!["[It will allow] us to design strategies to degrade those pollutants and reduce their severe, long-lasting effects."](https://www.thecooldown.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/PFASimage.jpg)
Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, also known as PFAS or "forever chemicals," are everywhere — and, as the name suggests, they basically never go away. Now, a grant from UK Research and Innovation may allow researchers to develop a new method that actually manages to break down these harmful chemicals, The Engineer reported.
PFAS, which are found in many everyday products ranging from food packaging to toiletries and cosmetics to nonstick cookware to clothing, have been linked in studies to such things as cancer, decreases in fertility, and increased risks of asthma and thyroid disease.
The roughly $1.24 million grant from UK Research and Innovation will allow University of Surrey scientists to pursue a new method of breaking down these toxic chemicals using a hybrid technology that combines high-frequency ultrasound with the activity of microorganisms. The process, called SonoBio, turns the PFAS into relatively harmless substances like carbon dioxide and fluoride.
"[PFAS] are everywhere, found in nearly every person and countless everyday products. They're incredibly tough to break down, which is why they stick around in our bodies and the environment for decades," Madeleine Bussemaker, senior lecturer in Chemical Engineering at Surrey University, said in a statement quoted by the Engineer.
Unfortunately, in the United States, chemical lobbyists have managed to stymie many legislative efforts to control PFAS or label them as hazardous materials. As such, it is especially important for science to be able to provide a solution.
Another similar process is being developed by researchers at Ritsumeikan University in Japan. That process involves shining LED light on PFAS, along with applying a solution containing various types of semiconducting nanocrystals. Whether that process or the one being developed at Surrey proves more fruitful, it's all good news in terms of our ability to combat these ubiquitous and harmful chemicals.
"This is a strong project directed to address the important issue of the 'forever chemicals,' ubiquitous substances affecting human, animal and environmental health, and well-being," said Claudio Avignone Rossa, a professor of systems microbiology at Surrey University, per the Engineer. "[It will allow] us to design strategies to degrade those pollutants and reduce their severe, long-lasting effects."
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