[Opinion] PFAS are widespread, not ubiquitous: Clarifying misconceptions about the prevalence of “forever chemicals”
By Andrea K. Tokranov, Zachary R. Hopkins, Bruce D. Lindsey, and Bryant C. Jurgens
Environ. Sci. Technol.
June 9, 2025
DOI: 10.1021/acs.est.5c03878
Within the past decade, per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) have become well-known as “forever chemicals”. Along with the explosion of research interest in PFAS, there is growing recognition that these compounds are widely detected in the environment. The term “ubiquitous” is commonly associated with PFAS: in fact, a Google Scholar search of the exact phrase “PFAS are ubiquitous” returns 438 results and a search of the exact phrase “PFAS are ubiquitous in the environment” returns 127 results. (1) However, the word “ubiquitous” means that something is found everywhere all of the time, (2) which the larger body of work on PFAS does not support. Although “ubiquitous” is often used with some amount of poetic license, its use in this way can be a disservice to the public and fields of study that seek to understand the occurrence, fate, transport, exposure, and effects of PFAS. In the environment, PFAS are not found in Pleistocene-age groundwater, in glacial ice layers formed thousands of years ago, deep within the earth, or in locations where there has been no direct or indirect interaction with the atmosphere since the development of PFAS, regardless of how excellent a laboratory’s detection limits may be. Of these, it is particularly important to note that groundwater does not ubiquitously contain PFAS, given its use as a major source of drinking water supply. The term “ubiquitous” has caused confusion among researchers, leading to the common misconception that if a laboratory were able to measure at a level of parts per quadrillion (ppq) or lower, PFAS would be detectable in any environmental sample worldwide. Worse, it misinforms the public and needlessly overexaggerates an already complex issue. We instead encourage more accurate terms like “widespread”, which means that something is widely found (2) and allows for the possibility of nondetect occurrences of PFAS in environmental samples.
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