PFAS

PFAS is the collective name for thousands of synthetic chemicals used because they resist water, grease, stains and heat. The nickname ‘forever chemicals’ tells you the important part before the acronym has finished: many persist for a very long time in the environment, and some accumulate in people and animals. They have been used in firefighting foams, coatings, textiles and grease-resistant packaging, and certain exposures have been associated with immune, developmental, liver and cancer risks; the family is large and the compounds are not identical, so the science should not be flattened into one frightening sentence. The term belongs near the book’s environmental questions because invisible convenience still has a source, a pathway and a place where the residue ends up. ‘Away’ remains one of our least convincing locations.