From kitchen pans to drinking water, dangers hidden in everyday materials, scientist warns

By now, you've probably heard about the dangers of PFAS “forever chemicals.” These chemicals are all around us—they're in waterproof hiking boots, electronics, nonstick pans and even our drinking water—but there's no way for them to break down in our environment. Epidemiological studies have linked to these chemicals to numerous diseases—from kidney cancer, liver cancer, obesity, decreased fertility and more.

American toxicologist Linda Birnbaum has been sounding the alarms about how PFAS are harming our health for the last few decades. She was previously the director of the National Institute for Environmental Health Sciences at the NIH and is currently an adjunct professor at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. She explains that while we cannot completely avoid PFAS, there are steps we can take to limit our exposure.

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00:02 Introduction
00:32 Understanding PFAS: The Forever Chemicals
01:55 The Pervasiveness of PFAS
02:24 The Health Risks of PFAS
03:08 Big Brains Podcast Introduction
03:20 The Science of PFAS
03:29 The Dangers of Forever Chemicals
03:46 The Chemical Structure of PFAS
05:12 The History of PFAS
12:52 The Impact of PFAS on Health
16:17 The Regulation of PFAS
21:48 The Future of PFAS
26:12 Living with PFAS
28:32 Conclusion