{"id":112844,"date":"2021-02-01T20:21:06","date_gmt":"2021-02-02T01:21:06","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/savethewater.org\/?p=112844"},"modified":"2021-05-12T17:08:46","modified_gmt":"2021-05-12T21:08:46","slug":"forever-chemicals-in-water-forever-gone","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/savethewater.org\/forever-chemicals-in-water-forever-gone\/","title":{"rendered":"\u201cForever\u201d Chemicals in Water: Forever Gone?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">February 1, 2021<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Lauren Hansen, Staff Researcher\/Writer<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Photo by Tina Dawson on Unsplash (no endorsement)<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">&#8220;Nothing lasts forever,&#8221; including the so-called &#8220;forever&#8221; chemicals. &#8220;Forever&#8221; chemicals are harmful compounds often found in water. But how do you get &#8220;forever&#8221; chemicals out of water? In a recent<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/pubs.rsc.org\/en\/content\/articlelanding\/2020\/EW\/C9EW01050E#!divAbstract\"> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">study<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, researchers found that cold plasma technology is a new effective way to get &#8220;forever&#8221; chemicals out of the water supply.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cForever\u201d chemicals is an informal term. The real name is per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS). PFAS are<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.degruyter.com\/view\/journals\/reveh\/ahead-of-print\/article-10.1515-reveh-2020-0049\/article-10.1515-reveh-2020-0049.xml\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> a group of highly stable carbon-fluorine compounds<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. Until now, \u201cforever\u201d chemicals have been nearly impossible to get out of the water supply.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><b>\u00a0<\/b><\/h2>\n<h2><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">How did \u201cforever\u201d chemicals enter the water supply in the first place?<\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Many everyday items produced approximately<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.sciencedaily.com\/releases\/2020\/02\/200211103725.htm\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> from the 1940s to 2000<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> contain PFAS. PFAS are found in common household products:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.sciencedaily.com\/releases\/2020\/02\/200211103725.htm\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">non-stick cookware<\/span><\/a><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.sciencedaily.com\/releases\/2020\/02\/200211103725.htm\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">waterproof clothing<\/span><\/a><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.sciencedaily.com\/releases\/2020\/02\/200211103725.htm\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">fire-fighting foams<\/span><\/a><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.degruyter.com\/view\/journals\/reveh\/ahead-of-print\/article-10.1515-reveh-2020-0049\/article-10.1515-reveh-2020-0049.xml\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">textiles<\/span><\/a><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.degruyter.com\/view\/journals\/reveh\/ahead-of-print\/article-10.1515-reveh-2020-0049\/article-10.1515-reveh-2020-0049.xml\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">paper<\/span><\/a><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.degruyter.com\/view\/journals\/reveh\/ahead-of-print\/article-10.1515-reveh-2020-0049\/article-10.1515-reveh-2020-0049.xml\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">hard metal plating<\/span><\/a><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.degruyter.com\/view\/journals\/reveh\/ahead-of-print\/article-10.1515-reveh-2020-0049\/article-10.1515-reveh-2020-0049.xml\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">paints<\/span><\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">PFAS make these products<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.degruyter.com\/view\/journals\/reveh\/ahead-of-print\/article-10.1515-reveh-2020-0049\/article-10.1515-reveh-2020-0049.xml\"> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">stain-proof, greaseproof, water repellant, and fire repellant<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. When these items sit in landfills for a long time,<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.sciencedaily.com\/releases\/2020\/02\/200211103725.htm\"> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">PFAS leak into ground and surface water<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">How are PFAS harmful?<\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">&#8220;Forever&#8221; chemicals are harmful, so it\u2019s in our best interest to eliminate as many of them as possible.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/us-news\/2020\/dec\/22\/forever-chemicals-pollute-water-dozens-of-sites-in-every-us-state\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cForever\u201d chemicals are widespread<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. In fact,<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.sciencedaily.com\/releases\/2020\/02\/200211103725.htm\"> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">98% of the US population has been exposed<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> to \u201cforever\u201d chemicals in some way. Why is this a concern? Because PFAS<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.degruyter.com\/view\/journals\/reveh\/ahead-of-print\/article-10.1515-reveh-2020-0049\/article-10.1515-reveh-2020-0049.xml\"> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">endanger the developmental, immune, metabolic, and endocrine health<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> of consumers. More specifically, medical researchers have linked PFAS to<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.sciencedaily.com\/releases\/2020\/02\/200211103725.htm\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> thyroid issues, high blood pressure, low birth weight, and cancer<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. Today, during the COVID-19 pandemic,<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/journals.plos.org\/plosone\/article?id=10.1371\/journal.pone.0244815\"> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">PFAS are immunotoxins that may affect disease severity<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Water is one of the main ways you get exposed to &#8220;forever&#8221; chemicals. Environmental Working Group, a U.S.