What Are PFAS And Why Are They in Our Drinking Water?

PFAS are present in our soil, air, water, and bodies and we don’t know how to get rid of the human-made chemicals. But recent work promises a way to break down these compounds that most of us are exposed to every day, and the solution involves plasma.

Human-made chemicals that were once considered the peak of our ingenuity have come back to haunt us in a big way.

These ‘zombie chemicals’ that never die are called Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS. PFAS are a whole family of thousands of different compounds that are all based on the strongest bond in organic chemistry: the bond between carbon and fluorine.

PFAS have been used in tons of everyday products around the world since the 1940s as a barrier substance—these compounds are used as stain repellents, non-stick coating on cookware, and super effective firefighting foam. They’re also used in semiconductors, cellphones, vehicle manufacturing, really—PFAS are truly everywhere.

But the very trait that makes them so useful is also what makes them difficult to break down. So they just linger—in our groundwater, our soil, even our air...and while some of them may not be dangerous, we’re still not sure what their long-term effects are.

But a new project out of the Air Force Civil Engineer Center has developed something called the Enhanced Contact Plasma Reactor. The device uses argon gas to push the PFAS to the surface of a sample of contaminated water. It then uses electrodes on either side of the isolated PFAS to generate plasma, which is basically a big cloud of particles (positive ions and free electrons) that can knock other things apart.

This new plasma technology reduces the concentration of those two most dangerous PFAS to a safe level for drinking—and does it faster and cheaper than some of the other options out there.

Find out more about the Enhanced Contact Plasma Reactor and what this method could mean for the future of breaking down PFAS in this Elements.

#innovation #PFAS #manmade #chemicals #health #science #seeker #elements

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Read More:
Suppressed Study: The EPA Underestimated Dangers of Widespread Chemicals
"The report describes health effects associated with exposure, including cancer, liver damage, decreased fertility, increased risk of asthma and thyroid disease in humans. Notably, it describes how daily consumption of extremely low doses of the chemicals appeared to have an effect on rats and mice tested in labs — including delayed eye opening in newborns and lower body weight, as well as changes to brain activity and skeletal composition."

Blasting 'forever' chemicals out of water with a vortex of cold plasma
"To truly eliminate the chemicals, treatment needs to split apart the carbon-fluoride bond that is key to the compound's staying power. Different types of PFAS, which now number in the thousands, are comprised of different length carbon-fluoride chains. The primary goal of proposed decontamination methods is to break the chain into smaller pieces to render it inert. A secondary, and more challenging target, is completely removing the fluoride atoms from the compounds -- an achievement called defluorination."

Scientists Dig Into Hard Questions About The Fluorinated Pollutants Known As PFAS
"These are a very broad class of chemicals — probably 5,000 or more — and it seems like new ones are being produced all the time,"she says.[...]As a result, "we really don't know much about the great majority of these chemicals," says Birnbaum."

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Seeker empowers the curious to understand the science shaping our world. We tell award-winning stories about the natural forces and groundbreaking innovations that impact our lives, our planet, and our universe.

[Seeker]

Hi Seekers! At 1:47, we mistakenly say "PFO" instead of "PFOS" when talking about Perfluorooctanesulfonic acid. We apologize for this error, as always, thanks for watching!

[BobMotster]

So how do I get PFAS out of my body - stick my fingers in the power outlet?

[thevanillatoast]

I like how calm she is just describing the situation

[lunchbox]

Why is there a safe level of consumption if your body cannot break this stuff down anyway?

[Dokurider]

I TOLD YOU I DONT LIKE THEM PUTTING CHEMICALS IN OUR WATER

[stevechance]

I feel like there should be a Class Action Lawsuit that can join

[shayorshayorshayor]

Is this a topic to be smiling about when explaining ?

[anusheeltiwari]

Leaded petrol and now pfas
Well done DuPont company for accidental contaminations.

[chocohalick]

She has a great delivery, like I want to hear her keep talking

[Agathorn]

I live in a town called Kallinge in Sweden where there was a major leak of PFAS into the drinking water for years. We all have been tested with extremely high concentration of PFAS in our blood. Highest recorded on earth.

[gamereditorner]

Interesting. Thanks for the information and keep it up!

[grNephrite]

What happens to silicones that go down the drain, like antifoaming agents in detergent? C-Si bonds don't exist in nature, so I've wondered about their fate.

[xoSiNgInGiNtHeRaInox]

It's nonsensical how nicely she's describing the worst possible thing

[GasCanZa]

So nice to see you back Maren, got tired of these other seeker presenters

[CuriosityCulture]

This video is making me consider replacing my nonstick pans 😐

[frosted]

The issues with PFOA are from small studies on nonstick cookware heated to temperatures your oven can't reach, for lengths of time that you would melt the cookware with. It is conceivable that you could consume it if you used metal and scratched PFOA lined cookware until the lining flaked off (against the warnings you ignore, put on every piece of nonstick cookware). In an effort to reduce this issue, try using carbon steel (if you really want to spend) or cast iron to cook on. They are both safe with metal, and make handy weapons when the zombie hordes invade your home seeking your last roll of toilet paper.

[obsidian]

It would be good in cleaning collected rain run off after a carbon filter stage.

[jeremiahbusz]

This is the plot to the studio ghibli film, Naussica and the Valley of the Wind

[timmypena]

All I heard was argon gas and I was sold

[otherChannels]

Anyone else read "Toxic Peas" in the title?