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Pain in the Butt: Study Finds Forever Chemicals in Toilet Paper

A new report finds concentrations of PFAS in toilet paper and suggests the bathroom staple may be a source of the chemicals in wastewater.

Corelex Shinei Toilet Paper Factory As Japan Announces Its Revised GDP Figures
Photographer: Toru Hanai/Bloomberg
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So-called forever chemicals seem to be turning up everywhere. We wear them, clean our houses with them and, according to a new study, perhaps even wipe ourselves with them.

The report, published this week in Environmental Science & Technology Letters, has found evidence of  per- or polyfluorinated chemicals — also known as PFAS — in toilet paper. An academic team led by researchers at the University of Florida concluded that the bathroom staple might be a source of PFAS entering wastewater treatment systems.