Researcher from UCLA and Northwestern University in the US have developed a way to break down ‘forever chemicals’ which can last in the environment, polluting water for thousands of years.

PFAS (poly-fluorinated alkyl substances) are a group of over 10,000 different chemicals that exist in many everyday products like non-stick pans and waterproof cosmetics. While PFAS have many uses they are also damaging to the health of humans, animals and the environment.

It is thought that PFAS have made their way throughout the entirety of the environment over the last 70 years that people have been using them and that all water on the planet now contains PFAS.

The researchers found breaking down PFAS can be done in water if it is heated to between 80-120 degrees Celsius then mixed with inexpensive solvents can sever the molecular bonds in even the strongest known PFAS.

Compared to other methods to break down PFAS that have been attempted this method uses much lower temperatures and the only by-products produced are fluoride, which is a chemical already added to the water supply in many places, carbon dioxide and formic acid which are not harmful.

“PFAS has become a major societal problem,” said Northwestern’s William Dichtel, who led the study. “Even just a tiny, tiny amount of PFAS causes negative health effects, and it does not break down. We can’t just wait out this problem. We wanted to use chemistry to address this problem and create a solution that the world can use. It’s exciting because of how simple — yet unrecognised — our solution is.”

The method has worked on 10 types of PFAS and researchers are confident it will work on all PFAS that contain carboxylic acid and will continue to test its efficacy and look for weak spots in other types of PFAS. Researchers hope this breakthrough will lead to more research into other methods that will help eradicate the thousands of other types of PFAS.