A new study from Mount Sinai found Asian Americans have a significantly higher exposure to PFAs, a group of thousands of chemicals given the nickname “toxic forever” for the amount of time they stay in your body.
The Environmental Protection Agency says PFAs may lead to decreased fertility, higher blood pressure in pregnant women, low birth weight, increased risk of cancer, higher cholesterol, and raised obesity rates.
The chemicals are found in drinking water, soil and water near waste sites, fire extinguisher foam, food, food packaging, household products, dust, personal care products and fertilizer.
The Guardian reports the study found the median levels of PFAs is 88% higher for Asian Americans than non-Hispanic Whites.
“We should think about exposure heterogeneity when we think about quantifying people’s cumulative PFAS burden to make sure that things are fair for everybody,” said Shelley Liu, a PFAS researcher from Mount Sinai.
According to The Hill, the researchers adjusted for food and occupational differences to reach their findings.
In contrast, Mexican Americans have 88.5% lower median burdens.
There is no significant difference for non-Hispanic Black and non-Hispanic White individuals.
“These disparities are hidden if we use a one-size-fits-all approach to quantifying everyone’s exposure burden,” Liu said.
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