PFAS: Will these 'forever' chemicals be a forever problem? - Curation Collective

Three reasons why you should care about MyCelx and the wider per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) treatment market:  

1. Vast addressable market: Estimates suggest the PFAS treatment market in the US alone is worth $14bn per annum. Decontaminating landfill leachate, industrial waste, municipal water facilities, and residential water supply are all key growth sectors.
2. Evolving regulatory landscape: Litigation cases against corporations accused of releasing PFAS into the environment are growing, and the regulatory landscape is evolving rapidly - the financial penalties associated with PFAS pollution are increasingly front-of-mind for companies handling the substances.
3. Mainstream social issue - The PFAS issue is firmly entrenched in the public imagination after a series of high-profile public health and environmental scandals. Exposure mirrors that of chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) in the 1990s - demand is high for organisations offering PFAS treatment solutions.

The PFAS Story

Since the 1950s, PFAS have silently permeated through society, seeped into the natural world, and then entered our bodies, causing increased cancer rates, thyroid malfunctions, hormone disorders, diabetes, and diminished vaccine efficacy. 

An integral material in numerous consumer goods that make our everyday lives easier, like non-stick kitchenware, water-proof raincoats, and cleaning products due to their heat, grease, and water-resistant properties, PFAS have accumulated in rivers, soil, the ocean, wildlife, and the human body - including in the bloodstreams of 98% of Americans.

Now, we face the mammoth task of cleaning up these superficially benign but biologically disruptive substances.

There is a growing body of high-profile corporate litigation scandals surrounding PFAS, including 3M’s $10.3bn settlement with US public water companies after multiple claims the company had polluted municipal water supplies, eye-watering $16tn estimates on the annual societal cost of PFAS, and the discovery of the substances in an ever more diverse range of settings, including Alpine pistes and sea foam off the Dutch coast.

📹  The Bloomberg investigation below, which documents a 3M PFAS scandal - this time in Belgium - is just one example of PFAS' devastating impact on local communities and ecology. It explores the interplay between PFAS-producing conglomerates, the surrounding environment, the health of residents, and the corporate regulatory landscape.

An active research field

As PFAS are artificially engineered substances designed to not break down, removing them from the environment is challenging. The spotlight on PFAS has grown in recent years, prompting scientists, researchers, and innovative companies to seek solutions – one of which is MyCelx, who joined the Curation Collective on a club call in January.

There are two principal methods to combat the diffusion of these chemicals: filtration and destruction. MyCelx, for example, has over 70 patents and uses a polymer-based filtration approach that can remove all PFAS from water.

Scientists are also looking to go a step further, pioneering methods to destroy these incredibly robust substances. Electrochemical degradation (best thought of as "zapping" PFAS into smithereens) and using extremely low wavelength ultraviolet rays to break down the chemicals are just two of the PFAS treatment methods explored by researchers. 

Other studies have considered natural remedies in the form of microbes. During a 100-day observation period, researchers at Princeton University discovered that Acidimicrobium bacterium A6 successfully eliminated 60% of PFAS they came into contact with in laboratory vials.

Inspiration from the past

The long list of PFAS-related environmental and public health incidents has engendered a social movement which shares parallels with the wave of anti-CFC sentiment and legislation in the 1990s that followed a series of discoveries revealing CFCs' ozone-depleting properties. Social activism and political action eventually led to the signing of the Montreal Protocol, which phased out CFC production and consumption.

📹 The PFAS issue has gained such traction as a social movement that Hollywood A-listers like Mark Ruffalo have campaigned tirelessly to change US PFAS regulations. This Vox exposé hosted by Ruffalo on the proliferation of PFAS in US waterways is another fascinating watch.

So far, progress on phasing out or banning PFAS has been mixed. The EU recently abandoned a promise to ban PFAS from consumer goods, but, more positively, the US Environmental Protection Agency is set to classify nine PFAS as hazardous to human health, and New Zealand is banning PFAS from cosmetics from 2026 - the first country to do so.

The global community must urgently detoxify contaminated land and water supplies - companies like MyCelx and the scientific community pioneering "forever chemical" clean-up techniques will be crucial to achieving this aim.

📹 You can watch the full recording of our discussion with MyCelx here.

Analyst: Sam Robinson, ESG Specialist at Curation - sam.robinson@curationcorp.com

Senior Analyst: Nick Finegold, Founder at Curation - nick.finegold@curationcorp.com