รายละเอียดเอกสาร

As residents of Toledo, Ohio—a city that neighbors Flint, Michigan, and lies along Lake Erie, with its frequent algal blooms—we deeply appreciate both the critical importance of clean, safe drinking water and the complexity of remediating and preventing contamination. Cooperative actions of prevention include researching the data gaps, developing safe alternatives of the toxic agent, mitigating the release of chemicals into the environment, and raising awareness to the public and policy holders. These implemented plans have been useful in reducing contamination of many toxicants, but some agents, such as per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), have been overlooked for several reasons, including from inadequate assessment of their exposure level in the environment. Of other concern, preventing contamination events may help only so much for those who have been previously exposed to a toxic chemical. We reason this to be true when considering that many chemicals grouped under PFAS have long half-lives that range from 3 to 5 y after exposure. Other evidence to support our notion is from epidemiological studies that have uncovered environmental toxicants, such as PFAS, to cause adverse health outcomes that can vary based on their toxicokinetic properties. Altogether, we believe one of the main goals to preventing detrimental side effects of toxic exposures should be to determine a clinical intervention that can enable individuals to metabolize and excrete the agent more quickly. ....