MaineHealth has been awarded a $1.1 million federal grant to research the health impacts of exposure to “forever chemicals” in children, and to support a mentorship program.

The five-year grant from the National Institutes of Health will fund research into whether childhood exposure to per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS, “may influence obesity, diabetes risk and cardiovascular health later in life,” according to a news release from MaineHealth on Tuesday.

The PFAS chemicals have been found in many consumer products and are linked to numerous health risks, including cancer, high cholesterol and pregnancy complications.

Dr. Abby Fleisch, principal investigator and pediatric endocrinologist, who is heading up the research for the MaineHealth Institute for Research, said in the news release that “Maine bears a disproportionate burden of environmental health hazards, including PFAS contamination.”

The grant also provides funding for Fleisch to mentor junior investigators who are pursuing careers in environmental health research.

“It will help to build the next generation of investigators ready to advance environmental health in our state,” Fleisch said in the news release.

The study will also examine whether diet and exercise could lessen the effects of PFAS exposure.

Maine’s PFAS crisis stems from a program that spread sewage sludge-based fertilizer on farm fields across the state decades ago. At the time, the state encouraged it; no one knew it was dangerous.

The Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry is managing 127 contaminated sites across the state, ranging from small plots to large, diversified farms. Some survived by installing water filters or switching crops. Others have found no path forward in the private market.