PFAS Roadmap Sets Global Agenda for Regulation, Monitoring and Destruction of Forever Chemicals

PFAS, often referred to as "forever chemicals", are a structurally diverse group of highly persistent substances linked to environmental contamination and adverse health outcomes. Despite more than a decade of research and escalating regulatory scrutiny, the authors argue that fragmented approaches have limited progress. The PFAS roadmap proposes a holistic framework structured around three pillars: monitor and understand, regulate and replace, and capture and destroy.

PFAS Regulation Under Pressure

The PFAS roadmap highlights mounting regulatory complexity. International controls under the Stockholm Convention have already targeted PFOS, PFOA and PFHxS, while national authorities continue to lower drinking water limits into the low ng/L range.

However, divergent definitions of PFAS, contested toxicology and extremely low screening values are creating compliance and remediation challenges. The roadmap calls for clearer grouping strategies, improved toxicological data and harmonised risk-based frameworks to avoid disproportionate costs while maintaining environmental and human health protection.

Monitoring and Analytical Capability Gaps

Robust monitoring is central to the PFAS roadmap. Current targeted methods capture only a small fraction of commercially relevant PFAS, while high-resolution mass spectrometry and total organofluorine techniques are needed to close fluorine mass balances.

The authors stress the need for improved extraction protocols, reference standards and real-time or in situ measurement tools. Without better analytical coverage, regulators and site managers risk underestimating contamination or misdirecting remediation investment.

Capture and Destroy Technologies Scale Up

On treatment, the PFAS roadmap reviews established and emerging technologies including granular activated carbon, ion exchange resins, foam fractionation, high-pressure membranes, hazardous waste incineration, supercritical water oxidation and hydrothermal alkaline treatment.

While several destructive technologies show promise, the paper underscores that there is no single silver bullet. Thermal processes must manage products of incomplete combustion, while advanced oxidation and hydrothermal systems require further optimisation and scale-up validation. Concentration steps such as adsorption or enrichment remain critical to make downstream destruction technically and economically viable.

For asset owners and operators, this signals continued investment in treatment trains rather than standalone solutions.

Implications for Industry

The PFAS roadmap makes clear that manufacturers, water utilities, waste managers and land developers all face increasing scrutiny. Phasing out non-essential uses, validating safer alternatives and integrating destruction capacity into waste strategies will become core compliance activities.

Stakeholders should assess their PFAS inventories, monitor evolving standards and evaluate treatment resilience under tightening discharge limits.

Summary

The PFAS roadmap provides a comprehensive, science-based blueprint for managing PFAS from source to destruction. By integrating monitoring, regulation, substitution and advanced treatment, it offers a structured path forward for industries navigating escalating compliance demands and long-term environmental liabilities.