Forever Chemicals

Used since the 1940s, 'forever chemicals' include thousands of different types of substances routinely integrated into industry and consumer products, yet research suggests they can accumulate in the body over time.

Explore this interactive EPA map, which shows 'forever chemical' testing results for public water systems—with brown spots indicating testing results above national limits.

Forever chemicals are so common that experts concluded in 2022 that it's uncertain whether limiting consumer exposure would truly reduce one's exposure to these substances, and noted it would still take years for the body to clear them.

BPA-free plastics may still pose health risks because they often contain other structurally similar chemicals.

A remote Scottish island is awash in forever chemicals even though there are no obvious industrial sources nearby, and scientists suspect the toxic substances are accumulating via seaspray.

Watch 'Last Week Tonight' explore the risks of 'forever chemicals,' a group of human-made chemicals used in everyday products to make them resistant to water, stains, grease, and heat. (Warning: language.)

Most of the 86,000 consumer chemicals registered with the US EPA have never received rigorous toxicity testing, though not all those are still in current use.

See this interactive global map that highlights which forever chemicals have been detected in specific wildlife species, providing data on hundreds of species exposed to these hard-to-breakdown substances.

Teflon was an accidental discovery by a DuPont scientist in the 1930s resulting from efforts to create a safe refrigerant.

Listen to a reporter discuss his story spotlighting a decades-long corporate cover-up about forever chemicals, substances which can persist in the environment for hundreds of years—though not forever.