Mothers in New Hampshire who were downstream of sites contaminated with “forever chemicals” experienced triple the rate of infant deaths and had more premature births or babies with low birth weights, according to a new study released Monday.

The analysis by a team of economists, published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, sampled data from more than 11,000 births between 2010 and 2019. Researchers looked at how per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, also known as PFAS, affected fetal health after these chemicals contaminated the drinking water supply.

While some experts cautioned that the study focused on a small subset of the overall U.S. population, the findings underscore the potential risks of a class of over 10,000 compounds that have been widely used in

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