Alarming discovery! Scientists have overturned an important assumption about so-called “eternal chemicals” and discovered something disturbing

Research by British scientists reveals that “permanent chemicals” in everyday skin care and cleansing products can infiltrate our skin, causing unexpected toxic risks to human health.
Human-caused pollution enters our bodies in ways we don’t yet fully understand. Recent research from the University of Birmingham in Great Britain reveals that so-called “permanent chemicals” such as PFAS (polyfluorinated alkyl substances) can penetrate our skin.

These persistent materials, originally created more than fifty years ago, are known to companies like DuPont to be highly toxic when inhaled and moderately toxic when swallowed. Secret company documents from 1961 show that some types of PFAS chemicals are not even allowed to touch the skin.

But in 2024, scientists also began to discover that dangerous PFAS chemicals are found in a number of skin care products, including sunscreens, moisturizers and cleansers.

A false assumption busted
The ability of these chemicals to be absorbed through the skin was previously dismissed because the molecules ionize, says environmental scientist Oddný Ragnarsdóttir.

She explains that their electrical charge, which repels water and stains, was also thought to prevent the passage of the skin membrane.

However, experiments by Ragnarsdóttir and her team challenge that assumption. There are more than 12,000 varieties of PFAS, but their effects in the bloodstream and level of toxicity are still unclear. The researchers focused on 17 common PFAS chemicals, applying them to a 3D model of human skin. They observed that as many as 15 of these chemicals penetrated the skin model within 36 hours.

Their research is published in the journal Environment International.

One chemical of concern, PFOA (perfluorooctanoic acid), was phased out in the US in the early 2000s due to its toxicity, but it still appears in tap water. In 2023, PFOA is globally banned by the UN Stockholm Convention due to its carcinogenic effects. A recent study found that PFOA can also be absorbed through the skin, with 13.5 percent entering the bloodstream and 38 percent remaining in the skin.

Unequivocal indicator
A recent study with male volunteers showed unequivocally that PFOA in sunscreen can be absorbed into the skin and bloodstream. It is likely that some of the absorbed [PFOA] is distributed from the blood to other fluids and tissues, the authors of that study noted. However, reports of PFAS levels in human organs and blood are rare.

PFOA has been replaced forever by shorter-chain chemicals, but they may be even more worrisome. For example, perfluoropentanoic acid (PFPeA), which is commonly found in food packaging, is absorbed four times faster than PFOA. PFPeA has shown systemic toxicity in mouse models when applied to their skin.

A 3D skin model technique used earlier this year also showed that chemicals in toxic flame retardants, such as polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs), can penetrate the skin and enter the bloodstream within a day.

Although many questions remain about these perennial chemicals and their absorption through the skin, growing concern among toxicologists suggests that it is high time to pay more attention to the problem.

Source: Science Alert