This article has been reviewed according to Science X's editorial process and policies. Editors have highlighted the following attributes while ensuring the content's credibility: Among the technical inquiries spanning topics like cyclodextrin polymers and mass spectrometry that were stacked in Damian Helbling's inbox was a question about four golden retrievers. A local woman had contacted Helbling, a professor in Cornell's School of Civil and Environmental Engineering and a leading researcher of trace organic chemicals in water, wanting to know if it was safe for her dogs to swim in a nearby pond.
"I also have a golden retriever that loves to swim and I absolutely sympathize with this question," Helbling said, "but I hesitate to give a concrete answer when people ask me such specific questions about the safety of their water. As a researcher, I tend to look at the situation through a totally different lens." For Helbling, the question isn't simply whether a pond is safe. It's what science can do to better understand the problem, and what engineering can do to solve it.
Few contaminants illustrate that challenge better than PFAS, or per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, commonly known as "forever chemicals." The family of synthetic chemicals includes thousands—and by some definitions, millions—of compounds used in products ranging from nonstick cookware and firefighting foams to medical devices and food packaging. Their defining characteristic is the incredibly strong bond between carbon and fluorine atoms, which makes them exceptionally durable but also remarkably difficult to break down in the environment. That persistence has made PFAS a growing public health concern, with studies showing that exposure to some PFAS may be linked to a variety of harmful health effects.
As policymakers reconsider drinking water standards and monitoring of industrial PFAS discharges, environmental engineers like Helbling are racing to better understand, detect and remove the chemicals from water supplies. Industrial production of PFAS began to ramp up in the 1940s and continues today. As a result, "forever chemicals" are found nearly everywhere—in water, air, soil and even in the blood of people and animals throughout the world, according to the U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency. One of the best ways to solve the problem, Helbling said, is to limit the production and use of PFAS in the first place. He and his research group are helping advance that effort through "Faster Solutions for Forever Chemicals," an IBM-led project that is developing computational tools to help manufacturers identify PFAS in their supply chains and replace them with safer alternatives.
"Companies don't necessarily know where or how they are using PFAS in the manufacturing processes," Helbling said. "They just know that there is a product they can acquire from some supplier that helps them make their widget faster or better or more resilient. We are trying to help companies track down PFAS in their supply chains and discover new chemistries that can provide the same benefits while being less persistent in the environment and less toxic." That challenge is easier said than done.
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