Scientists Warn That , 'Forever Chemicals' , Now Found Globally in Rainwater.<br />According to newly released water quality guidelines, even <br />the most remote parts of the world have levels of "forever <br />chemicals" so high that rainwater is "unsafe to drink.".<br />Based on the latest US guidelines for PFOA <br />in drinking water, rainwater everywhere <br />would be judged unsafe to drink, Ian Cousins, Lead author of the study and professor at the Department of Environmental Science at Stockholm University, via 'The Independent'.<br />'The Independent' reports that<br />forever chemicals are a group of <br />manmade hazardous products called PFAS.<br />PFAS, or perfluoroalkyl or polyfluoroalkyl substances, have been linked to cancer in humans.<br />Those chemicals have spread globally <br />through waterways, oceans, soils <br />and the atmosphere in recent decades.<br />Those chemicals have spread globally <br />through waterways, oceans, soils <br />and the atmosphere in recent decades.<br />Now, traces of those chemicals can be <br />found in the Earth's most remote locations, <br />from Antarctica to the Tibetan Plateau.<br />Now, traces of those chemicals can be <br />found in the Earth's most remote locations, <br />from Antarctica to the Tibetan Plateau.<br />Although in the industrial world we don’t <br />often drink rainwater, many people around <br />the world expect it to be safe to drink and it <br />supplies many of our drinking water sources, Ian Cousins, Lead author of the study and professor at the Department of Environmental Science at Stockholm University, via 'The Independent'.<br />The extreme persistence and continual <br />global cycling of certain PFAS will <br />lead to the continued exceedance <br />of the [water quality] guidelines, Professor Martin Scheringer, a co-author of the study <br />and based at ETH Zurich in Switzerland and Masaryk <br />University in the Czech Republic, via 'The Independent'.<br />According to the research team, <br />PFAS has been associated with<br />a number of serious health impacts, including , cancer, learning and behavioral problems in children, <br />infertility, pregnancy complications, increased <br />cholesterol and immune system problems.<br />According to the research team, <br />PFAS has been associated with<br />a number of serious health impacts, including , cancer, learning and behavioral problems in children, <br />infertility, pregnancy complications, increased <br />cholesterol and immune system problems
