Felicity Bradstock
Felicity Bradstock is a freelance writer specialising in Energy and Finance. She has a Master’s in International Development from the University of Birmingham, UK.
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By Felicity Bradstock – Jan 11, 2025, 10:00 AM CST
- “Forever chemicals” are a group of man-made substances that persist in the environment and accumulate in living organisms.
- Recent studies have found high levels of PFAS in drinking water and even in food across the globe.
- These findings raise serious concerns about the potential health impacts of PFAS exposure and highlight the urgent need for stricter regulations and effective remediation strategies.
“Forever chemicals” or PFAS are widely used to enhance the performance of consumer products and industrial equipment. However, the lack of knowledge about the long-term impact of these chemicals is cause for concern. Recent studies have found these chemicals in food and drinking water in several parts of the world, suggesting there is a need for a greater understanding of the potential impact of PFAS to see if they can continue to be widely used in products or whether we should be looking for alternative options.
Per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances or PFAS are a group of chemicals that have been used in manufacturing and added to products for over half a century. PFAS allow grease and dirt to slide off fabrics, protect manufacturing equipment from rust, and have several other performance-boosting qualities. Because of the wide range of applications and their performance enhancement, PFAS have become extremely popular, however, the downside is that they take hundreds of thousands of years to degrade.
There are three main varieties of forever chemicals: fluorosurfactants – soapy molecules used in industry; fluoropolymers – long, plastic-like chains of carbon and fluorine, used many in consumer products such as Teflon; and fluorocarbons – small-molecule gases or liquids, used in refrigerators and air-conditioning systems.
These chemicals can accumulate in landfills and other sites where waste products using PFAS are discarded and can accumulate in the tissues of living things, such as humans and animals. They have been linked to health issues including high cholesterol, lower immunity, and cancer, but they have been largely understudied to date, meaning little is known about the potential impact of different PFAs.
According to a report published this month, “forever chemicals” have been found in the drinking water of millions across the U.S. A team of researchers from Harvard and New York University analyzed wastewater samples across the country and found high concentrations of PSAS, many of which continue to be unregulated. The report found that many wastewater treatment facilities do not effectively remove PSAS from wastewater and in some cases “forever chemicals” were more concentrated after treatment.
Bridger Ruyle, assistant professor of environmental engineering at New York University, who led the study, said that around 50 percent of U.S. drinking water supplies are downstream of one or more wastewater sites. The study showed that PFAS from wastewater were likely to be contaminating the drinking water of up to 23 million people across the country. The group suggested that based on the results of the research, the use of PFAS should be curbed.
The Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) PFAS Strategic Roadmap 2021-2024 strives to reduce the use of PFAS at the source through stricter regulation, as well as clean up the downstream impacts of PFAS pollution. In April last year, the Biden-Harris Administration finalized the first national drinking water standard to protect communities from exposure to PFAS. The move was supposed by $1 billion in funding from Biden’s Investing in America Agenda and is expected to help reduce PFAS exposure for approximately 100 million people, which could prevent thousands of deaths, and reduce tens of thousands of serious illnesses, according to the Biden Administration.
EPA Administrator Michael Regan stated, “Drinking water contaminated with PFAS has plagued communities across this country for too long… That is why President Biden has made tackling PFAS a top priority, investing historic resources to address these harmful chemicals and protect communities nationwide. Our PFAS Strategic Roadmap marshals the full breadth of EPA’s authority and resources to protect people from these harmful forever chemicals. Today, I am proud to finalize this critical piece of our Roadmap, and in doing so, save thousands of lives and help ensure our children grow up healthier.”
“Forever chemicals” have also been found in food and drink in several countries around the globe, as researchers begin to study the impact of PFAS further. In 2024, a study carried out in the U.K., which took samples from 3,000 pregnant mothers, showed that people consuming more white rice, coffee, eggs, and seafood typically had more PFAS in their plasma and breast milk.
Megan Romano, the lead author of the study, stated, “The results definitely point toward the need for environmental stewardship, and keeping PFAS out of the environment and food chain.” Romano added, “Now we’re in a situation where they’re everywhere and are going to stick around even if we do aggressive remediation.”
So long as PFAS continue to be used in a wide range of consumer goods, they will be transferred to humans and animals. Due to a lack of research into the impact of “forever chemicals” on humans, the full effect of PFAS on health and the environment is still uncertain, although studies over several decades suggest they can be detrimental to both. Greater regulation on both the use of PFAS in industry and consumer products, as well as on the effective removal of PSAS wastewater treatment facilities, could help reduce their presence.
By Felicity Bradstock for Oilprice.com
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Felicity Bradstock
Felicity Bradstock is a freelance writer specialising in Energy and Finance. She has a Master’s in International Development from the University of Birmingham, UK.
