Detection of PFAS pollution expected to increase

Abstract

Hot spots of drinking water contaminated with toxic fluorocarbons in Australia, the Netherlands, Italy, and the US grabbed headlines last year. In 2019, expect scientists to look for—and find—more areas polluted with nonpolymeric per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in those countries and across the world. “It’s going to seem to the public like the problem is getting worse,” says Ginny Yingling, a research scientist at the Minnesota Department of Health and a PFAS expert. But scientists will just be identifying existing contamination through better analytical methods, says Yingling, who coleads the US Interstate Technology and Regulatory Council’s PFAS team. Scientists are also likely to identify additional PFAS besides well-known legacy compounds, such as perfluorooctanoic acid and perfluorohexanesulfonic acid, that were used industrially for decades, Yingling adds. Data indicate that at least some of these legacy chemicals, which have been found in people’s blood, can cause reproductive, developme...