Brown University Study Finds Young Veterans Carry Higher Levels of PFAS Forever Chemicals Than Civilians

Younger U.S. veterans are carrying significantly more PFAS "forever chemicals" in their blood than civilians their age, according to a study published Monday, September 14, 2026 in the journal Environmental Health Perspectives.

The research, led by Christian Hoover, a pre-doctoral fellow in epidemiology at Brown University's School of Public Health and an NIH Research Fellow at Harvard's T.H. Chan School of Public Health, along with Brown epidemiologist Joseph Braun, analyzed eight cycles of the CDC's National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey covering 2003 to 2018. The sample included 1,552 veterans and 11,415 non-veterans, weighted to represent roughly 22.8 million U.S. adults with prior military service, according to Brown University's own release on the findings.

The Numbers

Veterans ages 20 to 39 showed PFAS concentrations 13% to 24% higher than civilians of the same age, depending on the specific chemical, according to the study. Broken down by compound, PFOA levels ran 13% higher, PFOS 19% higher, and PFHxS 24% higher, according to Environment+Energy Leader's reporting on the paper. That same outlet reported a combined measure of seven tracked PFAS compounds running 17% higher overall in that age group.

Young veterans were 18% more likely than civilians their age to exceed 20 nanograms per milliliter of blood, the threshold at which the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine recommends people get medical monitoring, according to Military Times, Army Times and the study's own summary. Roughly 58% of all veterans surveyed, an estimated 13 million people out of 22.8 million, sit above that threshold, Military Times reported.

An important caveat gets buried in most coverage: when researchers looked at veterans of all ages combined, there was no overall difference from civilians, according to Environment+Energy Leader. The elevated levels only show up when the data is narrowed to the 20-to-39 age bracket. Older veterans had levels comparable to civilians their age, Military Times and Army Times both reported. Braun attributed this to PFOA's roughly 18-to-24-month half-life, which allows accumulated chemicals to clear the body over years after exposure ends.

The Guardian's report states the study "estimated that 23 million veterans ages 20-39" have elevated PFAS levels. That figure appears to conflate the total veteran population in the study (22.8 million, across all ages) with the much smaller 20-to-39 subgroup that actually drove the elevated results. Brown University's own release and the other outlets covering the study make clear the 22.8 million figure represents all veterans surveyed, not just the younger cohort.

Who's Actually Affected

The sex breakdown adds another layer critics of a simple narrative should weigh. Male veterans overall had higher PFAS concentrations than female veterans, according to Military Times and Army Times. But Environment+Energy Leader reported that female veterans actually showed 37% lower prevalence of elevated PFAS than female civilians, and that the difference among male veterans overall did not reach statistical significance once age wasn't isolated. The pattern is really driven by younger male veterans specifically.

The study cannot say where the exposure happened. NHANES doesn't record a veteran's branch, occupation, or years since service, so researchers could not tie elevated levels to a specific base or duty assignment, according to Environment+Energy Leader. Hoover and Braun named aqueous film-forming foam (AFFF), the firefighting foam used to suppress jet-fuel fires, along with munitions, groundwater contamination, treated uniforms, and burn pits as plausible sources, without being able to isolate which one is responsible, according to Stars and Stripes.

A Known Problem, Still Not Fixed

The Pentagon has known its bases are contaminated for years. Groundwater around military installations has tested as high as 1.1 million parts per trillion for PFAS, according to the Guardian, while the EPA has found one common compound increases cancer risk at just .004 parts per trillion. More than 720 bases nationwide show contamination, the Guardian reported.

The Defense Department is phasing out AFFF fleet-wide, but not until October 2027, according to Stars and Stripes, after the Pentagon twice delayed its original deadline. Blood levels of active-duty and veteran service members are still not routinely tracked, the Guardian reported.

Hoover isn't calling for panic. "Having high PFAS levels in their blood does not mean a person will develop cancer or cardiovascular disease," he told Military Times and Army Times, but he said testing "gives people helpful context" for monitoring their health as they age. His practical recommendation: male veterans between 20 and 39 should talk to a doctor about getting tested.

The unresolved question is whether the VA will act on it. Hoover told the Guardian he hopes the findings "might accelerate the conversations that the government might have about providing PFAS health monitoring to all veterans." No VA policy change has been announced as of this writing.