A new study shows that exposure to two specific ‘forever chemicals’ may accelerate biological aging, especially in middle-aged men.

These chemicals – PFNA (perfluorononanoic acid) and PFOSA (perfluorooctanesulfonamide) – are just two of the thousands of ‘forever chemicals’, or to use the more technical term, PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances).

Used widely since the 1940s and 1950s, PFAS are found in raincoats, upholstery, non-stick pans, food packaging, firefighting foams, and much more.

This vast range of synthetic substances was specifically designed to be durable. They protect surfaces from water, fire, and grease, and can resist heat and corrosion.

But this quest for durability, we’re finding, may have been a little too successful: The sturdy carbon-fluorine backbone common to all PFAS means they’re expected to take up to a thousand years to break down.

That’s a problem, because scientists are repeatedly linking PFAS to adverse health outcomes for humans who are exposed to them (which is, most likely, all of us).

International policies exist to cut production of a small number of ‘legacy’ PFAS. Just two are clearly linked to health issues, like cancer and cardiovascular disease, but with just a few molecular tweaks, industry can bypass existing restrictions by creating an entirely new PFAS that achieves similar outcomes.

More than 12,000 variants are still on the market. It’s not that these other kinds of PFAS are necessarily safer; it’s just that we don’t know much about their specific health effects yet.

Now, a team led by researchers from Shanghai Jiao Tong University in China has revealed a significant link between faster epigenetic aging in middle-aged men, and two of these alternatives, PFNA and PFOSA, a precursor of PFOA.

“These findings suggest that some newer PFAS alternatives are not necessarily low-risk replacements and warrant serious attention regarding their environmental impact,” epidemiologist Xiangwei Li says.

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