The problem of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS, a group of potentially cancer-causing “forever chemicals,” may finally have a solution, thanks to German scientists.
The PFAS group contains more than 10,000 synthetic substances that refuse to break down, leading to the term “forever chemicals,” and which instead build up in the body to cause developmental issues, immune problems, and even cancer.
Now, Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf (HZDR) researchers have reported not one, but two new solutions to the forever chemical problem in recent papers published in the journals Chemical Engineering Journal Advances and Scientific Reports.
One of these new processes for addressing this long-standing environmental problem employs hydrodynamic cavitation, while the other employs cold atmospheric plasma combined with gas dispersion.
PFAS have exceptionally stable carbon-fluorine bonds, which make them difficult to break down. Through industrial wastewater, these forever chemicals are released into oceans and rivers, where they can accumulate in plants, animals, and humans. While some of them are tied to specific health risks, many are still question marks, with their health consequences unclear.
The work at HZDR is part of Germany’s “National Water Strategy,” aimed at protecting the country’s water supplies. In a 2022 preliminary study that the new work built on, researchers degraded PFAS chemicals through a hydrodynamic cavitation process.
Work on these new processes was conducted at the Helmholtz Center for Environmental Research (UFZ), confirming that both processes degrade PFAS and produce fluoride, which the researchers hope will soon be adopted in industry.
“In hydrodynamic cavitation, we pass PFAS-enriched water through a constriction, generating small vapor bubbles,” explained co-author Dr. Sebastian Reinecke, head of the Department of Water and Environmental Technologies at HZDR. “When the bubbles burst under the rising ambient pressure in the water downstream of the constriction, the PFAS that are attached to the bubbles are exposed to local temperature spikes of several thousand degrees Celsius.”
While this occurs, highly reactive hydroxyl radicals form during cavitation, which the team believes then attack intermediate products, hastening the breakdown of PFAS.
The researchers demonstrated that PFAS chemicals in tap water were broken down, with higher concentrations of fluoride produced as treatment duration increased. A persistent and well-studied PFAS, perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS), was used in the research, with 37% of the dissolved chemical eventually breaking down.
“We are now conducting follow-up experiments to increase the degradation rate,” Reinecke added. “Our goal is to improve the process to a degradation rate of more than 80 percent of the PFAS in the solution and mineralizing more than 50 percent of the fluorine that is bound in the chemicals – that means, breaking down the carbon-fluorine bonds that are typical of PFAS.”
Dr. Amit Kumar, an environmental engineer at HZDR, led another series of experiments on cold atmospheric plasma and gas dispersion, which offered the advantage of not requiring catalysts or additional chemicals. Kumar applied some of his previous research on breaking down micropollutants to the problem of forever chemicals.
“We generated plasma at the water surface while simultaneously introducing gas into the PFAS-contaminated water,” Reinecke explained. “The PFAS attach to the surface of the gas bubbles. As they rise, the water is constantly circulated. This brings the PFAS to the surface, where they are broken down in the plasma.”
Roughly 35% of the fluorine atoms in these forever chemicals were released as fluoride salts in the process, almost completely degrading long- and short-chain PFAS.
“While this method has significantly faster reaction kinetics than cavitation, it also consumes far more energy per volume unit,” Reinecke notes. “In addition, the process generates numerous transformation products that we have not yet been able to investigate in detail – for instance, gaseous compounds that form during the reaction.”
With their central ideas proven, the researchers are now focused on scaling up these processes for industrial-scale wastewater applications. Part of this involves increasing the reaction volume from 50 milliliters to 5 liters and combining the two separate processes.
“I believe we’ll achieve high degradation rates by combining the highly reactive species from the plasma with the effects of cavitation,” says Reinecke.
Additionally, follow-up work is currently investigating whether any byproducts of the plasma process are harmful and how to mitigate those effects.
Merging the techniques could lead to a highly efficient new PFAS removal technology, providing a powerful tool for dealing with one of the most significant threats to clean water supplies.
The paper, “Enhanced Degradation and Defluorination of Perfluorooctane Sulfonate (PFOS) in Tap Water Using Gas-Dispersed Cold Atmospheric Plasma,” appeared in Scientific Reports on June 13, 2026, and the second study, “Degradation and Defluorination of Perfluorooctane Sulfonate (PFOS) Forever Chemical in Water Using Hydrodynamic Cavitation Treatment,” appeared in Chemical Engineering Journal Advances on March 26, 2026.
Ryan Whalen covers science and technology for The Debrief. He holds an MA in History and a Master of Library and Information Science with a certificate in Data Science. He can be contacted at ryan@thedebrief.org, and follow him on Twitter @mdntwvlf.
© Ed Kashi for The New York Times
A comprehensive new study published in JAMA Network Open has revealed pervasive exposure among pregnant individuals in the United States to multiple classes of environmental chemicals, highlighting critical concerns about their impact on fetal development. This groundbreaking longitudinal cohort investigation evaluated a large and ethnically diverse sample of U.S. pregnancies, systematically analyzing exposures to ten distinct categories of environmental pollutants. Many of these chemicals showed significant associations with measurable shifts in gestational age and reductions in birth weight-for-gestational age z-scores, parameters essential for assessing neonatal health and predicting long-term outcomes.
