Download Hi-Res ImageDownload to MS-PowerPointCite This:Environ. Sci. Technol. 2021, 55, 19, 12755-12765
Addressing Urgent Questions for PFAS in the 21st Century
- Carla Ng*Carla Ng*Email: [email protected]Departments of Civil & Environmental Engineering and Environmental & Occupational Health, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15261, United StatesMore by Carla Ng
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- Ian T. CousinsIan T. CousinsDepartment of Environmental Science, Stockholm University, SE-10691 Stockholm, SwedenMore by Ian T. Cousins
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- Jamie C. DeWittJamie C. DeWittDepartment of Pharmacology and Toxicology, Brody School of Medicine, East Carolina University, Greenville, North Carolina 27834, United StatesMore by Jamie C. DeWitt
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- Juliane GlügeJuliane GlügeInstitute of Biogeochemistry and Pollutant Dynamics, ETH Zürich, 8092 Zürich, SwitzerlandMore by Juliane Glüge
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- Gretta Goldenman
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- Dorte HerzkeDorte HerzkeNorwegian Institute for Air Research (NILU), Fram Centre, N-9296 Tromsø, NorwayInstitute for Arctic and Marine Biology, UiT The Arctic University of Norway, N-9037 Tromsø, NorwayMore by Dorte Herzke
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- Rainer LohmannRainer LohmannGraduate School of Oceanography, University of Rhode Island, Narragansett, Rhode Island 02882, United StatesMore by Rainer Lohmann
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- Mark MillerMark MillerNational Institute of Environmental Health Science and U.S. Public Health Service, Research Triangle Park, North Carolina 27709, United StatesMore by Mark Miller
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- Sharyle PattonSharyle PattonHealth and Environment Program, Commonweal, Bolinas, California 94924, United StatesMore by Sharyle Patton
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- Martin ScheringerMartin ScheringerInstitute of Biogeochemistry and Pollutant Dynamics, ETH Zürich, 8092 Zürich, SwitzerlandRECETOX, Masaryk University, 625 00 Brno, Czech RepublicMore by Martin Scheringer
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- Xenia TrierXenia TrierEuropean Environment Agency, Kgs Nytorv 6, DK-1050 Copenhagen K, DenmarkMore by Xenia Trier
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- Zhanyun WangZhanyun WangChair of Ecological Systems Design, Institute of Environmental Engineering, ETH Zürich, 8093 Zürich, SwitzerlandMore by Zhanyun Wang
Abstract
Despite decades of research on per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), fundamental obstacles remain to addressing worldwide contamination by these chemicals and their associated impacts on environmental quality and health. Here, we propose six urgent questions relevant to science, technology, and policy that must be tackled to address the “PFAS problem”: (1) What are the global production volumes of PFAS, and where are PFAS used? (2) Where are the unknown PFAS hotspots in the environment? (3) How can we make measuring PFAS globally accessible? (4) How can we safely manage PFAS-containing waste? (5) How do we understand and describe the health effects of PFAS exposure? (6) Who pays the costs of PFAS contamination? The importance of each question and barriers to progress are briefly described, and several potential paths forward are proposed. Given the diversity of PFAS and their uses, the extreme persistence of most PFAS, the striking ongoing lack of fundamental information, and the inequity of the health and environmental impacts from PFAS contamination, there is a need for scientific and regulatory communities to work together, with cooperation from PFAS-related industries, to fill in critical data gaps and protect human health and the environment.
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