this post was submitted on 17 Oct 2023
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But think if the cost to the companies profits! And stock prices! Surely forever chemicals means it will work forever, thats a good thing right? My no stick pan will work forever, until it gets scratched and I throw it out and buy a new one.
One thing folks don't think about or understand is how critical PFAS polymers are for dairy, food, and pharma production. It is used extensively as there aren't many suitable alternatives for gaskets, valve seals, pipe lining, instrument coatings, hoses, etc. Alternative materials don't have the heat, chemical, or biological resistance to effectively work for all applications without introducing other toxic materials or inability to be cleaned and sanitized properly. Ban those materials and those industries will shut down in the EU unless consumer safety is compromised. Development of new materials will take years. We need to move away from PFAS, but it needs to be done in an orderly fashion.
Makes sense. Consumer products can be easily changed however.
The real issue is the byproducts of the industrial processes that use PFAS. Yes, we will need some time to develop new materials that have specific properties, but we need to start addressing how we use these chemicals and dispose of the industrial waste.
Consumer products aren't the source of the problem. It's industrial management at the factory.... Fix that instead of making every day live shittier for regular people