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A new sensor detects harmful “forever chemicals” in drinking water. The technology could offer a cheap, fast way to test for PFAS, which have been linked to cancer and other health problems
<p>An MIT sensor can detect “forever chemicals” known as PFAS (perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances) in drinking water. PFAS are found in many consumer products and are linked to cancer and other health problems.</p> <p> </p> <p> </p>
CAMBRIDGE, MA -- MIT chemists have designed a sensor that detects tiny quantities of perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) — chemicals found in food packaging, nonstick cookware, and many other consumer products. We’re stuck with these chemicals for a long time, so we need to be able to detect them and get rid of them,” says Timothy Swager, the John D. MacArthur Professor of Chemistry at MIT and the senior author of the study, which appears this week in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. The researchers are now working on a larger-scale device that would be able to filter about a liter of water through a membrane made of polyaniline, and they believe this approach should increase the sensitivity by more than a hundredfold, with the goal of meeting the very low EPA advisory levels.
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