A published in the American Chemical Society’s Environmental Science and Technology Letters is raising concerns about the pervasive presence of “forever chemicals” – also known as PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances) – in something many triathletes have on their bodies 24/7: watch bands.

These synthetic chemicals, notorious for their persistence in the environment and human body, are now being found in common consumer products, with fitness tracker and smartwatch wristbands being the latest addition.

“These PFAS are pretty nasty chemicals as a class,” says Graham Peaslee, professor emeritus at the University of Notre Dame and corresponding author on the study. “All of them that we found are toxic, a couple of them are bioaccumulative, and all of them are persistent.”

This group of chemicals, which comprise more than 14,000 individual compounds, is particularly resistant to heat, water, and oil, so they’ve been used in products like stain-resistant fabrics, food packaging, cosmetics, firefighting foams, and non-stick cookware. But it’s been well-established that PFAS are linked to serious health issues including multiple types of cancer, suppression of the immune system, thyroid disease, decreased fertility, and liver and kidney damage.

Forever Chemicals in Watch Bands Study Overview

For the study, researchers analyzed 22 watch bands, from a mix of brands and price points, for the presence of PFAS. The bands, which included brands like Apple and Fitbit, were all purchased from Amazon or Best Buy, or were donated. Of the bands, 15 of them had the presence of these “forever chemicals,” and all were in very high concentrations. The researchers found one particular compound, PFHxA, in abundance – many times higher than what has been found in recent studies of cosmetics, food packaging, and school uniforms.

PFHxA being found in such extremely high concentrations is bad news for people who wear these watch bands for 12-plus hours per day. It gives the chemical significant opportunity to transfer through the skin. In addition, with athletes wearing these bands during exercise means additional sweat contact and open skin pores. And showed that PFHxA can be dermally absorbed, especially in the presence of sweat.

“If you wear these daily, over long periods each day,” Peaslee says, “then you undoubtedly are getting some exposure.”

Should You Replace Your Watch Band?

Before you burn your watch band, rest assured that PFAS are already in your bloodstream – they are in the blood of 100% of people in North America, says Peaslee, “thanks to our pervasive use of it from the 1950s onward.” Whether or not you use consumer products with PFAS directly, once they’re discarded into landfills, they break down and make it into our drinking water, our irrigation water, and then into us.

“I’m not too worried about the exposure, in terms of, we’re exposed day and night to everything else,” Peaslee says. “This is one more, but the next time you buy one, you really want to read carefully.”

While the study’s authors didn’t disclose specifically how each brand tested, they did provide information to help you determine whether your current watch band likely has PFAS.

First, seek out the materials in your own multisport or GPS watch band, if they’re listed (sellers are not required to publish materials, but some do). If any publish that they’re made with fluoroelastomers, fluorine, or the abbreviations FKM, FEK, FEKK, and FEKM, steer clear – they very likely have PFAS. For Garmin wearers, the company has been working to (PFOA and PFOS) from their products, including watch bands, though that doesn’t mean all Garmin watch bands are currently 100% PFAS free.

If your watch is made of other materials, such as silicone, nylon, or leather, “those are presumably not PFAS treated,” Peaslee says – you should be safe to continue wearing and using them without risking exposure.

What to Look For in a New (PFAS-Free) Smartwatch Band

If you’re not sure what your watch is made of or you’re not confident it’s free of PFAS, Peaslee recommends being proactive. “It’s well worth trying to replace them as soon as you can,” he says.

And especially since it won’t be an expensive swap: The researchers found a correlation between the presence of PFAS and the price of the watch band. It was only the medium-priced ($15-$30) and expensive watch bands ($30+) that contained the chemicals – the bands less than $15 were unlikely to contain a fluoroelastomer, which the researchers presumed was due to the increased cost to manufacture using PFAS. You can also search for bands made from the materials silicone and nylon.

And hopefully, in not too long, we’ll see more and more “PFAS free” or “fluorine free” labels on watch bands. Europe actually proposed a ban on PFHxA, Peaslee says, and “I think there’ll be more transparency in the future.”

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