[Blog] PFAS Are Still Forever (and Not Your Best Friend)

By Anna Reade & Katie Pelch | NRDC | September 29, 2022

Read the full article by Anna Reade and Katie Pelch (NRDC)

"If you follow the news on the PFAS crisis, sensational headlines were abundant earlier this month in response to an exciting advance in PFAS destruction research (see here, here, and here, for recent reporting on a study reporting destruction of a select subset of PFAS using a base/DMSO process). Unfortunately most of these headlines were misleading on the imminence of solutions to the PFAS crisis and reflect misconceptions or misunderstandings of the technology and its status.

It is important to evaluate new technologies critically with the full context of the problem in mind as we outline below. And, while evaluating any technology, we have to keep in mind we should stop adding to the problem immediately wherever possible, because PFAS are still forever. A comprehensive, reliable, economical, and easily deployable method for destroying PFAS is not imminent as of now. Stopping the production, use, and release of PFAS is still the most efficient method to protect the public and environment from PFAS exposure and harm."