Perspective: PFAS - paints, pesticides and '(com)puters.

Or forever chemicals are everywhere, and not easy to get rid of

Forever chemicals - they do what the words describe. They hang around causing harm for a very long time. There is a growing understanding of the potential harm that persistent, bioaccumulative and toxic chemicals such as certain PFAS (Per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances) can cause. And as well as being 'forever' they are increasingly 'everywhere'. For example PFAS have been found in 83% of US waterways across 34 states.

This is leading to restrictions on their use and a search for alternatives - either drop in replacements or changes to processes.

This is a big deal. The direct health care costs required to address the impacts of the bioaccumulation of PFAS could be more than $90 billion per annum in the European Economic Area (EEA) alone.

Finding ways of removing them from the environment or indeed finding alternatives require innovation and behavioural change. The estimated global market for PFAS is $28 billion - a fraction of the market size for all chemicals at $4.7 trillion. Of course that doesn't reflect the true value of the market given that PFAS are an intermediate that have been important conveyors of physical properties to many finished products and the processes to make those products.

For the companies that use PFAS's in their processes, this will necessitate changes - sometimes radical changes - to business models. In a recent blog we looked at just three end uses, paints, pesticides and semiconductors. But there are many more. This is not going to be an easy challenge to resolve, which is why we need to start now.

You can read more on this topic in a recent blog for The Sustainable Investor, just click on the image below