Focus on PFAS

PFAS, or eternal pollutants, represent a family of more than 14,000 molecules of industrial origin. These substances have indeed been widely used in industry since the 1950s, for their anti-adhesive, anti-fire, anti-grease and waterproofing properties. They can therefore be found in a wide range of uses and applications.

They are therefore omnipresent in the various compartments of the environment and are found in drinking water resources (from a few ng/L to several hundred ng/L), domestic wastewater (a few hundred ng/L) and industrial wastewater (several tens of thousands of ng/L), as well as in landfill leachates from hazardous and non-hazardous wastes (several tens of thousands of ng/L). These compartments are interconnected.

According to the OECD/UNEP definition, PFAS are molecules formed from a chain of carbon atoms of varying length, linear, branched, or cyclic, and containing at least one fluorinated group, either methyl or methylene, saturated and completely fluorinated. Their chemical structures, and particularly their carbon-fluorine bond, give them stability and persistence in the environment, as well as potentially harmful effects on the natural environment and human health. The IARC recently classified PFOA as a proven carcinogen and PFOS as a probable carcinogen.

These molecules are the subject of increasing vigilance, with a growing number of molecules being monitored with some of them regulated. The extent of this monitoring reflects advances in analytical techniques and scientific knowledge about their toxicity and ecotoxicity.