There’s been a lot of talk in the news lately over Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS). Why? We thought these chemicals were safe, and now we’re learning that exposure to PFAS is linked to liver damage, thyroid disease, decreased fertility, high cholesterol, obesity, hormone suppression and cancer. They have also been linked to affecting development of learning, growing, and behaviour of children. These chemicals are found in products we use everyday. They have also been found in our drinking water, agricultural soils, our food, and the air we breathe. PFAS affect animals similarly to humans and can take over 1,000 years to degrade.

PFAS are used in a wide variety of products including apparel, furniture, drapery and bedding, disposable food service ware, carpeting, non-stick pans, bottled water, and more. The National Ground Water Association estimates that about 95% of the U.S. population has been exposed to PFAS and contains considerable amounts of the chemicals in their bodies.

And now, even though there have been few restrictions for the use of PFAS, lawmakers are starting to push to ban this class of chemicals altogether. U.S. Senators have introduced the “No PFAS in Cosmetics Act,” which would require the FDA to ban the use of PFAS in cosmetics within 270 days of the bill passing. If this passes as expected, this will have multiple implications. People will feel safer until the next alarm sounds on a different set of harmful chemicals and companies will spend millions of dollars reformulating their products. From an environmental perspective, this “too little-too late” approach is impacting the quality of our air, water, and soil for the last century.

So what if we approached solving this problem differently? What if, instead of relying on end-of-pipe solutions for testing finished products—after companies have already spent money on production and marketing—we look at front-of-pipe solutions? By taking a more proactive, design-oriented approach, we could identify potentially harmful chemicals beforehand so that they aren’t part of product formulation from the get-go. This would have a much more profound impact on the world. People could purchase products with greater confidence in their safety, companies could save time and money throughout their supply chains, and the environment may take a small sigh of relief.

It may sound like a utopian reality and revolutionary approach, but this technology exists today. Right now. SciveraLENS® offers more than 4,500 fully verified chemical hazard assessments with 23 tested endpoints—a vital resource when it comes to getting ahead of the green chemistry movement. Plus, not only can you identify potentially hazardous chemicals, you can also find safer alternatives to make sure your products are verifiably safer.

We all benefit from safer chemistry, so why wait? Contact us at sustainablechemistry.info@enhesa.com to learn more.