New method spots unreported forever chemicals

Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are ubiquitous synthetic chemicals found in the air, water, and soil. They have contaminated drinking water, accumulated to levels of concern in some fish, and entered the bloodstreams of animals and humans, raising serious health concerns. While some PFAS are being phased out, they’re often replaced with new ones that may also be toxic. Finding and keeping track of these emerging PFAS is challenging. New research has found a way to detect them. Most commercial laboratories target about 40 PFAS, “but we know many, many more exist,” says Erin Baker, an analytical chemist at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. The US Environmental Protection Agency, for example, maintains a list of more than 14,000 PFAS that may be used in making products resistant to oil, water, and heat. The problem is that “there’s only a few hundred chemical standards available to validate that