The DOI matches its Crossref record; 108 of the 108 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.
Scientific Basis for Managing PFAS as a Chemical Class
Open accessAbstract
This commentary presents a scientific basis for managing as one chemical class the thousands of chemicals known as PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances). The class includes perfluoroalkyl acids, perfluoroalkylether acids, and their precursors; fluoropolymers and perfluoropolyethers; and other PFAS. The basis for the class approach is presented in relation to their physicochemical, environmental, and toxicological properties. Specifically, the high persistence, accumulation potential, and/or hazards (known and potential) of PFAS studied to date warrant treating all PFAS as a single class. Examples are provided of how some PFAS are being regulated and how some businesses are avoiding all PFAS in their products and purchasing decisions. We conclude with options for how governments and industry can apply the class-based approach, emphasizing the importance of eliminating non-essential uses of PFAS, and further developing safer alternatives and methods to remove existing PFAS from the environment.
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“PFASs are extensively utilized in the medical technology sector due to their unique and highly desirable physicochemical properties.”
From Exposure to Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFASs) in Healthcare: Environmental and Clinical Insights (2025) · cites this paper as [12]
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“Furthermore, current regulatory frameworks are inconsistent and incomplete, particularly regarding cumulative exposure risks and long-term environmental impacts [12].”
From Exposure to Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFASs) in Healthcare: Environmental and Clinical Insights (2025) · cites this paper as [12]
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“Another major class of polyfluorinated compounds are the fluoroteleomers, which typically consists of a polyfluorinated chain bonded to several methylene carbon atoms (Kwiatkowski et al., 2020).”
From Nothing lasts forever: understanding microbial biodegradation of polyfluorinated compounds and perfluorinated alkyl substances (2022) · cites this paper as Kwiatkowski et al., 2020
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Metadata
- Authors
- Kwiatkowski, C. F., Andrews, D. Q., Birnbaum, L. S., Bruton, T. A., DeWitt, J. C., Knappe, D. R. U., Maffini, M. V., Miller, M. F., Pelch, K. E., Reade, A., Soehl, A., Trier, X., Venier, M., Wagner, C. C., Wang, Z., & Blum, A.
- Affiliations
- North Carolina State University (US)
- Environmental Working Group , ,
- National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (US)
- Green Science Policy Institute , , ,
- East Carolina University (US)
- Private Residence , , ,
- University of North Texas Health Science Center (US)
- Natural Resources Defense Council (US)
- European Environment Agency (DK)
- Indiana University Bloomington (US)
- Harvard University (US)
- ETH Zurich (CH)
- University of California System (US)
- Corresponding author
- Kwiatkowski, Carol F.
- ORCID
- Venue
- Environmental Science & Technology Letters
- Publisher
- American Chemical Society (ACS)
- Published
- 2020-06-30
- Volume
- 7
- Issue
- 8
- Pages
- 532-543
- ISSN
- 2328-8930 (ISSN-L)
- PMC
- PMC8297807
- OpenAlex
- W3038543216
- Semantic Scholar
- a4e2008bc8bcd289ae0695cd0b19b0facb7beb3c
- Cited by
- 721
- References
- 108
- Citations by year
- 2026: 168 · 2025: 171 · 2024: 111 · 2023: 102 · 2022: 94 · 2021: 62 · 2020: 12
- FWCI
- 25.01
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- hybrid
- doi.org
- Licence
- Locations
- Environmental Science & Technology Letters (publishedVersion, public-domain)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- PubMed Central (acceptedVersion)
- Repository for Publications and Research Data (ETH Zurich) (submittedVersion, other-oa)
- ETH Zürich Research Collection
- Funders
- National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (P42ES027706)
- Endocrine Disruption Exchange (NA)
- Green Science Policy Institute (NA)
- Natural Resources Defense Council (NA)
- Topics
- Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Environmental Chemistry › Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances research
- Physical Sciences › Materials Science › Polymers and Plastics › Synthesis and properties of polymers
- Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Health, Toxicology and Mutagenesis › Toxic Organic Pollutants Impact
- Keywords
- PFAS, per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, perfluoroalkyl acids, fluorinated polymers, perfluoropolyether, toxicology, environmental fate, chemical regulation, PFAS alternatives
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