Details

Autor(en) / Beteiligte

• Scheringer, Martin

Titel

Innovate beyond PFAS

Ist Teil von

• Science (American Association for the Advancement of Science), 2023-07, Vol.381 (6655), p.251-251

Ort / Verlag

United States: The American Association for the Advancement of Science

Erscheinungsjahr

2023

Link zum Volltext

Quelle

American Association for the Advancement of Science

Beschreibungen/Notizen

• New proposed legislation on "forever" chemicals is under consideration in Europe and the United States, where per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are a hot topic for regulators and lawmakers. On both sides of the Atlantic, regulation of widely used PFAS has been complex and evolving. Their presence in hundreds of different products-from nonstick cookware to food packaging to firefighting foam-and their persistence in food, drinking water, and the environment have resulted in a pollution problem of unprecedented scale. Recently, for example, it was reported that 45% of the tap water in the United States contains at least one type of PFAS. Because these compounds are so chemically stable that they do not degrade in the environment (including in the human body), PFAS seriously challenge long-established ideas of how chemicals can be used, assessed, and regulated, and it remains to be seen whether the new regulations will solve this problem.