Clean Harbors Launches “Total PFAS Solution” Addressing Customers’ Forever Chemicals Needs - Seite 2

History of PFAS in the U.S.

PFAS compounds have been manufactured in the U.S. since the 1930s and became a primary ingredient in nonstick and waterproof coatings. After several decades, development and usage of PFAS greatly expanded with wide-ranging applications, including nonstick cookware, stain-resistant carpeting, grease-resistant food packaging, corrosive-resistant pipes and wires, and eventually AFFF that became the gold standard for fighting chemical fires for more than 50 years. Before scientists and health organizations recognized the potential for adverse impacts on humans and animals, PFAS became ubiquitous around the planet.

Eventually, the detrimental health effects of certain categories of PFAS became clear. There has been a strong linkage of PFAS to cancer rates, birth defects and other medical conditions. Addressing PFAS contaminants in various media became a major focus of regulatory authorities across the country. While the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has not yet officially labeled PFAS in all of its many forms as hazardous, the Agency did work with major manufacturers between 2000-2006 to obtain commitments to phase out the production of two forms of PFAS – PFOA (perfluorooctanoic acid) and PFOS (perfluorooctyl sulfonate) – due to health concerns. As of 2015, the manufacture of PFOA and PFOS in the U.S. had largely ceased. In addition, several U.S. states have already begun regulating PFAS in different media, including drinking water, soil, groundwater, and in air emissions.

A Total Solution for All

“One of the challenges with PFAS is that it involves a wide variety of compounds that, in some cases, have been used for more than 50 years,” said Gerstenberg. “Many of these chemicals continue to spread through the environment because they never degrade. There are huge stockpiles of these compounds, as well as contaminated soil and water at countless locations. These include current and former industrial facilities that produced or utilized PFAS, locations still holding AFFF, military bases, airports, and other industrial facilities that frequently used AFFF for years, or in drinking water where it has leached into groundwater from the soil. Our Total PFAS Solution enables us to be a critical partner for many companies and industries trying to address this credible threat to the environment and human health. Our end-to-end solution includes thermal destruction at our incineration facilities, including state-of-the-art pollution and emission controls. We view this as the best solution for eliminating PFAS and the data generated by our study supports the confidence we have in our technology.”