The True Cost of PFAS and the Benefits of Acting Now

Cordner, Alissa; Goldenman, Gretta; Birnbaum, Linda S.; Brown, Phil; Miller, Mark F.; Mueller, Rosie; Patton, Sharyle; Salvatore, Derrick; Trasande, Leonardo

doi:10.1021/acs.est.1c03565

Cited by 79 publications

(52 citation statements)

References 13 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Non-health related costs were estimated at €46 million–11 billion for Nordic countries [ 78 ]. Accounting for population size and exchange rates, the equivalent health-related annual costs in the United States would be $37–59 billion [ 79 ]. It is important to note these costs do not take into account lost wages, reduced quality of life, lost years of life, impacts on family and community, and many more social costs.…”

Section: Modern Solutions and Resourcesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…It is important to note these costs do not take into account lost wages, reduced quality of life, lost years of life, impacts on family and community, and many more social costs. In addition, costs are not paid via the polluter-pays principle but by health care providers, taxpayers, and ordinary people [ 79 ]. With this, cost-benefit analyses based in the United States are desperately needed to both quantify impact and guide policy processes.…”

Section: Modern Solutions and Resourcesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Wastewater treatment plants remove solids and pathogens, so polyfluoroalkyl substances coming into the plant are often discharged into receiving waters or sewage sludge. Municipalities can buy water from other distributors or implement new methods, but capital and infrastructure costs are significant [ 79 ]. For example, Orange County in California estimates $1 billion is needed to meet state recommended levels [ 79 ].…”

Section: Modern Solutions and Resourcesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Municipalities can buy water from other distributors or implement new methods, but capital and infrastructure costs are significant [ 79 ]. For example, Orange County in California estimates $1 billion is needed to meet state recommended levels [ 79 ].…”

Section: Modern Solutions and Resourcesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Costs related to the socioeconomics and healthcare burden, remediation, and drinking water and wastewater treatment for PFAS is significant and will most likely disproportionately affect vulnerable communities [ 79 ]. Failing to take timely action in regulation will only exacerbate costs and these burdens throughout generations.…”

Section: Modern Solutions and Resourcesmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 4 more Smart Citations

Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS): Significance and Considerations within the Regulatory Framework of the USA

Langenbach

Wilson

2021

IJERPH

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are an emerging environmental crisis. Deemed forever chemicals, many congeners bioaccumulate and are incredibly persistent in the environment due to the presence of the strong carbon-fluorine covalent bonds. Notable PFAS compounds include perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS), perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), and GenX. Robust toxicological knowledge exists for these substances, but regulatory decisions based on this knowledge has fallen behind. The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has addressed this issue with the PFAS Action Plan and EPA Council on PFAS, but the regulatory framework is severely lacking. Currently, no federal regulations or standards exist. Many occupational and non-occupational human cohorts exist that can lend knowledge on the environmental implications of PFAS and associated health effects. Occupationally, firefighters face significant exposure risks due to use of PFAS containing aqueous film-forming foams (AFFFs) and personal protective equipment contamination. Non-occupationally, wastewater discharge in North Carolina led to chronic and widespread residential exposure to GenX via drinking water contamination. This public health review seeks to convey the current and future significance of PFAS as an environmental contaminate, to lend considerations on regulatory frameworks within the USA, and to help guide and promote the need for future epidemiological studies in order to tackle this environmental emergency. While the PFAS Action Plan creates a scientific and regulatory foundation, it is important to take these lessons and apply them to future environmental health issues.

show abstract

Section: Modern Solutions and Resourcesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Modern Solutions and Resourcesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Modern Solutions and Resourcesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Modern Solutions and Resourcesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Modern Solutions and Resourcesmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 3 more Smart Citations

Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS): Significance and Considerations within the Regulatory Framework of the USA

Langenbach

Wilson

2021

IJERPH

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

Hollow Covalent Organic Framework with “Shell‐Confined” Environment for the Effective Removal of Anionic Per‐ and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances

Huang

Shi

et al. 2022

Adv Funct Materials

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The ubiquity of per-and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) has become an emerging challenge for modern water treatment and public health. The development of high-performance adsorbents remains at the forefront of PFAS remediation. Covalent organic frameworks (COFs) with structural regularity and task-specific functionality are promising candidates yet have not been fully explored. Herein, cystamine-grafted hollow COF nanospheres (hollow Cys-COF) are synthesized via the hard-template method and functionalized by the thiol-ene "click" reaction. The well-defined hollow structure provides a specific "shell-confined" environment, which ensures sufficient modification in a short period and retains the crystallinity of the original material, circumventing the dilemma between functionality and crystallinity in traditional post-synthetic modification protocols. The as-prepared hollow Cys-COF is highly functionalized and shows remarkable removal performance to various anionic PFAS under environmentally relevant conditions. Twenty kinds of anionic PFAS containing carboxylic, sulfonic, and phosphoric individuals are removed by 90% within several minutes, and a column-test further verified its superior performance under the dynamic situation. An integrated analysis from both experimental results and theoretical simulations provides a mechanistic illustration of how the morphology and functionality can jointly contribute to effective PFAS adsorption. These findings provide a multiscale understanding of high-performance adsorbent design.

show abstract

World Profile of Foreseeable Strategies for the Removal of Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFASs) from Water

Zhao

2023

Energy, Environment, and Sustainability

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The True Cost of PFAS and the Benefits of Acting Now

Cited by 79 publications

References 13 publications

Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS): Significance and Considerations within the Regulatory Framework of the USA

Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS): Significance and Considerations within the Regulatory Framework of the USA

Hollow Covalent Organic Framework with “Shell‐Confined” Environment for the Effective Removal of Anionic Per‐ and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances

World Profile of Foreseeable Strategies for the Removal of Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFASs) from Water

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About