US and Chinese scientists find simple way to destroy toxic ‘forever chemicals’
- The breakthrough method potentially offers a solution to a long-standing source of harm to the environment, livestock and humans
- PFAS compounds have been linked to serious health issues because of their toxicity and the difficulty in breaking them down as waste products
“Forever chemicals” used in daily items like non-stick pans have long been linked to serious health issues – a result of their toxicity and extreme resistance to being broken down as waste products.
Chemists in the United States and China on Thursday said they had finally found a breakthrough method to degrade these polluting compounds, referred to as PFAS, using relatively low temperatures and common reagents.
Their results were published in the journal Science, potentially offering a solution to a long-standing source of harm to the environment, livestock and humans.
“It really is why I do science – so that I can have a positive impact on the world,” senior author William Dichtel of Northwestern University told reporters during a news conference.
PFAS, or per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, were first developed in the 1940s and are now found in a variety of products, including non-stick pans, water-resistant textiles, and fire suppression foams.