Rapidly rising levels of TFA ‘forever chemical’ alarm experts

‘If you’re drinking water, you’re drinking a lot of TFA, wherever you are in the world,’ one expert said. Photograph: Alet Pretorius/Reuters

Rapidly rising levels of TFA, a class of “forever chemical” thought to damage fertility and child development, are being found in drinking water, blood and rain, causing alarm among experts.

TFA, or trifluoroacetic acid, is a type of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substance (PFAS), a group of human-made chemicals used widely in consumer products that do not break down for thousands of years. Many of the substances have been linked to negative effects on human health.