Produce in Home Gardens Near PFAs Plant in U.S. Contain Dangerous Levels of Chemicals

Produce grown in home gardens around a North Carolina PFAS plant contain dangerous levels of the chemicals, new research has found, providing more evidence that food is a potentially overlooked exposure route to the compounds, especially when grown near polluters.

The study’s authors say findings point to much of the contamination resulting from air emissions, which research increasingly suggests is an underestimated source of PFAS pollution.

The peer-reviewed paper found PFAS in all 53 samples it checked that were grown in five gardens from 2013 to 2019 within several miles of the plant in Fayetteville, North Carolina, owned by the chemical giant Chemours.

“In some communities, exposure routes other than drinking water can be important and perhaps overlooked,” said Detlef Knappe, a North Carolina State University PFAS researcher and co-author.