Did you know there's a common element among plumber's tape, candy wrappers, and guitar strings? It's a substance that makes tape waterproof, candy wrappers non-sticky, and guitar strings resilient.
This substance belongs to a group called Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS. These chemicals — over 4,000 of them — are used in everything from jet engines and medical devices to laundry detergents and microwave popcorn bags.
PFAs are also known as "forever chemicals." While their durability benefits the products they're used in, it's problematic for the environment and human health. They persist indefinitely.
After products containing PFAs are discarded, these chemicals can take hundreds or even thousands of years to break down. They leach into soil and water, where they remain for centuries, and then enter human bodies.
We've been using PFAs for 60–70 years, and now they're ubiquitous. According to a 2022 study, PFAs even fall from the sky in rain — clouds pick them up from water evaporating from contaminated oceans.