What are Forever Chemicals?

Why in the news?

• Researchers used a technique which involves magnetic fields and radio waves to track the spread of forever chemicals in the ecosystems across the globe.
• The technique involves passing samples through a strong magnetic field then reading the burst of radio waves their atoms emit.
• This reveals the composition of carbon isotopes in the molecule and gives the chemical its fingerprint.

About Forever chemicals:

• Forever chemicals are scientifically known as per-and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS).
• These chemicals are generally useful in applications such as water-proofing, heat resistance, detergents, food packaging and non-stick technologies.
• They are known to stay in the environment virtually forever and contribute to environmental degradation which adversely impacts the health of all organisms including human beings.
• What are the health risks of PFAS
  • Testicular, kidney, liver and pancreatic cancer
  • Reproductive problems
  • Weakened childhood immunity
  • Low birth weight
  • Endocrine disruption
  • Increased cholesterol
  • Weight gain in children and dieting adults

Q1: What are Isotopes?

These are a type of atom, the smallest unit of matter that retains all the chemical properties of an element.

Source: Forever chemicals can now be tracked and managed from source to destination