Read the full article by Senay Boztas (The Guardian)
“‘Forever chemicals’ are in our drinking water sources, sea foam and spray, rain and groundwater, sea ice, and even human blood – so now efforts are increasing to detect, remove and destroy them.
With increasing evidence linking per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) with cancers, birth defects and negative effects on the immune systems of humans and animals, pressure is growing to restrict these handy waterproofing chemicals that are in everything from Teflon pans and medical devices to cosmetics and pizza boxes.
According to Nijhuis Saur industries, which has built more than 80 technologies to treat forever chemicals such as the banned or restricted PFOS, PFOA and PFHxS, these PFAS are difficult and expensive to remove and destroy.
‘They are called the forever chemicals, because they cannot be removed easily, they don’t break down very easily, so they will persist forever,’ said Wilbert Menkveld, chief technology officer, at the Aquatech Amsterdam conference. ‘And we are talking about very small concentrations: one nanogram per litre is like one glass of cola in a million tankers.'” …