Water Sector News
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All About PFAS, the ‘Forever Chemicals’ That US and EU Are Targeting
Aug 24, 2023
https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2023/08/24/pfas-all-about-forever-chemicals-and-why-us-eu-are-targeting-them/c4426f2a-4291-11ee-9677-53cc50eb3f77_story.html
What do you do about lab-made chemicals that are in 99% of people in the US and have been linked to immune system problems and cancer? Whose bonds are so stable that they’re often called “forever chemicals?” Meet PFAS, a class of chemicals that some scientists call the next DDT. For consumers, they are best known as components in products such as Scotchgard and Teflon. For businesses, PFAS — which are used to make hundreds of everyday products, from stents to firefighting foams — are a puzzle that has already created billions of dollars worth of liabilities. But 70 years of unchecked proliferation are ending. The US government is engaged in a sweeping multi-agency effort to reduce their presence in the nation’s air, water, land and food, and European Union regulators are also cracking down.
What do you do about lab-made chemicals that are in 99% of people in the US and have been linked to immune system problems and cancer? Whose bonds are so stable that they’re often called “forever chemicals?” Meet PFAS, a class of chemicals that some scientists call the next DDT. For consumers, they are best known as components in products such as Scotchgard and Teflon. For businesses, PFAS — which are used to make hundreds of everyday products, from stents to firefighting foams — are a puzzle that has already created billions of dollars worth of liabilities. But 70 years of unchecked proliferation are ending. The US government is engaged in a sweeping multi-agency effort to reduce their presence in the nation’s air, water, land and food, and European Union regulators are also cracking down.