PFAS stands for poly- and perfluoroalkyl substances. There are around 4,500 of these fluorine-based compounds and they are found in almost every dwelling on Earth in products including food packaging, non-stick cookware, rain gear, adhesives, paper and paints. More:

• Breakthrough over potentially harmful chemicals found in most homes  –  BBC
• Low-temperature mineralization of perfluorocarboxylic acids (Research abstract)

• Literature review of PFAS bioaccumulation data  –  US EPA
• Pollution: 'Forever chemicals' in rainwater exceed safe levels  –  BBC News
• National PFAS Datasets  –  US EPA

• Our Current Understanding of the Human Health and Environmental Risks of PFAS  –  US EPA
• The chemicals that linger for decades in your blood  –  BBC Future

• The race to replace persistent chemicals in our homes  –  BBC News

PFAS chemicals seemed like a good idea at first. As Teflon, they made pots easier to clean starting in the 1940s. They made jackets waterproof and carpets stain-resistant. Food wrappers, firefighting foam, even makeup seemed better with perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances. More:

• How to destroy a ‘forever chemical’ – scientists are discovering ways to eliminate PFAS, but this growing global health problem isn’t going away soon  –  The Conversation

• Scientists Think They've Found a Shockingly Simple Way to Degrade 'Forever Chemicals'  –  ScienceAlert
• Low-temperature mineralization of perfluorocarboxylic acids (Research abstract)
• A new low-tech technique can take the ‘forever’ out of forever chemicals  –  Grist

• New water treatment systems address PFOS/PFOA issues at former Mather AFB  –  US Air Force Civil Engineer Center
• Interim Guidance on PFAS Destruction and Disposal EO 12866 - 12-17-20 - 508  –  US EPA
• Supercritical Water Oxidation as an Innovative Technology for PFAS Destruction (Research abstract)
• Treatment of PFAS-containing landfill leachate using an enhanced contact plasma reactor (Research abstract)
• Air Force tests plasma reactor to degrade, destroy synthetic chemical compounds in groundwater  –  US Air Force

• ‘Forever chemicals’ upended a Maine farm — and point to larger problem  –  The Washington Post
• Dairy farmers facing PFAS contamination now eligible for payment for their cattle  –  The NM political report
• Consumption Advisory: Grostic Cattle Company of Livingston County Beef Sold Directly to Consumers May Contain PFOS  –  Michigan.gov
• EWG: ‘Forever chemicals’ may taint nearly 20 million cropland acres  –  EWG

• Perfluoroalkyl and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS)  –  US National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences
• Scientific evidence and recommendations for managing PFAS contamination in Michigan (Report)  –  Michigan PFAS Science Advisory Panel
• Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS)  –  US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
• Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substance Toxicity and Human Health Review: Current State of Knowledge and Strategies for Informing Future Research (Research article)
• Polyfluoroalkyl Chemicals in the U.S. Population: Data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) 2003–2004 and Comparisons with NHANES 1999–2000 (Research article)

Researchers have developed a way to break down long-lasting chemicals that they say is easier and cheaper than the harsh methods currently used. Their work also hints at how these chemicals, which have been linked to health problems, fall apart — a finding that could help to destroy the persistent pollutants. More:

• How to destroy ‘forever chemicals’: cheap method breaks down PFAS  –  Nature
• Low-temperature mineralization of perfluorocarboxylic acids (Research abstract)

• National PFAS Datasets  –  US EPA
• Toxic PFAS fallout found near incinerator in Upstate New York  –  The Intercept

• Serum Biomarkers of Exposure to Perfluoroalkyl Substances in Relation to Serum Testosterone and Measures of Thyroid Function among Adults and Adolescents from NHANES 2011–2012 (Research article)

Our wastewater systems are very efficient at removing pathogens, but not environmental pollutants. Neither do most of them have the right equipment to destroy many pharmaceuticals that come out of us and flow into the seas. Some of these chemicals are so ubiquitous in the ocean that scientists use them as indicators of how far contamination spreads. More:

• We Only Think We Flush It Away  –  Nautilus
• Sewage pollution, declining ecosystem health, and cross-sector collaboration (Research article)

• PFAS Explained  –  US EPA

• Understanding Neonicotinoids  –  XERCES Society
• Neonicotinoids pose undocumented threats to food webs  –  PNAS

Ants can be more effective than pesticides at helping farmers produce food, according to new research. They are better at killing pests, reducing plant damage and increasing crop yields, according to the first systematic review of ants’ contributions to crop production. More:

