PFAS have lingered in the water for decades, but regulators are just now realizing their potentially dire effects on human health. Litigators aren’t waiting to hold manufacturers responsible.
The ‘Next Big Environmental Threat’ has been written about before. We were worried about the insidious risks of nanoparticles, for example, and about pharmaceuticals in our water and food supply. But neither of those concerns ever “took off” to the effect that it drew high-profile lawsuits, regulatory standards or reactions from environmental liability insurers.
That is not the case with per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or “PFAS.”
“PFAS are a large family of man-made chemicals with unique physical properties. They are water- and oil-repellent, extremely heat-resistant and have surfactant properties. They’re also extremely stable,” said Chris DeCarlo, senior product manager, Environmental Risk Group, The Vertex Companies.
Those properties make PFAS applicable to a wide range of consumer goods.
“They’re used in grease-resistant food packaging like pizza boxes and hamburger wrappers, in nonstick cookware, in water-resistant materials like jackets, tents and tarps, in spray-on stain resistant solutions,…
