PFAs in blood may impact child growth and development, report shows

TAMPA, Fla. - A new report shows parents could be poisoning their kids with toxic chemicals without even realizing it.

PFAs are everywhere and they may be hampering human growth and development. 

PFAs are most commonly known as forever chemicals because they don’t break down in the environment.

Now, new research shows they don’t break down in human bodies either and tend to build up over time, which may be extremely harmful to the development of children. 

READ: Toxic 'forever chemicals' detected in half of US makeup, study finds

According to research from the University of Southern California, exposure to PFAs not only disrupted lipid and amino acid metabolism, it also altered thyroid hormone function in children. 

The Mayo Clinic says those chemical messengers affect every cell in the body. Most of the children in the study had not entered puberty yet. 

READ: 'All-natural' Simply Tropical juice has high levels of toxic 'forever chemicals,' lawsuit alleges

Researchers say that’s more concerning because it could be setting the stage for later diseases in life.  

The study authors are now pushing for agencies to ban PFAs as a class instead of one by one. 

LINK: Click here to see the EWG’s tap water database to check contaminants in your tap water.