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2. Addressing Hidden Environmental Dangers A ubiquitous class of chemicals that can be detected in the blood of 98 percent of the nation’s population now is beginning to breach the surface of the public’s awareness. For Battelle, however, the topic is not new and is currently a major focal point because of its potential impact on the environment and human health. Known as “forever chemicals” comprising more than 4,700 synthetic compounds—per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS for short—have been manufactured since the 1940s and used widely since the 1950s because of their ability to repel oil and water, among other things. They are, or have been, used in Teflon nonstick products; the lining of pizza boxes and fast food packages; in cleaning products and carpet stain repellant; in the foam used to extinguish fuel-based fires; and as a water repellant for outdoor gear. In the early 2000s, researchers realized the chemicals—bonded together by fluorine and carbon, which prevents deterioration— were seeping into the environment, particularly water. Once the chemicals leach into water, they can travel far and are found in plants, animals and humans. The U.S. Environmental Working Group estimates there are 610 U.S. locations containing PFAS in 43 states, impacting as many as 19 million Americans. At high enough levels, PFAS may increase risks for cancer, liver damage, thyroid disease, decreased fertility, obesity, high cholesterol and hormone suppression. Research into its effects is ongoing. PFAS has been on Battelle’s radar since 2010, when researchers started working with the U.S. Department of Defense at a contaminated site in Pennsylvania, says Amy
Dindal, Battelle’s PFAS program manager. Battelle is researching numerous techniques to sample PFAS compounds, improve analysis and create a promising new forensic technique called fingerprinting to develop a library to distinguish between sources of PFAS compounds, she says. “We’ve been working primarily with the federal government doing research. We’re working in the areas of toxicology and human health effects, as well as doing environmental measurements and characterizations of sites,” Dindal
says. “We also invest a lot of our own resources, which is consistent with our mission to make investments in scientific discovery for societal benefit.” Battelle also is working to develop techniques to destroy the chemicals at contaminated sites, but that’s no simple task. “Because of the primary backbone of these chemicals, it’s hard to get rid of them,” Dindal says. “But until it is controlled in the whole environment, it is just going to keep turning up; treating it at the water tap is just putting a bandage on the problem.”
August 2019 Columbus Monthly
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