Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are a class of highly persistent anthropogenic pollutants that have emerged as major environmental contaminants, with their ubiquitous occurrence reported across all environmental compartments. Owing to their exceptional resistance to heat, water, and oil, PFAS have been extensively used in industrial, commercial, and consumer applications. Their chemical stability and mobility have led to their widespread occurrence in air, water, soil, and biota, raising significant concerns regarding their potential adverse effects on human health and ecosystems. This review provides a comprehensive overview of the occurrence, sources, and environmental transport pathways of PFAS, as well as current evidence linking PFAS exposure to adverse human health outcomes. Particular attention is given to the challenges associated with the persistence and bioaccumulation of both long-chain and short-chain PFAS, highlighting their differing environmental behaviors, mobility, bioaccumulation potentials, and the resulting risks to wildlife and human populations. Conventional water and wastewater treatment processes exhibit limited removal efficiency for PFAS, typically ranging from less than 15% to approximately 65% depending on the PFAS chain length and treatment method, thereby prompting growing interest in advanced treatment technologies. Recent developments in removal strategies, including activated carbon adsorption, advanced oxidation processes, and membrane-based separation, are critically reviewed with respect to treatment performance, operational limitations, and scalability potential. By integrating current knowledge on PFAS environmental distribution, health impacts, and treatment technologies, this review identifies key research gaps and engineering challenges that must be addressed to enable the effective mitigation of PFAS contamination and to protect human and environmental health.
Saheed et al. (Fri,) studied this question.