Thousands exposed to toxins linked to cancer

According to a new study, cancer causing pollutants, known as “forever chemicals” maybe found in nearly half of U.S. prisons that are located near toxic water sources, reported The Hill.

The study published in the American Journal of Public Health noted PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances)  that are found in industrial waste, household products, and certain types of firefighting foam — if persist in both the human body and in the environment can cause a variety of illnesses such as: kidney cancer, testicular cancer and thyroid disease, said the article.

The incarcerated populations have minimal ability to reduce their exposures and are therefore especially vulnerable to acute health effects, the study researchers noted, according to the article. 

Also the study found only 5 percent of prisons near watersheds contain toxic mixtures, but other facilities possibly had exposures. The researchers site the inadequate water testing in and around such sites for the low percentage.

The researchers conducted a geospatial data analysis from 6,118 prison facilities with known or likely PFAS pollution. They received the prison sites from the Department of Homeland Security, said the article.

According to the study, there are at least 150,000 people, which includes at least 2,200 juveniles that are housed live in these facilities that are affect. 

“If you think of the incarcerated population as a city spread out over this vast archipelago of carceral facilities, it would be the largest city in the country,” said Nicholas Shapiro, senior author and a Medical Anthropologist at the University of California, Los Angeles.