Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances—dubbed “forever chemicals”—are no match for two low-cost compounds that scientists recently discovered can safely destroy them, according to a new study. The scientists discovered that they could break down the dangerous PFAS, rendering them harmless, by boiling them with two compounds: sodium hydroxide, a chemical in lye, and the solvent dimethyl sulfoxide, the study published Thursday in Science said. PFAS chemicals, which have been linked to cancer, are present in most bodies, The New York Times reported, as they are in everything from dental floss to food wrappers to tap water. The team of scientists hope they can eventually use their findings to destroy PFAS on a larger scale, though the problem keeps growing as companies continue to create new PFAS chemicals. “The reality of the situation is that there is really no magic solution right now other than undertaking the hard work of recognizing just how difficult the problem is and turning off the tap so that we don’t make it any worse,” Tasha Stoiber, a senior scientist at Environmental Working Group, told the Times.
