Promising research in taking 'forever' out of chemicals

So-called "forever chemicals" could be safely and completely destroyed by incineration according to a research effort involving Australian scientists in a bid to combat pollution from the substances.

Concerns have been mounting for years about per- and polyfluoroalkyl chemicals, most recently from discoveries in drinking water, as awareness grows about the substances, which do not break down in the environment and are believed to cause significant harm to humans and animals.

Researchers from the national science agency have been involved in recent studies hoping to find a way to safely and completely destroy the chemicals by incineration.

Burning PFAS can create chemical by-products, some existing for only milliseconds at a time, but identifying them helps to determine the effects of incineration.

"By taking 'snapshots' of the chemical reactions as they occur, we can see what intermediaries or harmful free radicals form inside the incinerator," CSIRO environmental chemist Wenchao Lu said.

"These chemicals had been hypothesised, but never actually detected," added Dr Lu, a co-author of recent research into PFAS incineration.

Identification helps ensure the chemicals are safely destroyed, co-author Eric Kennedy said.

"This study has identified intermediary molecules that are critical for us to ensure the PFAS molecule is completely destroyed, and to ensure no harmful by-products are formed," the University of Newcastle professor said.

Incinerating PFAS is hoped to convert the compounds into inorganic compounds like calcium fluoride or carbon dioxide which can be recycled into other chemicals, concrete, fertilisers and fuels.

Further research is needed into the safe destruction of PFAS but the latest discovery provides promising options, the CSIRO said.

Improper incineration which does not completely destroy PFAS can spread them further and also give off harmful emissions.

High-level PFAS contamination was detected in the drinking water catchment serving 30,000 people in the Blue Mountains in NSW late in 2024, with locals suspecting a 1992 petrol tanker fire fought with since-banned foam containing the chemicals was responsible.

It has prompted calls for free community testing to give insight into the potential health effects of exposure.

PFOS - among thousands of PFAS chemicals - has been labelled "possibly carcinogenic" by a World Health Organisation panel.