Scientists celebrate major breakthrough that could eliminate harmful environmental threats: 'An exciting innovation'

A team of scientists has finally found a way to break down dangerous "forever chemicals" that have been accumulating in the environment and our bodies, according to BBC Science Focus. 

Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) have been used in industry and consumer products since the 1940s due to their numerous useful properties. However, they don't degrade, or only partially, and can last thousands of years, earning them the nickname "forever chemicals."

The health risks associated with these compounds were exposed in the 1990s and include cancer, reproductive harm, immune system damage, and other serious health problems, as a United Nations study detailed. 

However, a recent discovery by scientists at the University of Oxford, with help from Colorado State University, has shown that phosphate salts can help break down these infamous substances.

"The destruction of PFAS with phosphate salts is an exciting innovation, offering a simple yet powerful solution to a longstanding environmental challenge," said Dr. Long Yang, a University of Oxford chemist and one of the lead authors of the study, per the BBC report.

"With this effective PFAS destruction method, we hope to shift away from the notion of PFAS as 'forever chemicals.'"

It's not surprising that PFAS materials were used, given that they're heat-resistant, protect surfaces from water, grease, or friction, and have fire-retardant and stain-resistant properties. They can be found on nonstick cookware, water-resistant fabrics, cleaning products, and more.

PFAS chemicals have strong carbon-fluorine bonds, which are responsible for their valuable properties but also for their resistance to biological or chemical degradation. 

This new process involves reacting PFAS samples with potassium phosphate salts and then grinding them together with ball bearings, as the report detailed. This allowed them to break those stubborn bonds and extract fluorine for reuse in other applications. 

"Fluoride recovery is important because our reserves of fluorspar, essential for the manufacturing of, for example, life-saving medicines, are rapidly depleting due to extensive mining," professor Véronique Gouverneur, a chemist at Oxford who led the study, told BBC Science Focus.

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This is an important breakthrough for environmental remediation and recycling, although there's still work to be done. Both PFAS and microplastics have already made their way into humans, wildlife, and the environment. 

Strong actions are being taken across the globe to clean up this pollution, however. The EPA is tackling contaminated industrial wastewater, helping protect our waterways, while France has banned the use of PFAS in a variety of consumer products to reduce toxic exposure.  

In addition to the work at Oxford, Lummus Technology in Houston, Texas, recently announced the successful operation of a system that can also break those carbon-fluoride bonds.

"This technology helps industrial and municipal water and wastewater operators destroy PFAS compounds from their water supplies, which in turn, safeguards public health and the environment," per the company press release.

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