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ARTICLE · 19 JANUARY 2022

PFAS Legislation In 2021 And Impact In 2022

Freeman Mathis & Gary
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Per-and-Poly Fluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) are a broad class of manmade, highly stable chemicals.

United StatesEnvironment
Alec Tyra
Alec Tyra

What Are PFAS?

Per-and-Poly Fluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) are a broad class of manmade, highly stable chemicals. PFAS exhibit both grease repelling (lipophobic) and water repelling (hydrophobic) properties due to their unique chemical structure. By being both hydrophobic and lipophobic, PFAS made excellent coatings to create "non-stick" surfaces on both consumer products and industrial components. This unique and highly useful property made PFAS ubiquitous in products. However, these same properties make PFAS resistant to environmental degradation. PFAS also escape most current water treatment filters. As a result, PFAS substances have been accumulating for decades and chronic exposure is now linked to a host of negative health effects, including certain types of cancer. With increasing awareness of PFAS toxic qualities, the Federal and State Governments have started implementing various measures to regulate PFAS pollution. 

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