PFAS are known as “forever chemicals” for a reason. Originally added to a wide variety of products ranging from firefighting foam to nonstick food packaging, the chemical bonds that make up per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, also known as PFAS, accumulate quickly and break down slowly over time, making the pollutants extremely persistent in the environment — and our drinking water supply.
The discovery is expected to bolster the long-term effectiveness of “ion exchange,” one of the methods of removing PFAS from drinking waterby the Environmental Protection Agency . After ion exchange removes PFAS, the contaminated wastewater can then be treated with the methods developed by Liu’s team, destroying PFAS molecules before they have a chance to leach back into the environment during waste disposal.
Benesh said the federal limits on PFAS in drinking water set by the Biden administration is only the latest victory in a yearslong push to protect public health and hold PFAS polluters accountable. “There was a multi-administration failure to address these problems … as a result of that inaction, people have gotten sick and people have been exposed to toxic levels of these chemicals,” Benesh said of previous presidential administrations.
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