• Ants can be better than pesticides for growing healthy crops, study finds  –  The Guardian

• The effects of ants on pest control: a meta-analysis (Research article)
• Ants and sustainable agriulture A review (Research article)
• Ants behave as mini farmers in Fiji – study  –  The Guardian

• How to kill winter aphids and mealybugs  –  The Guardian

Local officials contend that years of contamination miles upstream sent toxic perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances, known as PFAS, into Rome’s water supply, rendering it potentially dangerous for the city’s roughly 37,000 residents. A water source switch from the Oostanaula and added treatment have reduced the traces of the chemicals running through residents’ taps, but they have not eliminated PFAS from the community’s water supply. More:

• In Georgia, the EPA Takes Action Against ‘Forever Chemicals’  –  Undark

• PFAS Contamination in the U.S. (June 8, 2022)  –  EWG
• More than 8 million Illinoisans get drinking water from a utility where forever chemicals have been detected, Tribune investigation finds  –  Chicago Tribune

• Guidance on PFAS Exposure,Testing, and Clinical Follow-Up (Study Report)  –  US National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine
• EPA Announces New Drinking Water Health Advisories for PFAS Chemicals, $1 Billion in Bipartisan Infrastructure Law Funding to Strengthen Health Protections  –  US EPA

• Serum Biomarkers of Exposure to Perfluoroalkyl Substances in Relation to Serum Testosterone and Measures of Thyroid Function among Adults and Adolescents from NHANES 2011–2012 (Research article)

• PFAS-Free Products  –  PFAS Central

• Companies Face Billions in Damages as PFAS Lawsuits Flood Courts  –  Bloomberg Law

"We usually look for plastic bottles, carton boxes, gunny bags, bones and pig food. Yet we do this without protective gloves or gumboots so we sometimes get cuts from glass. We are really suffering," says Mariam Makeba, an informal waste picker. More:

• Waste pickers at Kenyan dump face cancer and infertility  –  Africanews
• Implications of the Dandora Municipal Dumping Site in Nairobi (Report summary)  –  UNEP

Breast cancer is the leading cause of cancer death among women worldwide, and endocrine disrupting chemicals are partly to blame. One such chemical is DEHP, a phthalate chemical commonly used in plastic hospital intravenous bags and medical tubing, and studies have shown that it’s interfering with breast cancer treatment and augmenting the odds of relapse. More:

• Medical Plastic Linked to Breast Cancer Relapse  –  Living on Earth

• DEHP mediates drug resistance by directly targeting AhR in human breast cancer (Research article)
• Plastic additive increases breast cancer relapse, mortality: New science  –  EHN

• Promising growth: DEHP exposure research  –  EHN

Travelling by train from central London, it doesn’t take long before the city gives way to a patchwork of mostly agricultural fields. But one of these fields is special. The Broadbalk field – part of the Rothamsted Estate – is the site of some of the oldest agricultural research experiments in the world. More:

• Analysis: Pesticides are creating a biodiversity crisis in Europe  –  Mongabay
• Silent Death – Europe’s deep-rooted pesticide problem and a biodiversity crisis  –  Investigate Europe

For some 200,000 people living near chemical plants outside the French city of Lyon, potentially toxic levels of the compounds are showing up in vegetable gardens, drinking water, and even the milk of breastfeeding mothers. More:

• Toxic levels of 'forever chemicals' are being found in breast milk. How harmful are they?  –  Euronews
• Rainwater everywhere on Earth unsafe to drink due to ‘forever chemicals’, study finds  –  Euronews

• Perfluoroalkyl chemicals (PFAS)  –  ECHA
• Drinking Water Health Advisories for PFOA and PFOS  –  US EPA
• PFAS  –  European Commission
• Registry of restriction intentions until outcome: Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS)  –  ECHA

Researchers say global levels of man-made "forever chemicals" have made rainwater unsafe to drink around the world — even in the most remote areas. The study argues that guideline values – amounts considered acceptable – for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in drinking water, surface water and soil have fallen "dramatically" over the last 20 years "due to new insights into their toxicity." More:

• PFAS levels in rainwater have made it 'unsafe to drink' globally, even in remote areas: study  –  CTV News
• It’s raining PFAS: even in Antarctica and on the Tibetan plateau rainwater is unsafe to drink  –  Stockholm University
• Outside the Safe Operating Space of a New Planetary Boundary for Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) (Research article)

• Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in Canadians (Factsheet)  –  Health Canada
• Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS)  –  Government of Canada

• 'Forever chemicals' pose risk even at very low levels: U.S. agency  –  CTV News

• 3M's Commitment to PFAS Stewardship  –  3M

PFAS “forever chemicals” are per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances used as stain-resistant, water-resistant, & oil-resistant chemicals in commerce. They have been used for decades inside consumer products, manufacturing, and building materials. There are over 12,000 different chemicals in the PFAS chemical class (including PFOA & PTFE), and because there are so many of them, they are incredibly hard to identify and test for. In fact, it’s only really possible to identify about 100 or so in a really good commercial laboratory. More:

• Indications of Toxic PFAS Forever Chemicals Found in Toilet Paper  –  Mamavation

• Systemic toxicity induced by topical application of heptafluorobutyric acid (PFBA) in a murine model (Research abstract)
• Side-chain fluorotelomer-based polymers in children car seats (Research abstract)
• Immunotoxicity and allergenic potential induced by topical application of perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) in a murine model (Research abstract)

• Thyroid Disrupting Effects of Old and New Generation PFAS (Research article)
• PFAS and cancer, a scoping review of the epidemiologic evidence (Research article)
• Health effects of PFAS exposure  –  Food Packaging Forum
• What are the health effects of PFAS?  –  US ATSDR
• CDC and ATSDR Award $7 Million to Begin Multi-Site PFAS Study  –  US CDC

• Nonstick Pan Chemicals Linked to Low Sperm Count and Small Penis Size Study Finds  –  Mamavation
• Perfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) and Their Effects on the Placenta, Pregnancy, and Child Development: a Potential Mechanistic Role for Placental Peroxisome Proliferator–Activated Receptors (PPARs) (Research abstract)
• Maternal levels of perfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) during pregnancy and childhood allergy and asthma related outcomes and infections in the Norwegian Mother and Child (MoBa) cohort (Research article)
• PFAS exposure in infancy linked to reduced vaccine response  –  Environmental Factor

• Ethylene Oxide (Report)  –  US National Toxicology Program
• Phthalates  –  TEDX
• 1,4-Dioxane (Report)  –  US National Toxicology Program
• Chronic vulvar irritation could toilet paper be the culprit? (Research article)

• A toxic-chemicals expert is sounding the alarm about 4 cancer-linked chemicals that could be making us sicker and fatter  –  Insider
• Widespread Occurrence of Bisphenol A in Paper and Paper Products: Implications for Human Exposure (Research abstract)
• Victory! Target Bans BPA from Receipts Making Millions Safer!  –  Mamavation

• Green Beauty Cosmetic Guide — PFAS “Forever Chemicals” & Makeup  –  Mamavation
• Best & Worst Cookware & Bakeware 2022–Safest Non Toxic Brands  –  Mamavation
• Best Home Water Filters for Toxic PFAS “Forever Chemical” Filtration  –  Mamavation
• Toxic Packaging Are Fast Food Wrappers Hurting Your Family  –  Mamavation

• Dark Waters | Official Trailer | In Theaters (YouTube)  –  Focus Features

There are around 4,500 of these fluorine-based compounds and they are found in almost every dwelling on Earth in hundreds of everyday products including food packaging, non-stick cookware, rain gear, adhesives, paper and paints. More:

• Pollution: 'Forever chemicals' in rainwater exceed safe levels  –  BBC News

• Outside the Safe Operating Space of a New Planetary Boundary for Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) (Research article)
• Increasing Accumulation of Perfluorocarboxylate Contaminants Revealed in an Antarctic Firn Core (1958–2017) (Research article)

• Concern over toxic chemicals in tap water  –  BBC News
• The race to replace persistent chemicals in our homes  –  BBC News

US government health agencies need to move quickly to launch broad testing of people exposed to types of toxic chemicals known as PFAS to help evaluate and treat people who may suffer PFAS-related health problems, according to a report issued today. More:

• PFAS testing needed for people with elevated exposures, US science advisors say  –  EHN
• Guidance on PFAS Exposure, Testing, and Clinical Follow-Up (Report)  –  US National Academies

• EPA Actions to Address PFAS  –  US EPA
• FACT SHEET: Biden-Harris Administration Combatting PFAS Pollution to Safeguard Clean Drinking Water for All Americans  –  The White House

