This is a tale about unintended consequences in science, governmental malfunction affecting Suffolk County, and a mammoth spread of poison globally.
It began in 1938. As the website Health Brief related last week: “In 1938, a chemist at the DuPont company accidentally discovered an exciting new polymer. It repelled water, it was chemically stable and nonreactive, and nothing stuck to it. The material—brand name: Teflon—has been used in countless consumer products since then to reduce friction between surfaces. Among its best-known applications is in nonstick cookware…In the past few decades, however, the chemicals that go into nonstick surfaces have been linked to certain health issues and environmental pollution.”
What that scientist, Roy Plunkett, accidentally came upon received the scientific names per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances—or PFAS.
They’re also called “forever chemicals” because once produced, they are nearly impossible to get rid of. Extensive and elaborate filtering is one way. And they’re everywhere—no longer mainly on pots and pans.
The National Geological Survey in 2023 issued a “National News Release” with the headline “Tap water study detects PFAS ‘forever chemicals’ across the U.S.” The subhead: “USGS estimates at least 45% of tap water could have one or more PFAS.”
It said: “There are more than 12,000 types of PFAS, not all of which can be detected with current tests…This USGS research marks the first time anyone has tested for and compared PFAS in tap water from both private and government-regulated public water supplies on a broad scale throughout the country.”
“PFAS Can Be Found in Many Places” was the heading of a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency statement titled “Our Current Understanding of the Human Health and Environmental Risks of PFAS.” It said: “Last updated on April 21, 2026.”
The EPA list includes: “Drinking water—in public drinking water systems and private drinking water wells; Soil and water at or near waste sites—at landfills, disposal sites, and hazardous waste sites; Fire extinguishing foams…Such foams are used in training and emergency response events at airports, shipyards, military bases, firefighting training facilities, chemical plants, and refineries; Manufacturing or chemical production facilities that produce or use PFAS—for example, at chrome plating, electronics, and certain textile and paper manufacturers; Food—for example, in fish caught from water contaminated by PFAS and dairy products from livestock exposed to PFAS; Food packaging—fast food containers/wrappers, microwave popcorn bags, pizza boxes, and candy wrappers; Household products…stain- and water-repellent used on carpets, upholstery, clothing, and other fabrics, cleaning products, non-stick cookware, paints, varnishes, and sealants; Personal care products—certain shampoos, dental floss, and cosmetics…”
That is some list! And the EPA list of health impacts is substantial. A variety of cancers are in the middle of the EPA list.
Under the heading “What We Know about Health Effects” is this line: “Current peer-reviewed scientific studies have shown that exposure to certain levels of PFAS may lead to,” and then came the list: “Reproductive effects such as decreased fertility…Developmental effects…including low birth weight, accelerated puberty, bone variations, or behavioral changes… Increased risk of some cancers, including prostate, kidney, and testicular cancers. Reduced ability of the body’s immune system to fight infections, including reduced vaccine response; Interference with the body’s natural hormones...”
The headline last week on a full-page article in Newsday: “Suffolk’s plume study.” The subhead: “Tests find chemical spread worse than Navy has disclosed.”
The article began: “A far more extensive plume of industrial chemicals is spreading beyond the former Grumman site in Calverton than the U.S. Navy has acknowledged, according to independent water testing by the Suffolk County Health Department. The finding, presented by the county at a forum in Manorville…shows the hazardous and, in some cases, carcinogenic chemicals are migrating directly toward the Peconic River, putting the entire estuary at risk, according to a Suffolk hydrogeologist.” He is Andrew Rapiejko of the Health Department.
“The 6,000-acre former Grumman site was used to build and test fighter jets from 1954 to 1996,” the piece noted.
“Late last month, Suffolk County banned fishing in Swan Pond, south of the Grumman site, after Navy tests revealed high levels in freshwater fish in the waterway….PFOS and another type of chemical found in the pond, PFOA, are part of the larger PFAS group, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency,” said the article by Tara Smith.
Adrienne Esposito, executive director of Farmingdale-based Citizens Campaign for the Environment, was at the hearing and, the piece reported, “said the Navy had data about fish in Swan Pond for more than a year before sharing it with Suffolk County.” It quoted Esposito declaring: “Their actions have been unconscionable and basically criminal. They let people eat toxic fish.”
Tough words pointing to a government malfunction.
In March, Brendan Carpenter and Ann Borruto of the Times Review Media Group wrote a story headlined “Study: ‘Forever chemicals’ found in vegetables from Long Island farm stands.” They reported: “Forever chemicals known as PFAS—cancer-causing pollutants already found in Long Island groundwater—have been detected in vegetables purchased from farm stands across the North and South forks, according to a new study by Stony Brook University.”
Last month, Newsday ran an article by Mark Harrington headlined: “Toxic forever chemicals raise concerns about garden, farm products on Long Island.”
It quoted Walter Hang, president of the Environmental Health Research Group, saying: “These PFAS compounds are just spreading farther and farther and concentrating more and more, and just because they ban them doesn’t mean the problem has gone away. We have just not solved this problem in any fashion. It’s everywhere and it’s bioconcentrating in humans…it’s just a problem of unprecedented proportions because of the toxicity and the incredible persistence and the volume of these compounds that are produced to this day.”
The U.S. is “regulating” PFAS; state and local governments have banned many, and industry has withdrawn many, yet they are still manufactured internationally and imported into the U.S. in various products.
Meanwhile, a Wall Street law firm, Krentsel Guzman Herbert, is running an announcement headlined “Forever Chemicals Lawsuits, Justice for Long Island,” saying: “We’ll make these companies pay for what you have suffered due to PFAS contamination.”