The research employed advanced biomonitoring techniques to quantify the presence of environmental toxicants including phthalates, alternative plasticizers, and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in maternal biological samples during gestation. Phthalates and plasticizers are commonly used in consumer products and medical devices, yet their biochemical interactions during crucial windows of fetal development remain underappreciated. The study’s detailed exposure profiling allowed for unprecedented insights into how these compounds may disrupt endocrine functions or trigger inflammatory processes, potentially precipitating premature labor or impaired fetal growth.
One of the most striking findings was the widespread detection of phthalates and substitute plasticizers within this population, indicating ubiquitous contact despite regulatory efforts to limit their use. These chemicals, integral to plastics and personal care products, demonstrated compelling correlations with shortened gestation periods. Such alterations in gestational length can increase risks for adverse neonatal outcomes, including respiratory complications and neurodevelopmental disorders, underpinning the urgency to reassess public health policies concerning these ubiquitous agents.
Likewise, exposure to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, a class of organic compounds generated through the incomplete combustion of organic matter including fossil fuels and tobacco, was found to be significantly linked with lower birth weight-for-gestational age z-scores. Lower birth weight relative to gestational age is a well-established risk factor for morbidity and mortality in infancy and has been implicated in chronic diseases later in life, such as cardiovascular disorders and diabetes. This association reaffirms concerns about air pollution-related health disparities during pregnancy.
The study’s robust methodology involved careful adjustment for confounding factors, such as maternal age, socioeconomic status, preexisting health conditions, and lifestyle habits, ensuring that the observed effects were primarily attributable to chemical exposures. Such meticulous analytical rigor strengthens causal inferences and enhances the generalizability of findings across the heterogeneous U.S. population.
Beyond the immediate neonatal impacts, the findings underscore the broader implication that gestational exposure to environmental chemicals may foreshadow developmental trajectories affecting cognitive function, metabolic programming, and immune competence. The data suggest a pressing need to incorporate environmental risk assessments into prenatal care and to advocate for more stringent regulation and replacement of harmful chemical additives in manufacturing and consumer goods.
Experts involved in the study emphasize the translational significance of these findings. Reducing prenatal exposure to harmful environmental agents, particularly those involved in plastic manufacturing and combustion byproducts, could be a modifiable risk factor to optimize pregnancy outcomes and subsequent child health. The research calls for collaborative efforts between scientists, clinicians, policymakers, and industry stakeholders to develop safer alternatives and to implement public health strategies aimed at exposure mitigation.
In addition to environmental monitoring, the study highlights the potential of biomarker-driven surveillance in clinical settings to identify at-risk pregnancies earlier. The adoption of such precision health approaches could enable timely interventions designed to minimize chemical-induced developmental insults and promote resilience in vulnerable populations.
Overall, this research project represents a pivotal contribution to reproductive environmental epidemiology, providing compelling evidence on how everyday chemical exposures reverberate at the earliest stages of human life. Such insights fuel the momentum toward integrating environmental considerations into obstetric practice and public health frameworks, ultimately aiming to safeguard the next generation from preventable neurodevelopmental and somatic diseases linked to toxic exposures.
The detailed chemical classes examined in this investigation span commonly encountered substances with diverse structural and functional properties, illuminating the pervasive nature of industrial and urban pollutants. The interdisciplinary approach combining toxicology, epidemiology, and molecular biology sets a new standard for environmental health research, encouraging future explorations into underlying biological mechanisms and potential gene-environment interactions.
As global urbanization and chemical manufacturing continue to expand, the relevance of these findings grows, underscoring an urgent collective responsibility to address environmental determinants of health from conception onwards. By spotlighting the critical window of gestation as vulnerable to chemical insults, this study not only informs clinical guidelines but also energizes advocacy for environmental justice, particularly in frequently marginalized communities disproportionately burdened by pollution exposure.
In summary, the research establishes a clear and compelling connection between gestational exposure to multiple classes of environmental chemicals—including phthalates, plasticizers, and hydrocarbons—and adverse birth outcomes such as shortened gestation and reduced fetal growth metrics. Addressing these exposures presents a tangible opportunity to improve neonatal health indicators and foster lifelong wellbeing, heralding a paradigm shift in how society approaches prenatal environmental risk.
Subject of Research: Gestational exposure to environmental chemicals and its impact on birth outcomes in U.S. pregnancies
Article Title: [Not provided]
News Publication Date: [Not provided]
Web References: [Not provided]
References: doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2026.18883
Image Credits: [Not provided]
Keywords: Chemical pollution, Gestational age, Birth rates, Cohort studies, Pregnancy, United States population, Body weight, Hydrocarbons, Environmental health, Plastics, Human health, Obstetrics
© Gene J. Puskar/Associated Press
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