EJQ4 - Spring 2025 - Journal - Page 9
PFAS LEVELS contaminate drinking water in over 20 counties in North
Carolina. Forever chemical found in mineral water from several European
countries. Tests show high level of “Forever Chemicals” in Montreal 昀椀re昀椀ghter bunker gear. Researchers say lithium-ion batteries part of PFAS
problem. Could PFAS undermine COVID vaccination? Forever Chemicals are
everywhere.
The news headlines are as relentless, persistent and everlasting as the
roughly 14,000-strong class of synthetic chemicals they address. Per昀氀uoroalkyl and poly昀氀uoroalkyl substances are so stable and e昀케cient they’ve
become a staple in a dizzying array of consumer and industrial products.
PFAS variants protect us from torrential downpours, keep paper straws and
fast-food packaging intact, and ensure stain-resistant carpets, stick-free
cookware and high-acting household cleaners
perform as advertised. Perhaps most dramatically, 昀椀re昀椀ghters wearing PFAS-insulated apparel
used PFAS-bearing aqueous 昀椀lm forming foam
(AFFF) to subdue the inferno that engulfed Lac
Mégantic, Québec after an oil-bearing freight
train derailed and careened into the town’s busiPODCAST ON PFAS,
THE FOREVER CHEMICALS
ness core a decade ago.
E N V I RON M E N T J OURN A L QUA RT E RLY RE PORT • S PRI N G 2 0 2 5 • P AGE 9
