A long-running study led by The James Hutton Institute and the University of Graz has revealed that while some “forever chemicals” are declining in wildlife, newer replacements are on the rise – raising fresh questions for food, farming and the wider environment.
Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS, are a large family of more than 12,000 synthetic chemicals used in everyday products, from non-stick pans and waterproof jackets to food packaging and cleaning products. Often dubbed “forever chemicals”, they persist in the environment for decades and have been detected in soils, plants, nectar, pollen and even the atmosphere. They are also linked to health issues including cancer, fertility problems and liver damage, which has led to tighter regulation in the UK, EU and United States.
To understand how regulation is changing contamination over time, scientists at the Hutton and the University of Graz analysed PFAS in one-year-old roe deer livers collected in Germany’s Bavarian Forest National Park between 1998 and 2022. Roe deer are free-ranging herbivores, making them useful indicators of how chemicals move through natural food webs and landscapes.
Drawing on samples from the German Environmental Specimen Bank, the team measured both regulated and unregulated PFAS compounds. They found that the total concentration of PFAS in roe deer livers fell by more than 87% over the 25-year period, dropping from 64 nanograms per gram in 1998 to 8 nanograms per gram in 2022. One of the most striking trends was for PFOS, an older PFAS previously used in stain-resistant coatings and firefighting foams but now heavily restricted in the EU. PFOS levels declined by more than 98% and have remained low since 2018, with a 67% fall recorded between 1998 and 2003 alone – a period that reflects voluntary industry phase-outs.
However, the picture is far from straightforward. While legacy PFAS are falling, several newer replacement chemicals increased over the study period. One example is PFNA, used in non-stick coatings and water-repellent treatments for fabrics. PFNA’s concentration in roe deer livers doubled, rising from 3 nanograms per gram to 6 nanograms per gram, despite now being regulated in the EU. The researchers describe this as a case of “regrettable substitution”, where one problematic chemical is swapped for another that later proves to be similarly persistent or harmful.
Dr Viktoria Mueller, a researcher at the Hutton and one of the study’s lead authors, said the findings show that targeting only a handful of PFAS is not enough. “Our findings suggest that focusing on just a few PFAS doesn’t solve the problem. When some are restricted, they are replaced by others, leading to ongoing contamination,” she explained.
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Her colleague, Professor Joerg Feldmann from the University of Graz, highlighted the wider implications for remote landscapes and food chains far from industrial centres. “These biomonitoring studies on animals from remote places show that PFAS are transported over vast distance through the atmosphere,” he said. He pointed to PFAS production sites as likely sources of this atmospheric contamination and urged European and UK policymakers to go further by including polymers in any future PFAS bans.
For readers of Larder, the study underlines how decisions made in chemical manufacturing and regulation can shape the health of ecosystems that ultimately support our food systems, from wild game to farmed produce. Falling levels of some legacy PFAS suggest regulation can work – but the rise of replacement chemicals shows that the story of “forever chemicals” in our landscapes, and potentially our food, is far from over.
The study can be read in full on ScienceDirect.
