Fact Sheet

Double Trouble

PFAS microplastics are forever.

Microplastic particles on a person's fingertip.
Microplastic particles on a person's fingertip.
Credit: AdobeStock
Headshot of Katie Pelch
Dr. Katie Pelch
Senior Scientist, Environmental Health
Shannon Goff
Advocacy Associate, Environmental Health
Headshot of Anna Reade
Dr. Anna Reade
Director, PFAS Advocacy, Environmental Health
Headshot of Renée Sharp
Renée Sharp
Director, Plastics and Petrochemical Advocacy, Environmental Health

You thought PFAS, the “forever chemicals,” were bad. You thought microplastics were bad. Did you know we also have PFAS microplastics, a particularly persistent and toxic form of microplastics? PFAS plastics are widely used in consumer products, including nonstick cookware, cosmetics, and textiles. Now, scientists are finding PFAS-based microplastics from such sources across the planet and in people, including in our blood, placenta, urine, lungs, and semen. Yet industry has been actively working to exempt PFAS plastics, such as Teflon, from regulations and legal phaseouts and claiming that they’re safe. But no PFAS should get a free pass. We should phase out all unnecessary uses of PFAS, including PFAS plastics.

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