Toronto, Ontario — New research from Jennifer L. Guelfo et al., suggests that the lithium-ion batteries used in everyday products and electric vehicles could be a growing source of the “forever chemicals” that pollute soil and water sources.
According to The Verge, “forever chemicals” encompass thousands of different kinds of per-and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAs), which for decades have been used in products such as pesticides, stain resistant products and plastic products.
Research published in the journal Nature Communications indicates that subclasses of these chemicals are now showing up in soil, sediment, water and snow surrounding manufacturing facilities. The chemicals were also found in liquids that leached from landfills.
As a result, the study further indicates that lithium-ion batteries could be a producer of “forever chemicals” from manufacturing to disposal.
Lead author, Jennifer Guelfo, an assistant professor of environmental engineering at Texas Tech university, commented that the results of the study are “definitely not intended to be anti-clean or sustainable energy…It’s really meant to highlight, ‘Hey, let’s include environmental risk assessments of the things we’re using in this infrastructure.’”
Researchers involved in the study took water, sediment and soil samples from 87 different locations in Minnesota, Kentucky, Belgium and France between January and October 2022.
For more information, or to see the study, click here.
