed to make protective coatings
for goods to resist heat, oil and water, and are used in a range of products
and in firefighting activities. They earned the label "forever
chemicals" because they take much longer to break down naturally in the
environment. Researchers have long suspected that exposure to PFAS poses health
risks, especially for infants, who can suffer from low birth weight or even die
from PFAS exposure via their pregnant mothers. But prior work had not found a
way to make PFAS exposure effectively random.
"We found really substantial impacts on infant health,
which expanded on what others before us had found," Langer said.
"What we then did was calculate how these negative birth outcomes follow
these children throughout their lives. The numbers we found represent the
lowest end of the economic impact—we suspect it is even more."
The U of A study focuses on two long-chain PFAS—PFOA and PFOS—that are no longer
manufactured in the U.S., but remain in soils, and therefore are still
percolating into groundwater.
"Whatever PFAS we see in groundwater is only a tiny
fraction of the PFAS that has been dumped in the environment," Guo said.
"The majority of PFAS is still in the soil and migrating downward."
Future research and mitigation strategies
The authors highlight opportunities for future research,
including understanding the effects of newer PFAS and the role of long-term
exposure. They also note that activated carbon filters, whether used by water utilities
or installed in homes, can remove these long-chain PFAS from drinking water.
"These chemicals may be everywhere, but we still find
that drinking water matters for pregnant women. Installing and maintaining home
water filters could be prudent for them," Lemoine said.
More information: Lemoine, Derek,
PFAS-contaminated drinking water harms infants, Proceedings of the
National Academy of Sciences (2025). DOI:
10.1073/pnas.2509801122
Journal information: Proceedings
of the National Academy of Sciences
Provided by University of
Arizona
