Elisabetta Donadello “poisoned” her children. After unwittingly living off polluted land in northeast Italy for decades, she had toxic chemicals in her blood – which she passed on with each pregnancy.
Donadello, 50, is one of thousands of mothers in the region who discovered they had ingested “forever chemicals” known as PFAS and transmitted them to their babies, both in the womb and through breastfeeding.
Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are synthetic chemicals first developed in the 1940s to withstand intense heat and repel water and grease.
They have been used in a range of household and industrial products, including food packaging, make-up, stain-proof fabrics, non-stick cookware and flame retardants.
Because PFAS take an extremely long time to break down – earning them their “forever” nickname – they have seeped into the soil and groundwater, and from there into the food chain and drinking water.