âForever chemicalsâ pervade drinking water sources on Cape Cod, study finds The compounds have been linked to cancer, low infant birth weights, and suppression of the immune system By David Abel Globe Staff,Updated March 8, 2021, 12:06 p.m. Email to a Friend Andrew Gottlieb, the executive director of the Association to Preserve Cape Cod, steered his boat on Mashpee Wakeby Pond, a watershed affected by chemical pollutants.Lane Turner/Globe Staff The primary source of drinking water for tens of thousands of people on Cape Cod has elevated levels of toxic chemicals, according to a new study. Scientists at Harvard University found that several watersheds on the upper Cape around Mashpee had 40 times more PFAS â known as âforever chemicalsâ because they never fully degrade â than new state rules allow. The compounds, which a growing body of research has found can be harmful in minute amounts, have been linked to cancer, low infant birth weights, and suppression of the immune system.