What are PFAS? PFAS are persistent organic pollutants also known as “forever chemicals” because can remain in the environment for long. They can accumulate in living organisms and pose a high risk to human health and environment.
Persistent organic pollutants (POPs) are usually mobile, being transported between multiple environmental compartments such as soil, groundwater and, surface waters. Alternatively, semi-volatile POPs can be atmospherically long-range transported to reach remote areas such as polar regions or high mountains. Chemical substances that have been historically identified as POPs are -for example- chlorinated pesticides, dioxins, and furans.
In the last decade, Per- and polyFluoroAlkyl Substances (PFAS) have become part of the POP’s list as they are environmentally persistent, potentially carcinogens and display a high bioaccumulation rate. Currently, PFAS are detected in multiple environmental matrices (soil, sediment, biota, air dust, food, drinking water) and can be found inside the human body (blood) more frequently than you might expect. Furthermore, the chemical structure of PFAS congeners and their chemo physical features pose a technological challenge to environmental remediation technologies.