Facing ‘forever chemical’ crackdown, Georgia cities weigh hard choices
Dec 8, 2023
In his 36 years in the water industry, Stephen Smith’s job has required him to remove a long list of dangerous contaminants from the drinking water he supplies.
None, he said, have proven as challenging as the “forever chemicals” he and his colleagues at the Chatsworth Water Works Commission are now trying to clean up.
Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances — better known by their acronym, PFAS — are a class of toxic, manmade chemicals that have been used for decades in nonstick pans, stain-resistant carpets, firefighting foams and certain food wrappers. The compounds do not break down in nature and as a result, they are practically everywhere: accumulating in soil, water and even the human body.