The question is in the amount of them. PFOA and PFOS were literally dumped in kiloton quantities into the environment without much thought about their toxicity. They were used in firefighting foam that was just flushed into the sewer.
So yeah, removing that source of pollution is good. At the same time, the effects of even the worst offender (PFOS) are at most mild. Wildlife and epidemiological studies found significant effects only in areas that are at least billions of times more contaminated with PFAS than can ever accumulate in the environment if the waste streams are managed properly.
So yeah, removing that source of pollution is good. At the same time, the effects of even the worst offender (PFOS) are at most mild. Wildlife and epidemiological studies found significant effects only in areas that are at least billions of times more contaminated with PFAS than can ever accumulate in the environment if the waste streams are managed properly.