The following is a brief excerpt from an interview conducted on WORLD radio, where the hosts discuss the complicated reality of “forever chemicals.” It is an important conversation about what they are, the potential risks they carry, and the costs of regulating them because there is no such thing as a world without tradeoffs.
Image: Creative Commons under Unsplash
MYRNA BROWN, HOST: Coming up next on The World and Everything in It: drinking water. What do non-stick pans, firefighting foam, and tap water all have in common?
MARY REICHARD, HOST: [Drinking water] Hmm, not sure.
BROWN: Well, that’s ok, this one’s tough…
Those three things contain P-FAS substances. Polyfluoroalkyl substances. P-FAS for short.
These chemicals are used in non-stick and stain-resistant coatings, invented in the 1930s. They are chains of carbon and fluorine. Commonly called “forever chemicals,” they’re highly resistant to breaking down. By the 1960’s, P-FAS chemicals used in fire retardant foams began seeping into groundwater.
REICHARD: Last month, the United States Geological Survey released new research claiming that P-FAS chemicals are flowing out of nearly half 45% of American faucets. But just how big of a threat are these chemicals in our drinking water?
Leave a Reply