PFAS ‘forever chemicals’ cost society €16 trillion a year

The global cost to society of so-called ‘forever chemicals’ — technically known as PFAS — amount to €16 trillion per year, a report found on Thursday (25 May).

This includes healthcare costs related to PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances) exposure as well as cleaning work for polluted soils and contaminated water. If the damage to ecosystems or the reduction of property prices were also considered in this estimate, the global costs of PFAS for society would be even higher.

Exposure to PFAS cost Europeans between €52bn and €84bn annually, according to the Nordic Council of Ministers .

But when adding up fees for water and soil remediation costs this figure could amount to an estimated cost of €2.4 trillion per year, according to the investigation by the environmental group ChemSec.

While these chemicals have been used in many consumer products for decades, they have only become subject to scrutiny in recent years for their impact on the environment and human health.

Earlier this year, The Forever Pollution Project, an investigation by 18 newsrooms, found that there are more than 17,000 sites contaminated by forever chemicals around Europe.

The EU is currently embroiled in a long legislative process that aims to ban all PFAS chemicals as a group — but the plan has faced opposition from lobby groups and industry players since it was proposed.