Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are persistent, non-stick substances found everywhere from water to the atmosphere. The same stable chemical bonds that make them useful also make them resistant to degradation.
This infographic explores how PFAS can affect your health, including the development of cancer and liver damage, and how it poses a threat to the environment, contaminating groundwater and harming wildlife.
Download this infographic to learn more about:
- How regulations differ globally
- Sample prep for PFAS determination
- Tips for PFAS sampling
Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances PFAS are a family of more than 4,700 chemical molecules which are persistent, non-stick, chemical and heat-resistent and have waterproof characteristics. EPA database have more than 12,000 PFAS with confirmed structure. Europe has a broader PFAS definition than US EPA. Since they persist in the environment, they have been found in the air, water, sediment, soil, and even in rain. Globally. one study showed that PFAS is found in Antarctica and Himalaya. The same stable chemical bonds that make them useful, also make them resistant to degradation. Due to their unique chemical properties, PFAS were used in different industries and daily consumer goods like cosmetics, drinking water, firefighting foam, food packaging, textiles, cookware, automobiles and much more. After release from industrial plants, PFAS eventually enter water bodies and oceans, where they do not dissolve but are released into the atmosphere via aerosols. Rainfall brings the chemicals back to the surface, so they continue to pose a threat to the environment decades after their original release. Despite the fact that the world’s largest producers of PFAS discontinued certain products, production of alternate fluorochemicals is ongoing, maintaining PFAS contamination in the environment. PFAS “Forever Chemicals” Learn more about how Sartorius solutions can be used in environmental testing labs: www.sartorius.com/environme
