Thursday, October 1, 2026
Are there safe alternatives to PFAS, the so-called forever chemicals? Yes, plenty of them.
As a 2024 article in Smithsonian magazine began: “On April 6, 1938, a group of chemists at DuPont gathered around part of their latest experiment: a plain metal cylinder. It supposedly contained tetrafluoroethylene, a colorless gas. But when they opened the valve, no gas came out. … Eventually someone realized they needed to cut open the cylinder to see what was going on. They found the interior of the metal unexpectedly coated with a slippery white powder.”
“Since it was discovered,” the piece continued, “Teflon and its chemical descendants, per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS, have spread everywhere. … These molecules are so common that a 2015 study found the chemicals in 97 percent of Americans’ blood. And once they make it into our bodies, medical researchers are finding that the long-lasting chemicals could be wreaking havoc.” Indeed, a study by the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, and other studies, have linked PFAS to maladies including cancer.
DuPont’s motto through the years has been Better Living Through Chemistry. A lawsuit brought in July by New York state Attorney General Letitia James questions that rosy slogan, presenting evidence that the suit claims shows that DuPont and other corporations “knew for decades that PFAS pose substantial dangers to public health and the environment.”
With Suffolk and Nassau counties dependent on a sole-source aquifer that is being impacted by PFAS, and with people elsewhere in the nation and world affected in a variety of ways, what are the safe alternatives?
In fact, substitute products are listed and clearly presented on a variety of websites. An excellent online source is that of the Washington, D.C.-based Environmental Working Group. Others include PFAS Central, of the California-based Green Science Policy Institute, and the Natural Resources Defense Council. Even the American Chemical Society offers a list of “530 potential alternatives to per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, PFAS,” acknowledging that they are “linked to health risks” including “certain cancers.”
The Environmental Working Group presents hundreds of listings divided by “Products Covered,” Brand” and “Company Policy,” and links to them for further details. Under “Carpets and Rugs,” for example, the retail chain Lowe’s states that “all [of its] indoor residential carpet and rugs are free of PFAS chemicals.” Under “Cookware,” Green Life states, “We’ve cut out the toxins — PFAS, PFOA … so you can cook without worry.”
Under “Cosmetics & Personal Care,” Sephora says, “PFAS compounds: Prohibited.” Under “Dental Care,” Radius Floss says, “Our USDA Organic Floss is 100% … PFAS free.” Under “Food Packaging,” Pactiv Evergreen says its products are “PFAS-free.” Under “Furniture, Office & Bedding,” Herman Miller says its products are “PFAS-free.” Under “Apparel,” Levi Straus & Co. says it bans “all related PFAS” in its clothing.
As to claims that there are no alternatives to a given toxic product, a historical example of that not ringing true involves the Monsanto Company and polychlorinated biphenyls, or PCBs. Monsanto started manufacturing PCBs in 1929, and, decades later, feared that they would be banned in the United States after being outlawed in Japan. There, PCBs had leaked into rice oil, people got sick and some died. PCBs were being used widely, especially as an insulating fluid in electrical systems. Despite Monsanto’s claims that there were no adequate substitutes, PCBs were banned in the U.S. in 1979. What has substituted for them? Nothing space-age — just mineral oil.
In New York state, there’s an initiative called PFAS-Free NY, which describes itself as a “broad group of organizations, advocates and impacted community members who have come together to fight for a PFAS-free New York.” Earlier this year, it issued a statement headed, “Limiting PFAS Exposure is Central Priority for Advocates This Legislative Session.” Several measures on PFAS didn’t make it through the State Legislature last year.
Assemblywoman Deborah Glick, of Manhattan, chair of the chamber’s Environmental Conservation Committee, says that PFAS “have infiltrated our bodies and the environment, creating a toxic cycle that endangers both people and ecosystems. The only way to break this cycle is to eliminate these chemicals.”
Karl Grossman has been an investigative reporter in a variety of media for more than 50 years. He is a professor of journalism at the State University of New York at Old Westbury.
