The chemical industry is preparing a new surge in “forever chemical” production to feed the AI economy. Regulators must stop chasing one PFAS at a time and protect the public by acting on the entire class. Action Alert!
THE TOPLINE
- Demand for data-center cooling and semiconductor manufacturing is driving expanded production of PFAS “forever chemicals.”
- Replacing older PFAS with less-studied alternatives risks perpetuating pollution and exposing people to poorly understood health hazards.
- We must fight for a class-wide ban on non-essential PFAS uses, strong drinking-water protections, and requirements that polluters pay for cleanup.
How AI Boom Drives Forever Chemical Boom
Despite the well-documented health dangers associated with PFAS “forever chemicals,” major chemical companies are expanding production to meet the needs of the AI tech boom. Specifically, the chemicals are being used for data-center cooling systems and in semiconductor fabrication.
A new survey from the Swedish chemicals watchdog ChemSec found that most of the world’s largest PFAS producers plan to increase production. The group warns that this expansion could unleash a new “tidal wave” of PFAS pollution even as governments struggle to contain the contamination already in our water, soil, food, air, and bodies.
We cannot go in this direction. The answer is not another slow, molecule-by-molecule review. It is a class-wide ban on non-essential PFAS uses, with only narrow, transparent, time-limited exceptions where no safer alternative yet exists.
PFAS Whac-A-Mole
For decades, concern centered on long-chain PFAS such as perfluorooctanoic acid, or PFOA, and perfluorooctane sulfonic acid, or PFOS. As evidence mounted and pressure grew, manufacturers shifted toward newer short-chain PFAS and other replacements, often promoted as safer because they may leave the body faster than some legacy compounds.
But a shorter half-life is not the same as “safe.” As ANH-USA has reported, emerging research raises serious questions about short-chain PFAS: some can move readily through skin, reach blood and organs, cross the placenta, or break down into persistent metabolites. Their greater mobility can also make them difficult to contain and remove from water. The science is still developing, which is exactly why mass production should not race ahead of independent safety review.
Even if short-chain PFAS are safer, those benefits could very likely be far outweighed by the increased exposure we face as companies race to replace legacy chemicals with newer, less well-characterized alternatives.
Why a Class-Wide Ban Is the Only Rational Course
PFAS are a large and chemically diverse family, and individual compounds do not all have identical toxicity or behavior. But scientists have argued that their shared persistence, the hazards documented for studied members, and the sheer impracticality of evaluating thousands of chemicals one by one justify managing PFAS as a class. A class approach also helps prevent manufacturers from swapping a restricted compound for a close cousin that has less data but the same defining persistence problem.
ANH-USA is calling for a federal ban on PFAS as a class for non-essential uses. Any temporary exception should be publicly justified, limited to a use that is genuinely critical, reviewed on a firm timetable, and conditioned on strict controls, full disclosure, and a funded substitution plan.
Manufacturers and major commercial users should also bear the costs of monitoring, cleanup, safe destruction, and health-protective research. Taxpayers and water customers should not bankroll pollution created for private profit.
Innovation Doesn’t Mean Permanent Pollution
Some companies are already showing that exit is possible. ChemSec identifies Archroma as a producer marketing PFAS-free alternatives, while BASF has said it will phase out most PFAS-containing products by 2028. Those moves undercut the claim that expanding PFAS production is the only path forward.
Tell Congress and the EPA to stop the chemical Whac-A-Mole. Ban non-essential PFAS uses as a class, protect strong drinking-water standards, require full public disclosure of production and releases, and make polluters pay to clean up the contamination they create.
Action Alert!