-based nonprofit organization, conducted testing and found<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/cdn3.ewg.org\/sites\/default\/files\/u352\/Stoiber_Evans_WaterSolutions_2020.pdf\"> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">PFAS in the drinking water of dozens of U.S. cities, including major metropolitan areas<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Are \u201cforever\u201d chemicals still entering our water supply today?<\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Over the last two decades, \u201cforever\u201d chemicals\u2019 harmful effects on the human body have<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.sciencedaily.com\/releases\/2020\/02\/200211103725.htm\"> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">led to federal bans, monitoring mandates, and remediation efforts<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. The<\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/savethewater.org\/14-rules-the-epa-proposed-to-regulate-pfas\/\"> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">EPA is still working to identify and regulate sources of PFAS<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">What gets rid of \u201cforever\u201d chemicals in water?<\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Used in waterproof and fireproof items, PFAS are tough to break down. Until now, researchers have developed<\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/savethewater.org\/pfas-treatments-what-you-should-know-4-technologies\/\"> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">many types of PFAS treatments<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> that are showing promising results. Now, cold plasma technology (charged gas) is showing promising results, too. Recent research shows that a<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.sciencedaily.com\/releases\/2020\/02\/200211103725.htm\"> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">blast of cold plasma gets rid of 90% of \u201cforever\u201d chemicals in water<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. Fortunately, plasma technology is an<\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/eeer.org\/journal\/view.php?doi=10.4491\/eer.2018.215\"> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">environmentally safe method of treating water<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The future of \u201cforever\u201d chemicals in our water<\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Cold plasma technology successfully removes most PFAS from water, but<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.sciencedaily.com\/releases\/2020\/02\/200211103725.htm\"> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">researchers must find a way to scale up<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> this process to eliminate PFAS from mass amounts of water and soil. The future also depends on the actions we take now to ensure continued elimination of PFAS in our water.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">How can you take action?<\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Save the Water<sup>TM<\/sup><\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0has identified four ways that you can take action today:<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<ol>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><a href=\"http:\/\/savethewater.org\/high-levels-of-pfas\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Attend EPA \u201cListening Sessions\u201d in your local area, if available.<\/span><\/a><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><a href=\"http:\/\/savethewater.org\/high-levels-of-pfas\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Contact your local, state, and federal government representatives.<\/span><\/a><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><a href=\"http:\/\/savethewater.org\/high-levels-of-pfas\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Inform family, friends, and members of your community about PFAS and their harmful effects.<\/span><\/a><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><a href=\"http:\/\/savethewater.org\/high-levels-of-pfas\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Consider donating to Save the Water<sup>TM<\/sup><\/span><\/a><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>February 1, 2021 Lauren Hansen, Staff Researcher\/Writer Photo by Tina Dawson on Unsplash (no endorsement) &#8220;Nothing lasts&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12812,"featured_media":112846,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[45,61],"tags":[175,176,3467,575],"yst_prominent_words":[649,3169,3168,3192,3186,3187,3164,3165,2594,1882,3171,3183,3189,3190,693,687,3191,3188,648,702],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/savethewater.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/112844"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/savethewater.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/savethewater.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/savethewater.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/12812"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/savethewater.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=112844"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/savethewater.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/112844\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":113948,"href":"https:\/\/savethewater.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/112844\/revisions\/113948"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/savethewater.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/112846"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/savethewater.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=112844"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/savethewater.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=112844"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/savethewater.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=112844"},{"taxonomy":"yst_prominent_words","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/savethewater.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/yst_prominent_words?post=112844"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}