New Hampshire collected PFAS-laden firefighting foam during a take-back program for fire departments in August. Disposal is through a technology called the PFAS Annihilator that breaks down the powerful chemical bonds. (New Hampshire Bulletin/Courtesy of Revive Environmental)

Over a lifetime, Kentuckians are repeatedly exposed to environmental pollutants known as “forever chemicals” — and a new study links such exposure to colorectal (colon) cancer.?

Specifically, researchers at the University of Kentucky looked at long-term exposure to PFOS (perfluorooctane sulfonic acid) in mice and confirmed their findings in human cells. Results showed that exposure — commonly in food and water — can chip away at an enzyme in the intestines (HMGCS2) that can help protect against cancer.

Research has established that PFOS can increase risk of other types of cancer, including breast and liver, but this is the first to study the effects of the chemicals on this enzyme.?

One of the researchers, Yekaterina Zaytseva, said it’s “not so easy” to mitigate these pollutants in the environment.?

So, she turned her attention to its effects on the human body, and how to intercept them.??

“We try to understand how these pollutants affect human health and … how we can mitigate the effect of these pollutants,” she said.?

Scientists wanted to learn, she said, “if people live in (an) area with high exposure to these chemicals, how we can help … to prevent the harmful effects of these chemicals, or if they (are) already exposed, how we can mitigate … how they can get rid of these pollutants in their body.”?

PFOS falls under the umbrella of? per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), which are manmade and don’t break down in the environment easily because they have a molecular bond — carbon and fluorine — that’s among the strongest. Thus they have earned the nickname “forever chemicals.”?

Their commonplace applications make exposure more complicated. The National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences explains that PFAS “are used to keep food from sticking to packaging or cookware, make clothes and carpets resistant to stains and create firefighting foam that is more effective.”?

PFOS are among the five “forever chemicals” included in a drinking-water regulation issued by the Biden administration in April. Utilities will be required to reduce PFAS in drinking water to the lowest level that can be reliably measured.

‘Forever chemicals:’ Now that feds have acted, some say Kentucky should do more

In Kentucky, state testing revealed 83 of 194 water treatment plants had at least one PFAS, as did 36 of 40 monitoring station testing surfaces, the Lantern has reported. In 2022, nearly 900 Kentuckians died with colorectal cancer, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.?

Damage over time?

People who have colorectal cancer or inflammatory bowel disease tend to not have the HMGCS2 enzyme, Zaytseva said, “suggesting that it’s actually … kind of protective against cancer.”?

During exposure to PFOS, she said, “this enzyme is also lost.”??

But this breakdown happens over time, and a person wouldn’t necessarily notice it happening based on side effects in the body.?

“If you have, for example, chronic exposure to PFAS, you don’t see … this enzyme shut down right away,” said Zaytseva. “You wouldn’t notice this. We try right now … to look at this as a potential biomarker of PFOS exposure.”?

The study, led by Josiane Tessmann, a post-doctoral scholar working in Zaytseva’s lab, was published in the journal Chemosphere.

In 2023, the General Assembly passed a law that now requires health plans in Kentucky to cover biomarker testing. The law, sponsored by Rep. Kimberly Poore Moser, R-Taylor Mill, is aimed at lowering cancer mortality in the state.?

Biomarker testing “is a way to look for genes, proteins, and other substances (called biomarkers or tumor markers) that can provide information about cancer,” according to the National Cancer Institute.?

How to protect yourself

Future research will look at specific diets that can help.?

For now, she said, high fiber diets appear to “partially mitigate the harmful effect of these pollutants on liver and also microbiota.” It cannot, however, fully stop the loss of the enzyme.?

There are also several water filters that can help reduce PFAS in drinking water, as well as non-PFAS cooking pans.?

“You just need to be kind of aware of this. But it’s no need to panic,” Zaytseva said. “Just … carefully look (at) what you buy and what you consume.”??