The controversial class of highly fluorinated chemicals known as per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), which are persistent and potentially toxic, has essentially become a new part of the Earth’s ecosystem. There are estimated to be around 8000 different types of PFAS out there – found in the atmosphere, rain, surface water, groundwater and even people – but technological developments now offer to break this cycle. More:

• How to put an end to ‘forever chemicals’ and annihilate PFAS pollution  –  Chemistry World

• A persistent perfluorinated problem  –  Chemistry World

• Supercritical Water Oxidation as an Innovative Technology for PFAS Destruction (Research abstract)
• PFAS annihilator  –  Battelle
• Accelerated Degradation of Perfluorosulfonates and Perfluorocarboxylates by UV/Sulfite + Iodide: Reaction Mechanisms and System Efficiencies (Research abstract)
• Near-Quantitative Defluorination of Perfluorinated and Fluorotelomer Carboxylates and Sulfonates with Integrated Oxidation and Reduction (Research article)
• Energy Evaluation of Electron Beam Treatment of Perfluoroalkyl Substances in Water: A Critical Review (Research abstract)
• Highly Defective UiO-66 Materials for the Adsorptive Removal of Perfluorooctanesulfonate (Research abstract)

• Allonnia Discovers New PFAS Biosensor  –  Allonnia
• Can nanotech and microbes partner to destroy PFAS?  –  UBNow
• Engineering microbes to degrade contaminants  –  Royal Society of Chemistry

• US environment agency announces new safety limits for fluorinated chemicals  –  Royal Society of Chemistry
• Scientific Basis for Managing PFAS as a Chemical Class (Research article)

The United Nations General Assembly declared that everyone on the planet has a right to a healthy environment, a move backers say is an important step in countering the alarming decline of the natural world. More:

• In historic move, UN declares healthy environment a human right  –  UNEP
• Historic day for human rights and a healthy planet: UN expert  –  UN Human Rights
• UN General Assembly Approves Resolution Recognizing Right to Healthy Environment  –  Health Policy Watch
• UN resolution recognizes right to clean, healthy environment  –  AP News
• UN General Assembly says that access to a clean, healthy, sustainable environment is a human right. (YouTube)  –  UN Human Rights Council

A recent EEB examination of the chemicals control in Europe reveals that at the current pace the EU would need hundreds of years to adequately control all potentially harmful chemicals on its market. The EU needs to listen to experts and speed up chemicals regulatory processes without delay. Andreea Anca reports. More:

• EU’s decade-long bureaucratic journey to stop dangerous use of chemicals  –  META
• The Need for Speed - Why it takes the EU a decade to control harmful chemicals and how to secure more rapid protections (Report)  –  European Environmental Bureau

Daily exposure to a class of chemicals used in the production of many household items may lead to cancer, thyroid disease, and childhood obesity, a new study shows. The resulting economic burden is estimated to cost Americans a minimum of $5.5 billion and as much as $63 billion annually. More:

• Daily Exposure to ‘Forever Chemicals’ Costs United States Billions in Health Costs  –  NYU Langone News
• Leveraging Systematic Reviews to Explore Disease Burden and Costs of Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substance Exposures in the United States (Research article)

• Center for the Investigation of Environmental Hazards  –  NYU Langone News
• FDA must do more to regulate thousands of chemicals added to your food, petitioners say  –  CNN

Rice University chemical engineers have improved their design for a light-powered catalyst that rapidly breaks down PFOA, one of the world's most problematic "forever chemical" pollutants. More:

• Researchers improve catalyst that destroys 'forever chemicals' with sunlight  –  Phy.org
• Boron nitride destroys 'forever' chemicals PFOA, GenX  –  Phy.org
• Titanium oxide improves boron nitride photocatalytic degradation of perfluorooctanoic acid (Research abstract)

The French National Agency for Food, Environment and Occupational Health Safety (ANSES) tested best-selling brands of disposable nappies and found 38 “very severe hazard” chemicals in those sold throughout Europe. Most of the chemicals disrupt hormones, the officials say, which means they are not considered safe. More:

• ‘Toxic’ nappies could pose a health risk to 90% of babies - so why isn’t the EU acting?  –  EuroNews
• AVIS révisé et RAPPORT de l'Anses relatif à la sécurité des couches pour bébé  –  ANSES
• Francia alerta de la toxicidad del 90% de los pañales que se venden en Europa  –  El Confidencial

• Summary of principles for evaluating health risks in children associated with exposure to chemicals  –  WHO