WHY FOCUS PAPER ON INFECTIOUS DISEASES AND PFAS “FOREVER CHEMICALS”?

The main objective will be to initially get reader interest considering this issue that would not just affect a limited population near a localized Superfund site for example, but be very relevant to any of the readers that likely has been affected by these issues to some degree. The potential for rare and novel diseases to appear in the United States has been already observed and the possibility for future pandemics should not be presented as "scare tactics" but as a priority issue for elected officials, scientists, and concerned citizens to focus and prioritize for this and new generations.

The detection of Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in humans and other environmental receptors has been a significant issue with still research on the various compounds in this family. They were common compounds in everyday use and now detected in most human and other animals tested. The risk based levels have been established for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) and various states although the research and debates on still very low acceptable levels in environmental media continues.

Separately both of these issues are significant for the current and future generations. However, this paper attempts to summarize various research articles on each issue and also tie in the relationship of both.