KTU scientist: the invisible danger lurking on our plates, at home and beyond | Business

As unpleasant as it may sound, it is the truth. In a world that is becoming more and more comfortable to live in, the negative consequences of human activity are becoming more and more obvious and the threats to our planet are only increasing.

Restrictions have been introduced recently

One of them is the so-called eternal pollutants – PFAS, which are celebrating their 90th anniversary this year. Per- and poly-fluoroalkylated substances have penetrated our environment for a long time and pose a constant threat to natural ecosystems and human health.

According to Inga Urniežaitė, a researcher at the Department of Environmental Engineering at the Faculty of Chemical Technology of the Kaunas University of Technology (KTU CTF), for a long time these substances were used completely unrestricted and uncontrolled.

“In Europe, the first project related to the dangers of PFAS and their amount in water bodies was started by Stockholm University in 2006, and the first restrictions on the use of these substances came into force only in 2009.”

The PFAS group is a group of tens of thousands of man-made substances that have acquired exceptional resistance to heat, grease, dirt and water due to one of the strongest chemical bonds in them – the fluorine-carbon bond,” says the KTU researcher.

According to her, the properties that have led to the many uses of PFAS also pose the greatest risk to the environment. These substances spread and remain in the environment without decomposition until they are removed from it by active cleaning methods. They accumulate in soil, water and even living organisms. Once inside the human body, they can disrupt the functioning of the endocrine system, cause developmental disorders, kidney and liver damage, and possibly cause cancer.

“It’s not for nothing that popcorn is mentioned – researchers at the Silent Spring Institute, Massachusetts, USA found that the consumption of microwave popcorn was associated with increased blood serum levels of PFAS.”

Migration from fluorinated fat-resistant coatings, which are usually used to make popcorn bags and fast food packages, is one of the ways PFAS enters the human body,” warns I.Urniežaitė.

PFAS – every day, in every home

At home, these substances can also be found in: food products (mostly fish and offal), personal care products, including shampoo, cosmetics (nail polish, mascara), dental floss, toilet paper, sanitary napkins, laundry detergent, sports clothes, waterproof clothing and shoes, umbrellas, mobile phones, mattresses, wallpaper, carpets – and this is far from the complete list.

Due to the extremely high prevalence of PFAS in the products we use every day, they are abundant in the sewage produced in our homes. On April 10 of this year, the European Parliament voted for the updated Urban Wastewater Treatment Directive, which focuses on solving the most pressing water pollution problems.

The KTU researcher says that the directive envisages strengthening the monitoring of various public health parameters (SARS-CoV-2 virus and its variants, poliomyelitis, influenza viruses, etc.) and pollutants of great concern (including PFAS), as well as in wastewater treatment plants of large cities to install additional wastewater treatment systems for the removal of micropollutants.

Due to the high stability of PFAS and the fluorine they contain, the degradation of these contaminants becomes a particular challenge. Therefore, the development of new technologies for water purification is one of the priority activities in conducting scientific research and in order to apply the developed technologies in industry.

Will try to clean Kaunas water

KTU Master of Environmental Engineering Judita Švaikauskaitė, who produced and researched hydrogel granules made from polyvinyl alcohol during her studies, is happy that materials with a unique property – a highly porous structure – can be used to remove micropollutants from polluted water. “In the field of environmental protection, I see huge potential and many urgent challenges that we need to address immediately,” says Judita.

At the moment, the EMPEREST international project of the “Interreg Baltic Sea Region” program focused on the development of technology for removing PFAS and other micropollutants from wastewater is being implemented in Lithuania. The technology developed during the implementation of the project combines innovative micropollutant removal methods – wastewater ozonation and activated carbon filtration. One of the project’s partners – the Kauno Vandenys company – will test the effectiveness of the developed technology in the treatment of wastewater generated in Kaunas.

The collected information will be purposefully used in preparation for the expansion of the wastewater treatment plant and in the implementation of additional treatment processes for more efficient removal of pollutants. It will also be a great opportunity for students of the highly sought-after specialty to get up close and personal with the testing of the latest technologies not only in laboratories, but also at the industrial level.

KTU researcher I.Urniežaitė says that unfortunately, due to the extremely wide use of PFAS, it is impossible to completely avoid this substance in our environment today, but there are several measures that each of us can take to reduce PFAS in our homes and nature.

“Today, we can really choose products that state that they are made without the use of PFAS: refuse non-stick pans, compounds containing PFAS, carefully read the labels of waterproof clothing and shoes, or bring your own container for purchased food.

And of course, if you can’t live without popcorn, you might want to consider a popcorn maker or just pop it in the pot or oven! Don’t forget to encourage your loved ones and those around you to take an interest in the composition of products and consciously buy products without PFAS. In this way, we will not only reduce the release of permanent pollutants into the environment, but also pave the way for safer alternatives to consumer products,” she emphasizes.