ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — It's a name many people have trouble pronouncing, but these synthetic chemicals have been used in everything from fast-food packaging to nonstick cookware, clothing, household cleaning products and even firefighting foam.
PFAS — or perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances — resist breaking down and as a result have found their way into drinking water, soil, air and the bloodstreams of 99% of Americans.
This is certainly true for people who live or work near a plume of contamination that has seeped beyond the boundaries of Cannon Air Force Base, where PFAS-laden firefighting foam was used for years.
New Mexico health and environmental officials conducted a $1.2 million testing project, drawing blood from nearly 630 people. They shared the results Thursday night during a public meeting.
The research shows 99.7% of participants had one or more PFAS in their blood, with the most common being associated with firefighting foams.
While the percentage isn't surprising given the overall prevalence of so-called forever chemicals in the environment, officials said some residents living in the plume area showed dramatically higher concentrations than the broader testing group. About one-quarter of them had levels reaching the highest concentration tier used in national guidelines.
The findings suggest a correlation with groundwater contamination migrating from the base, state officials said.
New Mexico Environment Secretary James Kenney said during the meeting that his agency will help the community in any way that it can but that the state is still locked in litigation with the U.S. Defense Department over the damage caused by the contamination.
At Cannon Air Force Base, state officials have reported that PFAS has been detected in groundwater at concentrations of 26,200 parts per trillion, exceeding state and federal drinking water standards by over 650,000%.
Cannon reported earlier this year that it has spent more than $73 million so far on investigating the problem and installing pilot projects to treat contaminated groundwater.
Kenney said it's time for the federal government to move ahead with cleanup outside the base.
“We need the whole of New Mexico to stand up and say we’ve had it,” he said.
Exposure to PFAS has been linked to increased cholesterol levels, small decreases in birth weight, kidney and testicular cancer and changes in liver enzymes.
State officials in a report published in August said some of the chemicals can linger in the blood for several years after exposure. Research by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has also found it can take weeks to years for levels of many PFAS to decrease by half in human blood, assuming exposure isn't ongoing.
It's not easy to draw a bright line between exposure and health effects, said Tasha Stoiber, a senior scientist with the Washington, D.C.-based Environmental Working Group.
“There are so many different factors that affect individual health outcomes and also affect what levels you will see in your blood,” she said, explaining that a person's age, where they live, what they eat and drink and where they work can all play a role.
According to slides shared with the audience, the tests in Curry County showed PFAS levels tend to increase with age, that males had higher levels, and those who had military or aviation careers had higher concentrations — all things consistent with national data.
The state on Friday announced a $12 million effort to connect about 100 private well users in rural Curry County to a drinking water system that meets state and federal standards.
Watchdog groups that track PFAS nationwide say contamination is more widespread than previously thought. They're using data released by the EPA and states to compile maps showing spots across the country where drinking water systems report levels above what's recommended. Contamination has also been confirmed at hundreds of military bases around the country.
That includes a base in southern New Mexico, where state officials are embarking on another health survey to gauge exposure at a nearby lake where scientists documented some of the highest PFAS levels in wildlife and plants worldwide.
In Clovis, Thursday's audience was sparse but outspoken. They voiced frustrations that properties have been devalued and rural livelihoods threatened due to the contamination.
New Mexico is among hundreds of plaintiffs that are part of multi-district litigation in a South Carolina federal court that aims to hold producers and users of PFAS-laden firefighting foam accountable for contamination at sites across the country.
Separate from the legal front, some states have adopted their own PFAS rules while the focus of federal regulations has been narrowed. New Mexico just this week held a webinar on a new state law that calls for phasing out and ultimately prohibiting the sale of products containing intentionally added PFAS.
FILE - A water researcher tests a sample of water for PFAS at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Center For Environmental Solutions and Emergency Response in Cincinnati, on Tuesday, Feb. 14, 2023. (AP Photo/Joshua A. Bickel, File)
ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. (AP) — Thrilling as the second-half comebacks have been, Josh Allen and the Buffalo Bills acknowledge that continuing to test the limits of how big of a hole they can dig themselves out of is a flawed formula for sustained success.
Each week the Bills insist they need to be better to start games. And each week — or at least the past two — they’ve somehow come away victorious.
Two weekends ago, Buffalo trailed Cincinnati by 10 points midway through the fourth quarter before scoring three touchdowns in a 4-1/2-minute span of a 39-34 win.
