Scientists Discover Easy Way to Break Down ‘Forever Chemicals’

A group of chemists from the US and China has discovered a low-cost, high-efficiency method of destroying ‘forever chemicals’ to offer more protection to humans, animals, and the environment.

Its study focused on 10 perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), including a major pollutant called GenX, which has contaminated the Cape Fear River in North Carolina (a water source for 350,000 people), and its findings were published in the journal ‘Science’.

PFAS are a class of toxic and highly resistant compounds that have long been linked to serious health issues. They were first developed in the 1930s, and are now found in various products, such as nonstick pans, water-resistant textiles, and fire suppression foams.

Such pollutants have accumulated in the environment over time as a result of industrial processes and draining through landfills, entering the air, groundwater, rivers, lakes, and soil. Scientists have been looking for ways to destroy them for years. High exposure to even low levels of PFAS has been linked to high cholesterol, liver damage, diminished immune responses, low birth weights, and several types of cancer.

Recent methods to destroy PFAS involve harsh treatments, such as incineration at extremely high temperatures or irradiating them with ultrasonic waves. However, incineration is unreliable as a New York plant was found to be releasing some of the compounds into the air through the smoke.

In the latest study, the researchers rendered the PFAS molecules harmless by heating them with two inexpensive compounds to a low temperature, which disintegrated them in a matter of hours.

The new method can also be used to destroy PFAS chemicals after they have been extracted from contaminated water or soil

Nonetheless, William Dichtel, a chemist at Northwestern University and the co-author of the study, believes that much more work is needed to make it work outside of a laboratory.



Get Alerts

Follow ProPakistani to get latest news and updates.


ProPakistani Community

Join the groups below to get latest news and updates.



>