Ocean waves contain more ‘forever chemicals’ than industrial pollution. That’s bad news if you live on the coast

New research found that ocean spray spreads PFAS into the air and onto land, creating a vicious cycle of forever chemicals that never disappear.

PFAS, or forever chemicals, are ubiquitous in our environment. In the U.S. alone, there are more than 57,000 sites contaminated with these chemicals. They’re in our drinking water, our soil, our products—and our ocean. And according to new research, when waves crash onto shores around the world, they spray hundreds of thousands of PFAS particles into the air, creating a cycle in which these chemicals go from land to sea and back again.