This story is part of a series, “Fighting ‘Forever Chemicals’: Women face pervasive PFAS risks.”
Loreen Hackett suffered two bouts of cancer before she turned 50. Cancerous cells were discovered in her cervix when she was in her 20s, leading her to undergo a hysterectomy when she was just 28. Less than two decades later, she was diagnosed again — this time with breast cancer.
Hackett, a longtime activist, said she now believes both her cancers were connected to “forever chemicals” contamination in the drinking water in Hoosick Falls, N.Y., where she has lived for most of her life and where state agencies detected problematic levels of a certain type of the compounds, known as PFOA, in the community’s groundwater supplies and private wells in 2016.
PFAS, which stands for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, are a class of chemicals found in a range of consumer products such as Teflon pans, waterproof apparel, cosmetics and stain removers. They have become pervasive in the air, water and soil due to their use in manufacturing and are estimated to be in the blood of about 97 percent of Americans.
Scientists have found evidence connecting numerous cancers — including testicular cancer — and other adverse health outcomes to PFAS exposure, and more findings on the issue are rapidly emerging. Establishing these links can be complicated, however.
Read more at TheHill.com.
