The Fight Against Forever Chemicals
What Are “Forever Chemicals”?
The term “forever chemicals” is used to describe a large family of synthetic chemicals that are extremely persistent in the environment, as they need thousands of years to decompose. They are officially termed PFAS (perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances), and some of them are well known in the public sphere, such as C8 (PFOA) and Teflon.
However, their persistence in the environment is not the only concern; PFAS can accumulate in living organisms and cause a variety of health issues. Recent studies that have analysed blood samples from people in western countries have shown that PFAS are present in all samples [1], and they have even been found in wildlife located in remote areas like the Arctic pole.[2] Other studies have shown that PFAS can damage the reproductive and endocrine system, damage the development of foetuses and increase the risk of cancer.[3]
What Are PFAS Used For?
These chemicals are very important to industry due to their unique chemical and physical properties. They can resist extreme temperatures and pressures, but also repel water, oil and other fats. That’s why we find PFAS in a wide range of products. Some of the most commonly used by the general public are non-stick pans, kitchen tools, waterproof clothing and carpets. PFAS are also used in large quantities in fire extinction, especially to control fires from liquid fuels in airports, refineries and chemical facilities.
During the use of these products and after disposal, PFAS leak into the environment, and will remain there for centuries.
What Are We Doing about It?
The chemical companies that commercialised these chemicals were well aware of their toxicity and bioaccumulation potential in the 1950s.[4] However, no action was taken then, and it was not until the decade of the 2000s that the largest companies phased out the production of the most dangerous PFAS.
The European Union is taking the lead in the fight against Forever Chemicals. The impact of their efforts, the “Brussels Effect”[5], is evident, as production of PFAS has since been reduced worldwide. Unfortunately, the phasing out is very slow since the banning of the production and use of the most toxic PFAS resulted in chemical companies switching to less (but still) toxic PFAS that had not yet been banned. Aware of this, European lawmakers are working on new legislation that will cover a wider range of PFAS. This legislation is expected to be implemented in a few years and leave some exemptions for the use of PFAS by the military and healthcare industries.[6]
US-EPA (United States Environmental Protection Agency) started working on PFAS in January 2021, after the latest change in administration. However, their efforts are not as ambitious as the Europeans. Their actions are focused on the control of water quality, ensuring that no significant amounts of PFAS are found in drinking water. There is no plan to phase out the use and production of these chemicals or control the human intake by direct contact with PFAS-containing products.[7]
Global efforts against PFAS take place at the Stockholm Convention, a United Nations Environmental Programme’s international agreement that aims to phase out the use and production of the most toxic organic chemicals. The treaty has been ratified by 185 countries, with the notable exceptions of the United States, Israel and Malaysia. The parties that have ratified this convention have already banned the use and production of some of the most dangerous PFAS (PFOS, PFOA and PFHxS), and it is expected that many others will be restricted in the following years.
What Should Be Done?
It is likely that in the following years, the EU will ban the use and production of most PFAS in its territory. This will decrease the use of these chemicals worldwide and incentivise the use of green alternatives. Unfortunately, the demand from the US and China is enough to keep a significant amount of PFAS in the global market. China may end up banning PFAS during the next decade, as the Stockholm Convention may require them to do so and its growing middle class demands better environmental laws.
The United States is the only country in the world with the capacity to produce PFAS and use them in significant amounts, but has no plans to phase them out, not even those that are the most toxic. Luckily, it is possible that, as products with PFAS are banned in the rest of the world, internal demand will not be enough to justify production and the last factories that produce these chemicals will be forced to close.
Efforts to phase out the use and production of PFAS are therefore slow but steady. It is very possible that the production of PFAS will end in the next decade, but these chemicals will still be found in the environment for millennia.
[1] A. M. Calafat, K. Kato, K. Hubbard, T. Jia, J. C. Botelho, L.-Y. Wong. Environmental International. 2019. 131. 105048
[2] B. C. Kelly, M. G. Ikonomou, J. D. Blair, B. Surridge, D. Hoover, R. Grace, F. A. P. C. Gobas. Environ Sci Technol. 2009. 43 (11). 4037–43
[3] S. E. Fenton,A. Ducatman, A. Boobis, J. C. DeWitt, C. Lau, C. Ng, J. S. Smith, S. M. Roberts. Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry. 2021. 40 (3). 606–630.
[4] https://www.ewg.org/research/decades-polluters-knew-pfas-chemicals-were-dangerous-hid-risks-public
[5] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brussels_effect
[6] https://echa.europa.eu/hot-topics/perfluoroalkyl-chemicals-pfas
[7] https://www.epa.gov/pfas/pfas-strategic-roadmap-epas-commitments-action-2021-2024