They’re called ‘forever chemicals’ because they are long-lasting: they’re made of chemical bonds so tightly fused that no natural process can separate them. Instead, they accumulate – and when they reach high levels, they harm human health.
Forever chemicals are also known by the acronym PFAS, (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances), and they’re found in everything from pizza boxes to lipstick, to carpets, rain jackets, school uniforms and nonstick frying pans. They make products waterproof, grease-proof, stain and heat resistant, and long lasting, all qualities that explain why the chemicals are so pervasive.
Those same qualities mean PFAS don’t naturally break down, and because we’re still making more, the amount in the environment increases every day.
“The PFAS problem is significant internationally,” says Erin Leitao, an associate professor in chemical sciences at the University of Auckland who studies this group of chemicals. “They’ve been correlated to causing cancers, health defects in babies – so developmental issues.”
Some countries are looking at restricting the chemicals. Last year, New Zealand finally banned PFAS in firefighting foam, and beginning this year, the country will ban PFAS in cosmetics. But what’s our risk from all the other sources around us?
Banning PFAS is like playing whack-a-mole
The problem is that PFAS are an entire family of chemicals: there are at least 15,000 of them. Australia has banned three types. The European Union is seeking a total ban of the whole chemical family by 2030.
But a total ban will be difficult, says Leitao, because there isn’t international agreement on what PFAS are – and there’s the risk that banned chemicals will be replaced by chemicals with similar, or worse, health impacts. This has already happened with the newer PFAS chemicals.
Still, banning PFAS from cosmetics is a positive step forward, says Shailja Data, a PhD student at the University of Auckland who studies environmental contamination by PFAS. “The regulation is really welcome because New Zealand is one of the first countries in the world to do that,” she says. “There are different types of uses of PFAS, but some are not so needed. For example, you don’t need PFAS in your mascara.”
A study of 200 cosmetic products in the US found that more than half contained PFAS. But Data is looking forward to seeing how the Environmental Protection Agency plans to monitor the ban. As a consumer, she says, it’s hard to know which products contain the chemicals, because PFAS is a broad class, and companies don’t always need to declare ingredients at low concentrations.
Which products contain PFAS?
How do you know whether something you’re thinking of buying contains chemicals from this family? “I can’t even tell you,” says Leitao. “It’s hard to say where the various types of PFAS are coming from.”
That’s only partly because companies don’t need to disclose tiny amounts of ingredients. In addition, says Leitao, a manufacturer might not add PFAS, but the product might still contain those chemicals.
“There’s a difference between PFAS-free and unintentionally added PFAS,” says Leitao. “So, manufacturers can say, ‘We didn’t add it,’ and that’s great. But they used water or they recycled an ingredient that was high in PFAS.”
Finding out New Zealand’s true exposure to PFAS, says Leitao, involves regular monitoring of the environment around us and the products we buy. “It’s showing up in places that maybe we weren’t expecting it to,” she says.
One source of PFAS that recently surprised Leitao was sports equipment – components such as the wrap on the handle of a racket can contain the chemicals. That was discovered by accident by a member of an Australian research group. “One of the people doing the testing was playing tennis in their breaks – and they would see this weird change in the data.” It turned out the researcher was likely contaminating the tests due to having PFAS on their hands, says Leitao.
We don’t yet know what our risk is
Most of the damaging effects of PFAS have been experienced by people who live close to factories where the chemicals are manufactured – where levels of PFAS are extremely high. “New Zealand’s in a great situation where we don’t manufacture it here,” says Leitao.
Still, PFAS pile up in the environment: in drinking water, wastewater, the bodies of fish at the top of the food chain. “They’re very mobile and persistent and they bioaccumulate,” says Leitao.
So far, a small study of PFAS in New Zealand drinking water found low levels of them – a positive sign, though the study only tested for 30 chemicals from the family. A larger study testing more chemicals in groundwater will take place later this year.
Data’s research found that modified harakeke, native flax, can remove PFAS from water – including three chemicals that are particularly tricky to remove. “It’s promising, but lots of work needs to be done in terms of how feasible it is,” she says.
Now, Data is completing research into PFAS levels in New Zealand homes, based on information from about 200 houses around the country. Since PFAS repel stains, water, and oil, they’re found in lots of household products. “Are we getting exposure from the indoor environment as well?” asks Data.
But Leitao and Data point out that PFAS levels will change over time, and regular testing, involving different chemicals, is needed. “It’s good to see those national level initiatives that could help us build the picture better,” says Data. “Another thing to have would be a national mapping of the contaminants.”
“Ideally we would have constant in situ testing of all contaminants,” says Leitao. And we’d be able to do that testing in New Zealand, which is not possible at present. Leitao and Data send their samples offshore for extensive analysis.
Better labelling regulations would help consumers
Recently, when Data went shopping for home furnishings, she was pleased to see many products containing labels declaring they were free of one chemical from the PFAS family, PFOA. “It’s good that it’s free of that,” she says, “but does it have other ones?”
A product’s country of origin makes a huge difference to whether or not it contains PFAS, she says. “Regulations are strict in some countries, like the Nordic countries, but if we’re getting products online or from the countries where PFAS are not very well regulated – it’s hard to know. There is not much transparency into what the product contains.”
Don’t rush to throw out non-stick cookware, says Data, but at the end of its life, replace it with a product that’s free of these compounds. (PFAS in landfill can leach into groundwater.)
There are several non-profits which collate information about manufacturers that have phased out the use of PFAS – Data recommends PFAS Central and the GreenScreen certification.
We need substitute chemicals for PFAS that aren’t worse
PFAS have been manufactured for more than a century precisely because they’re super-useful. “They have amazing properties,” says Leitao. “There’s a push to find alternatives to them. And so, we have a project looking at non-fluorinated materials that could replace them in essential applications.”
The reason PFAS are special is that within each chemical is a bond between carbon and fluorine atoms – “a very strong bond,” says Leitao. Some pharmaceutical products have this bond, as it makes them more effective. But this bond is also what prevents PFAS from breaking down naturally.
“We’re very conscious of the fact that those bonds are unmatched in the periodic table,” says Leitao.
Alternative chemicals won’t have all the amazing properties of PFAS – but those aren’t always required. “For many applications, you don’t need the 15 properties PFAS bring to the table,” says Leitao. “You only need two.”
PFAS are likely to remain in use for critical purposes – personal protective equipment or medical supplies, for instance – but Leitao would like to see the chemicals restricted from use in coated textiles, like carpets, sofas and rain jackets.
“If we turn off the tap to manufacturing and start pulling our resources to do the remediation and destruction, as well as find suitable alternatives to PFAS – then we’ll be okay.”
The world is facing unprecedented environmental challenges. Planetary Solutions, an initiative of the Sustainability Hub at Waipapa Taumata Rau, University of Auckland, and Newsroom, explores these issues – and the practical ways we can all be part of the solution.
