“Forever chemicals” are and will be for decades in the rain  

There is no safe place anywhere on the planet

Man’s pollution of the planet continues and we are now beginning to see effects that cannot be reversed, as microplastics and “permanent chemicals” have polluted every corner of the planet, from the highest mountain to the deepest point of the ocean.

Now, a group of scientists in Europe is worried that we have crossed a critical threshold. They believe that the presence of perfluorinated alkylated substances (PFAS) – or otherwise permanent chemicals – in the Earth’s hydrosphere, is in quantities that exceed safety limits. This means that we have entered…uncharted waters from which there is no turning back.

As with microplastics, the long-term effects on human health from exposure to PFASs remain unknown. Research shows that the ubiquitous chemicals are already found in high levels in rainwater, even in remote areas such as the Tibetan highlands.

Based on the limits for PFAS in drinking water, rainwater around the world is unfit for drinking. Although in the industrialized world we don’t often drink rainwater, many around the world believe it is safe and rain feeds many of our water sources.

A recent survey in Sweden showed that almost half of municipal drinking water exceeded the safety limits of PFAS. In fact, in the Netherlands it is so difficult to meet the limits, that the government simply increased them.

Regardless of whether one agrees with our conclusion that the planetary limit of PFAS has been exceeded, it is extremely problematic that people everywhere on Earth are relying on limits that cannot be achieved without a massive investment in cleanup technology. Although PFOS and PFOA were phased out by one of the largest manufacturers, 3M, 20 years ago, it will take decades before ground water and rainwater levels approach low picograms per liter again.

The analysis looked at just four types of PFAS, meaning it only scratched the surface and is only the tip of the iceberg. There are hundreds of other chemicals being released into the environment right now, the effects of which are unknown.

The study was published in Environmental Science & Technology .