PFAS above safe levels in rainwater

According to a scientific report written by researchers at Stockholm University and ETH Zurich, rainwater in almost every location on the planet contains concentrations of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) that are far above safe levels for human consumption.    

PFAS are known as “forever chemicals” because they are either extremely persistent in the environment or are very difficult to break down in nature and organisms. These substances are used in a variety of different industrial applications, although they have been associated with a wide range of serious health harms.  

PFAS are spread globally in the atmosphere, consequently, they can be found in the rainwater and snow everywhere on our planet, even in the most remote locations. During the last 20 years, guideline values for PFAS in drinking water, surface waters and soils have decreased due to increased knowledge about their toxicity. As a result, the levels in environmental media are now ubiquitously above guideline levels.    

The team of researchers has conducted laboratory and field work on the atmospheric presence and transport of PFAS for the past decade. They have noted that the levels of some harmful PFAS in the atmosphere are not declining notably despite their phase-out, which happened two decades ago.    

PFAS are not only highly persistent, they are able to continually cycle back to the atmosphere from the surface environment (one important natural cycling process for PFAS is the transport from seawater to marine air by sea spray aerosols.    

This PFAS-polluted rainwater could be very dangerous as it can contaminate agricultural products, thus entering the food supply chain. To stem the problem, a new proposal for stricter monitoring of PFAS in food is currently being discussed at EU level.      

 

Source:  

https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acs.est.2c02765