00:01Wow.
00:15Have you ever heard of PFAS, the forever chemicals?
00:18These synthetic molecules are very useful in our everyday objects
00:22because of their waterproofing, non-stick, and extremely resistant properties.
00:26That's precisely the problem.
00:28They persist in the environment and even in our bodies.
00:34Our episode begins here in Veneto, in Northern Italy.
00:38This former chemical factory polluted the ground water drunk by around 300,000 people.
00:47This is the story of the Miteni scandal,
00:49named after the company that produced these molecules here for 50 years.
00:53It is now closed, but its legacy haunts one of Europe's largest aquifers.
00:57Hello, and here's Giovanna.
01:00Giovanna is part of the Mothers Know PFAS collective.
01:03In 2017, she discovered that her daughter's blood contained levels of PFOA,
01:07a carcinogenic forever chemical, 40 times higher than the reference thresholds.
01:12Of course, the fear.
01:15And immediately after, the anger.
01:20So much anger.
01:21So much anger.
01:22So much anger.
01:23So much anger.
01:24So much anger.
01:25So much anger.
01:26So much anger.
01:27Last summer, after a historic trial, 11 managers were sentenced to a total of 141 years in prison.
01:51As for the machines, they were sold in India.
01:57We have a great responsibility in this sense, to advise Indian mothers,
02:02telling them what happened to us and that they should be in care.
02:06PFAS can remain in the body for decades and in the environment for centuries.
02:12This is a major challenge for drinking water suppliers, as European limits have just been lowered to 100 nanograms per litre for the combined amount of PFAS of concern.
02:21The costs are enormous. A new network is being built to bring water from uncontaminated areas.
02:37In the meantime, this drinking water plant, located in the middle of the red zone, has been equipped with 25 activated carbon filters,
02:44which are effective at capturing long-chain PFAS.
02:48After the treatment, we have zero PFAS within the water.
02:53But new molecules could pass through the nets. Another problem is that the carbon becomes saturated with PFAS.
03:00Here it has to be replaced and incinerated to ten times a year at a significant environmental and financial cost.
03:07The new weapons must be found, especially since the European Union also plans to better control the water.
03:14The new weapons must be found.
03:16The new weapons must be found, especially since the European Union also plans to better control their levels and surface in groundwater and even in soil.
03:40The Vicenza Water Company is working with researchers from Milan as part of the European Life Capture Project.
03:48Welcome.
03:49Thank you very much.
03:50These scientists are developing a prototype that includes ultraviolet radiation.
03:57PFAS are unfortunately chemical bonds engineered by the industry to be stable.
04:03We use these reactors to destroy PFAS, meaning to transform complex molecules into CO2, water and inorganic ions.
04:16It is also an analytical challenge. We can only measure what we observe. Only about 20 PFAS are really monitored.
04:24Look, here is a map of PFAS found on Earth and another showing where they've been searched.
04:29You see that if you look for them, you find them all over the world.
04:33It can accumulate in the environment and leading to adverse health effects, low immune response, some infertility and some kind of cancer.
04:44Do you think we can clean up our heavily polluted region?
04:48Yes. The big question is who will pay.
04:50Of the 10,000 or so PFAS around, only a handful are on the blacklist of the Stockholm International Convention.
05:01Through its REACH regulation, Europe has banned certain uses.
05:05One recent example is in firefighting foams, a major source of pollution, and it is preparing to go much further.
05:11Sweden is one of five countries calling for a ban on all PFAS in Europe. Can this be achieved without damaging our economy? Let's try to find out.
05:22Doing without products containing PFAS is no easy task. There are all around us. Even here, in this hotel lobby where researchers are giving a conference this morning.
05:32Hello. Hello. Hello. Hello.
05:33Hello. Hello.
05:34There are everywhere. On the walls, for painting, all cables, they have an isolated gain.
05:39In everything that is electronic, there are. In all the components of my phone. In this hole, there will be an inside.
05:45And my work is to look at each usage, understand why it's used, and do we have other ways to have the service that PFAS gives us.
05:55Before making a decision, the EU tasked ECHA, the European Chemicals Agency, with studying the benefits and costs of a restriction for each economic sector.
06:07Romain Figuerre and Professor Ian Cousins' team estimate that a quarter of industrial uses can already be replaced, but we need to verify that all alternatives are safe, and some are still missing in certain strategic sectors.
06:18They can be in the electronics, in the energy sector, in medical products. That's where industry is sort of, we see most of the kickback from industry, where they say, you know, that they are essential, we can't find any other materials.
06:30The way it could work, let's say a car company could say, we need more time to find alternatives for the use of PFAS in batteries. The authorities could say, uses of PFAS in batteries to produce electric cars have derogation for six years.
06:47So, you really have to have a lot of technical knowledge to know really whether it's truthful what they're saying.
06:56To really move away PFAS, more research is needed, and also more determination.
07:02Marshall, a leader in speakers and headphones, has found alternatives to PFAS for most uses after years of effort with its Asian suppliers.
07:10There are no longer any PFAS in the plastic surrounding these cables, nor in the plastic wrapping the batteries.
07:17How many other products are produced every day with PFAS, even though it's not necessary?
07:25The company is now working on a PFAS-free battery.
07:28There are remaining challenging applications as semiconductors, batteries.
07:35If all of us could align here and request the PFAS-free variant, prices will go down.
07:42So, it's very important that we start to embrace innovation instead of claiming need for derogation.
07:49That's all for today. See you soon on a bit less chemical planet.
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