STORY AT-A-GLANCE
- Mamavation, in partnership with Environmental Health News, had 18 different brands of contact lenses tested for organic fluorine, a marker for PFAS
- All the contact lenses tested positive for fluorine, at levels ranging from 105 to 20,700 parts per million (ppm)
- While 44% of the contact lenses tested contained fluorine at a level over 4,000 ppm, 22% contained more than 18,000 ppm
- A large population-based study conducted in China found exposure to PFAS increased the risk of visual impairment
- PFAS is likely used in contact lenses to make them soft and allow oxygen to flow through, but the chemicals are linked to reproductive and developmental problems, cancer, liver disease and more
Toxic polyfluoroalkyl or perfluoroalkyl chemicals, collectively known as PFAS, may be lurking in your contact lenses. The compounds, which have been dubbed “forever chemicals” because they break down so slowly, have been linked to reproductive and developmental problems,1 cancer, obesity,2 nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD)3 and more.
PFAS is known for making surfaces slippery, hence their widespread use in nonstick cookware. They’re also found in many other consumer products, however, including food takeout containers, food packaging, stain- and grease-resistant products, furniture and personal care products. Many people are unaware these chemicals are in products they use daily, including contact lenses, which may spend up to 16 hours next to your eye each day.
Contact Lenses ‘Almost Pure PFAS’
Mamavation, in partnership with Environmental Health News, has been investigating PFAS in everyday products such as clothes, food and makeup.4 Many social media users had asked the wellness blog if soft contact lenses contain PFAS, so they sent 18 different brands to a laboratory certified by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to test for organic fluorine, a marker for PFAS.
All the contact lenses tested positive for fluorine, at levels ranging from 105 to 20,700 parts per million (ppm). While 44% of the contact lenses tested contained fluorine at a level over 4,000 ppm, 22% contained more than 18,000 ppm.5 The contact lenses with the highest organic fluorine levels were:6
- Alcon Air Optix Colors with Smartshield Technology (20,700 ppm)
- Alcon Total30 Contact Lenses for Daily Wear (20,400 ppm)
- Alcon Air Optix (No Hydraglide) for Astigmatism (20,000 ppm)
What does this mean in terms of your health? Pete Myers, chief scientist for Environmental Health Sciences, said:7
“The presumption that these organic fluorine levels measured in contact lenses are safe is laughable. Last summer the EPA issued health advisories in drinking for four common PFAS, ranging from 0.004 parts per trillion (ppt) to 2000 ppt. EPA considers exposure beneath these thresholds to be safe for drinking water.
While comparing drinking levels in water to concentrations in contact lenses is like comparing apples to oranges, it’s worth noting that all of the contact lenses tested exceeded 100 ppm, which is equivalent to 100,000,000 ppt, or 50,000 times higher than the highest level deemed safe in drinking water by the EPA.”
Manufacturers don’t have to disclose when PFAS are used in their products. It’s legal to claim the contents are a “trade secret.”8 But according to Scott Belcher, a North Carolina State University researcher and scientific adviser on the testing, fluoropolymers are likely.
He told The Guardian fluoropolymer PFAS “have the properties that your eyes want … It wants to get oxygen and doesn’t want bacteria to grow like crazy, and it wants lenses to be smooth and comfortable.”9 Fluoropolymers likely make contact lenses soft and allow oxygen to flow through them,10 but the convenience of having smooth contact lenses comes at a price.
A 2020 review into the chemicals found “their production and uses should be curtailed except in cases of essential uses,” given their extreme persistence in the environment, toxic emissions associated with their production and use, and a high likelihood that they contribute to human exposure to PFAS.
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