How PFAS 'forever chemicals' travel through groundwater
Scientists chart the path of PFAS through groundwater near a former firefighter training center in Center County, Pennsylvania.
A large family of chemicals used for decades to improve our lives—from nonstick cooking pans to waterproof clothing—are now known as "forever chemicals" because they do not easily break down in the environment and pose potential health risks as they build up in our bodies. A new study may improve our understanding of how these chemicals move in the groundwater, according to a team of scientists.
"These chemicals, called PFAS (per-and polyfluoroalkyl substances), are extremely useful, so they have been used everywhere," said Kalle Jahn, a researcher at the United States Geological Survey, who conducted this work as a doctoral candidate at Penn State. "Unfortunately, at the smallest molecular level, they just don't break down further in the natural environment. If they get released, they just hang around and can bioaccumulate in fish and other animals and eventually in us."