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Scientists from\u00a0The University of British Columbia<\/a>\u00a0(UBC) in Canada\u00a0have developed<\/a>\u00a0a new water filtration technology that is capable of permanently removing perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances, also known as PFAS, from drinking water.<\/p>\n Also known as \u201cforever chemicals,\u201d PFAS are believed to contaminate the drinking water consumed by more than 200 million Americans, which is most of the country. Worse, a 2020 study claimed that potentially risky levels of PFAS are present in\u00a0all\u00a0water supplies throughout the country.<\/p>\n Because PFAS are difficult to filter out of water, most Americans are likely drinking some level of them every single day without even knowing it. Prolonged consumption of these forever chemicals is linked to all sorts of serious health conditions, including cancer.<\/p>\n Called \u2018forever chemicals\u2019 because they take hundreds of years or more to break down, PFAs are present in many consumer products, including sunscreens, food packaging, cosmetics, and cleaning supplies, and can eventually end up leaching into the environment,\u201d reported\u00a0Nice News.<\/p>\n \u201cPFAs have been linked to increased risks of cancer, decreased fertility, and a \u2018reduced ability of the body\u2019s immune system to fight infections,\u2019 among other adverse health effects, per the Environmental Protection Agency.\u201d<\/p>\n Unique absorbing material that traps PFAS can be regenerated and reused, generating very little waste<\/p>\n For their research into a PFAS solution, at least for drinking water, UBC scientists, led by biological engineering professor Madjid Mohseni, utilized a \u201cunique absorbing material\u201d that is capable of trapping and holding all known PFAS that are present in the water supply.<\/p>\n After PFAS are captured from water using this unique absorbing material, they are then destroyed using \u201cspecial electrochemical and photochemical techniques,\u201d UBC announced in a news release.<\/p>\n Some existing filtration technologies such as activated carbon and ion exchange systems are capable of removing\u00a0some\u00a0PFAS, but not all. Mohseni and his team\u2019s development is the first known technique capable of removing\u00a0all\u00a0of them from drinking water.<\/p>\n