In the news: Burgess and U of A researchers discover PFAS concern for healthcare workers
Cancer Center member Jeff Burgess, MD, director for the Center of Firefighter Health Collaborative Research at University of Arizona, and other researchers found that healthcare workers are among the frontline workers exposed to PFAS, which are chemicals that accumulate in the body and can cause health risks. Their recent study found that in addition to firefighters, health care workers also had elevated levels of two specific chemicals in their blood.
“We were surprised to find a couple of these PFAS at higher detection rates in healthcare workers as compared to other essentials workers group,” Burgess said.
Burgess said one possibility is that the protective gear healthcare workers use is exposing them to the specific PFAS chemicals found in the study.