PFCs have been in use since the 1950s and have made possible such revolutionary products as stain-resistant furniture and non-stick pans. Even that Northwest emblem, the Gore-Tex jacket, contains PFCs. Chemically, PFCs repel both oil and water. This property has made them irresistible for a wide variety of applications, from stain-resistant couches, leathers, and carpets, for which about 5 millions pounds are used each year (Renner 2001), to grease-resistant food packaging and paper products, for which 2.7 million pounds are used annually.

PFCs are also included in cleaning and personal-care products like shampoo and denture cleaners, and have numerous industrial applications, from semi-conductor production to coatings for imaging films and printing plates. But exactly how each of us ends up with these chemicals in our bodies is somewhat of a mystery, though it is likely a combination of direct contact with products that contain PFCs together with exposure from our food, water, air, and house dust.

Perhaps most disturbing about these chemicals is their extreme persistence. Even if production were to end today, levels of the breakdown product PFOA would continue to increase in the environment for many years to come. 3M, which manufactured PFCs prior to 2002, has disclosed that “perfluorinated compounds are extremely resistant to biodegradation” (3M 2000). PFOA is particularly resistant to breakdown processes: it has been found not to degrade at all—even when boiled in nitric acid for an hour (Renner 2001). Once PFOA enters our bodies, it remains in our blood and liver, and it takes years to get rid of it (EPA 2003). Researchers have estimated PFOA’s half-life in our bodies, or the time it would take to expel half of a dose, at more than four years (Kudo 2003). PFOS’s half-life has been estimated at more than eight years (OECD 2002).

Researchers have found PFCs in wild animals around the world (Giesy 2001). Predatory animals such as mink, bald eagles, and polar bears displayed the highest levels, indicating that these chemicals increase in concentration as they move up the food chain.