A Tokyo citizens group said Monday it has detected high concentrations of potentially harmful substances known as PFAS in some western Tokyo residents' blood.
Despite the discovery of high levels of PFAS, or perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances, Koji Harada, an associate professor of public health at Kyoto University who headed the testing efforts, said it was "highly unlikely to cause acute health effects."
PFAS is a general term for a group of artificial chemicals, such as PFOS, or perfluorooctanesulfonic acid, and PFOA, or perfluorooctanoic acid. As Japan has no guidelines for measuring their concentration in the blood, Harada said residents were tested under German standards.