Toxic PFAS, “forever chemicals” used in lithium-ion batteries essential to the clean energy transition, represent a dangerous source of chemical contamination that New research discovers threatens the environment and human health as the nascent industry grows.
The peer-reviewed multidisciplinary study focused on an under-researched and unregulated subclass of PFAS called bis-FASI that is used in lithium-ion batteries.
Researchers found alarming levels of the chemicals in the environment near manufacturing plants, noted their presence in remote areas around the world, discovered that they appear to be toxic to living organisms, and found that battery waste dumped in landfills was a major source of contamination.
The nation faces “two critical challenges: minimizing water pollution and increasing our use of clean, sustainable energy, and both are worthy causes,” said Jennifer Guelfo, a researcher at Texas Tech University and co-author of the study.
“But there is a bit of a trade-off between the two, and this study highlights that we now have an opportunity, as we expand this energy infrastructure, to do a better job of incorporating environmental risk assessments,” he added.
PFAS are a class of about 16,000 synthetic compounds most often used to make products water-, stain-, and heat-resistant. They are called “forever chemicals” because they do not break down naturally and have been found to accumulate in humans. These chemicals are linked to cancer, birth defects, liver disease, thyroid disease, plummeting sperm counts, and a variety of other serious health problems.
Public health advocates are increasingly sounding the alarm about the need to find alternatives to toxic chemicals for clean energy technology, such as batteries and wind turbines, as the transition progresses.
The paper notes that there are few end-of-life standards for PFAS battery waste, and the vast majority ends up in municipal landfills where they can leach into waterways, accumulate locally or be transported long distances.
Historical leachate samples were tested for the presence of chemicals and none were found in samples prior to the mid-1990s, when these chemicals became commercially available.
The study notes that previous research has shown that bis-FASI can be reused, although only 5% of lithium batteries are recycled. This could result in around 8 million tonnes of battery waste by 2040 if battery recycling does not increase dramatically in line with demand.
“This indicates that we should take a closer look at this class of PFAS,” Guelfo said.
Since there is very little toxicological data on bis-FASI, the study also looked at its effects on invertebrates and zebrafish. Effects were detected at low exposure levels, suggesting toxicity similar to other known hazardous PFAS compounds.
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Researchers also took samples of water, soil and air around a 3M plant in Minnesota and other large facilities known to produce the chemicals. The soil and water levels were concerning, Guelfo said, and the detection of the chemicals in the snow suggests they move easily through the atmosphere.
That could help explain why chemicals have been found in seawater in China and other remote areas not close to production plants.
While the most widely used PFAS definitions globally include bis-FASI, one division of the EPA does not consider it part of the class of chemicals and so it was not included on a list of compounds that must be monitored in U.S. water. The EPA has faced criticism for using a narrow definition of PFAS that public health advocates say has excluded some chemicals at the behest of industry.
However, the new research, along with previous evidence, shows that bis-FASIs are persistent, mobile and toxic like most other PFAS, said Lee Ferguson, a researcher and co-author at Duke University.
“That ranking combined with the huge increase in clean energy storage we’re seeing should at least ring some alarm bells,” he said.