A team of chemical and environmental engineers at the University of California, Riverside, has found a way to use microbial degradation to break down chlorinated PFAS in wastewater. In their paper published in the journal Nature Water, the group describes how they tested the ability of microbes in waste water to degrade some PFAS compounds and what they found by doing so.
This article has been reviewed according to Science X's editorial process and policies . Editors have highlighted the following attributes while ensuring the content's credibility: Biotransformation and defluorination pathways of CTFE oligomer carboxylic acids by the anaerobic microbial community. Credit: Nature Water (2023). DOI: 10.1038/s44221-023-00077-6 Chlorinated polyfluorocarboxylic acids (PFAS) are a group of man-made chemicals that have been widely used in industrial processing for several decades. In recent times they have become known as "forever chemicals" because they break down so slowly in the environment—it has also been found that they can build up in the bodies of animals, including humans. High levels of PFAS in the body have been linked to multiple adverse health effects, such as liver damage, cancer, immune system disorders, and developmental problems. Such problems have led scientists to…