It has all the makings of a toxic controversy. Growing evidence suggests that the molecules known as forever chemicals — used in everyday items like cosmetics, non-stick pans and water-repellent clothing — can build up in the environment and in the body, to the detriment of both.
Last year, the world’s pre-eminent chemistry organisation announced a panel would look again at how the chemicals — more properly known as per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS — are defined. That has stoked unhappiness among some researchers, who suspect that the rethink, to be carried out by the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry, might end up narrowing the definition and letting some forever chemicals off the regulatory hook. The current definition, they protest, is grounded in science and works well; the new initiative, they argue