'Forever Chemicals' : Doing What They Say on the Can!

Per and PolyFluoroAlkyl substances (PFAs) are the 'forever chemicals', so-called because they persist in the environment. They are basically a family of circa 10,000 synthetic substances, used to make products (e.g. carpets, clothing, packaging for fast foods etc) water and stain resistant. PFAs have, however, a wide range of negative impacts on human health, being linked with kidney and testicular cancers as well as liver, kidney and thyroid disease. A collaborative mapping project has been carried out, assessing PFAs concentrations across Europe (https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/feb/23/revealed-scale-of-forever-chemical-pollution-across-uk-and-europe). The highest concentrations of 'forever chemicals' are found around sites of their manufacture or mass use. The highest values in Europe, are found around the 3M's PFAs production site in Zwijndrecht (Flanders, Belgium). Folk living near this location, have been advised not to eat eggs from their chickens or fresh vegetables grown in their gardens. In the Netherlands, PFAs used in fire-fighting foam has contaminated land around Amsterdam's Schipol airport. The UK's most contaminated location is the discharge into the River Wyre near Blackpool. PFAs are insinuating themselves into many food chains of the natural world. There is also real concern that 'forever chemicals' are present in our drinking water. The European Chemicals Agency estimate that, without action, 4.4 million tonnes of PFAs will end up in the continent's environments in the next 30 years. Looks like they will be with us for eternity.