On Sunday, the Bills spotted New England a 21-0 second-quarter lead before Allen — in between throwing up on the sideline — oversaw five straight touchdown drives in a 35-31 win to maintain Buffalo's slim hopes of winning a sixth straight AFC East title.
Buffalo (10-4) still trails the division-leading Patriots (11-3), who need to beat only the Jets and Miami to clinch.
“I don’t know why. It just happens,” Allen said of what’s become a game-day ritual of vomiting, after being captured on TV doing so in the fourth quarter. “It’s due to nothing else other than just a weird feeling.”
As gut-checks go, that might be an extreme one for the expectant father, after his newlywed wife, actor Hailee Steinfeld, announced her pregnancy last week.
As for the Bills’ ability to find a spark: “Obviously, we want to start faster,” Allen said. “But it's being able to dig ourselves out and be battle-tested coming down the stretch here."
That’s the second time in five days Allen used “battle-tested” to describe the Bills.
And, perhaps, there might be something to that in a season when Buffalo's recent playoff rivals already have been eliminated — Kansas City and Cincinnati — while Baltimore strives to stay in contention.
AFC West-leading Denver and Houston, currently the AFC’s seventh seed, might have superior defenses. And the Bills learned how sturdy the Texans are while getting manhandled in a 23-19 loss last month.
Yet no current AFC contender can match the Bills’ postseason experience; they've gone 7-6 during their six-year playoff run.
Coach Sean McDermott has referred to the experience — especially the losses — as gathering scars from which the Bills can learn. It’s no different, he said Sunday, from how the team has not blinked in the face of adversity this season.
All it took on Sunday was a glimpse from Allen during halftime.
“I saw Josh as I was bringing everybody up, and he looked at me,” McDermott said. “I just knew he was seeing it like I was. The entire team was on the same vibe.”
The Bills have plenty to clean up, particularly on an injury-depleted defense that was missing top pass defender, cornerback Christian Benford, because of a toe injury.
The Bills still found a way to win, similar to how they overcame missing two starting offensive tackles in a 26-7 victory over Pittsburgh three weekends ago.
Let’s not forget how Buffalo opened the season: with Allen rallying the team from a 15-point fourth-quarter deficit against Baltimore.
The Bills are 4-1 this season when allowing 30 or more points and 7-4 when tied or trailing at halftime.
During his previous 10 seasons with the Chargers, edge rusher Joey Bosa knew mostly frustration in how his team would come up short in the clutch.
It’s different in Buffalo.
“I just don’t think there’s any quit on this team,” Bosa said. “We’ve proved that a few games this year, that you just have to keep fighting. And when you have Josh back there with the ball in his hands, anything is possible.”
Second-half production. In winning four of five games, Buffalo has combined to outscore its opponents 111-35 over the final 30 minutes.
First-half production. In those five games, the Bills have been outscored a combined 94-58 over the first 30 minutes.
Ray Davis. The backup running back/kickoff returner combined for 164 yards on four returns against New England. He now leads the league averaging 32.4 yards per return.
Defensive interior. Buffalo allowed a season-high 246 yards rushing and four touchdowns. The yards rushing were the most allowed in a Bills win since Buffalo gave up 318 in a 16-13 OT victory over the Jets in 2009.
None reported.
21 — Largest point deficit Buffalo has overcome on the road, matching a 34-31 OT win at Miami in 1987 and a 49-31 win at Cincinnati in 2010.
Don’t peek ahead to a Week 17 showdown against Philadelphia before traveling to play Cleveland (3-11) on Sunday.
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Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen speaks at a news conference after an NFL football game against the New England Patriots in Foxborough, Mass., Sunday, Dec. 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)
Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen (17) passes against the New England Patriots during the second half of an NFL football game in Foxborough, Mass., Sunday, Dec. 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)
Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen (17) reacts after an NFL football game against the New England Patriots in Foxborough, Mass., Sunday, Dec. 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)
Buffalo Bills outside linebacker Matt Milano (58) reacts after sacking New England Patriots quarterback Drake Maye during the second half of an NFL football game in Foxborough, Mass., Sunday, Dec. 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)
Buffalo Bills running back James Cook III (4) celebrates after scoring against the New England Patriots during the second half of an NFL football game in Foxborough, Mass., Sunday, Dec. 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)
