Over a 20-year period, it's about at least 1,100 billion kronor – for the emissions that have already been made, reports SR's Science Radio and Dagens ETC.
The figure has been produced by a collaborative project where 46 journalists from 16 countries have received help from researchers to map the cleaning costs based on different scenarios. In the highest scenario, the estimated cleaning cost amounts to 25,000 billion kronor over a 20-year period.
PFAS are human-made chemicals that break down extremely slowly and therefore accumulate in nature and in our bodies. Some are toxic and can increase the risk of various negative health effects.
The best and cheapest strategy for society is to avoid using or at least releasing PFAS. We haven't counted the costs of healthcare and health problems, says Hans Peter Arp, environmental chemist at the Norwegian Geotechnical Institute, to the radio.
