PFAS breakthrough: ‘forever chemical’ banned under global treaty

By Rachel Haeubi and Pauline Turuban | SwissInfo | May 8, 2025

Read the full article by Rachel Haeubi and Pauline Turuban (SwissInfo)

"Though largely overlooked by the wider public, this decision represents a significant advance in the fight against persistent organic pollutants (POPs) – highly toxic substances that linger in the environment and accumulate in living organisms.

Between April 28 and May 9, delegates from across the globe gathered in Geneva for the Conferences of the Parties to the Basel, Rotterdam and Stockholm ConventionsExternal link (BRS, see infobox below). There, member states agreed to ban the production and use of long-chain perfluorocarboxylic acids (PFCAs), a group of pollutants within the broader family of PFAS chemicals.

The full extent of contamination from the so-called “poison of the century” is becoming clearer by the day. Across Europe, at least 23,000 sites are believed to be polluted with PFAS, according to an investigation by the Forever Pollution ProjectExternal link. Switzerland is not immune: the country is thought to host at least 240 PFAS contamination hotspots (see map below)."