A new study estimates that chemicals introduced to replace ozone-depleting chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) have generated more than 335,500 tonnes of trifluoroacetic acid (TFA), a persistent per- and polyfluoroalkyl substance (PFAS), that has been deposited across the Earth’s surface between 2000 and 2022, according to researchers at Lancaster University [1]. The findings, published in Geophysical Research Letters, indicate that this form of “forever chemical” pollution is expected to continue rising due to the long atmospheric lifetime of the replacement gases [1]. TFA is a highly mobile PFAS that spreads globally via rainfall and accumulates in rivers, lakes, and soil, according to the…

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