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The High Persistence of PFAS is Sufficient for their Management as a Chemical Class
Summary
This perspective argues that the extreme environmental persistence of all per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) — stemming from their resistant perfluoroalkyl moieties — is alone sufficient justification to phase out all non-essential uses of the entire chemical class. The authors warn that continued PFAS release leads to irreversible accumulation, and that remediation of contaminated land and drinking water is already proving technically challenging and costly.
Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are a class of synthetic organic substances with diverse structures, properties, uses, bioaccumulation potentials and toxicities. Despite this high diversity, all PFAS are alike in that they contain perfluoroalkyl moieties that are extremely resistant to environmental and metabolic degradation. PFAS are therefore either non-degradable or transform ultimately into stable terminal transformation products (which are still PFAS). Under the European chemicals regulation this classifies all PFAS as very persistent substances (vP). We argue that this high persistence is sufficient concern for their management as a chemical class, and for all “non-essential” uses of PFAS to be phased out. The continual release of highly persistent PFAS will result in increasing concentrations and increasing probabilities of the occurrence of known and unknown effects. Once adverse effects are identified the exposure and associated effects will not be easily reversible. Reversing PFAS contamination will be technically challenging, energy intensive, and costly for society, as is evident in the efforts to remove PFAS from contaminated land and drinking water.