Sea foam could contain more ‘forever chemicals’ than water below

26-Sep-2025 - Sea foam is a common sight along the coastline as breaking waves churn up air and algae. Now, a study in ACS’ Environmental Science & Technology reports that sea foam from several beaches along North Carolina’s coast contain higher levels of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) compared to ...

Farewell to ‘forever’ – Destroying PFAS by grinding it up with a new additive

A new way to tackle 'forever chemicals'

25-Jan-2023 - Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are potentially harmful substances known as “forever chemicals” because they are so difficult to destroy. One emerging technique to degrade PFAS involves forcefully grinding them with metal balls in a moving container, but this technique can require ...

New clues help explain why PFAS chemicals resist remediation

Work suggests new avenues for cleaning up these 'forever chemicals'

21-Jan-2021 - The synthetic chemicals known as PFAS, short for perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances, are found in soil and groundwater where they have accumulated, posing risks to human health ranging from respiratory problems to cancer. New research from the University of Houston and Oregon State ...

Are 20 percent of materials chemistry papers wrong?

18-Dec-2017 - Can companies rely on the results of one or two scientific studies to design a new industrial process or launch a new product? In at least one area of materials chemistry, the answer may be yes -- but only 80 percent of the time. The replicability of results from scientific studies has become a ...

New sensors could enable more affordable detection of pollution and diseases

23-Jun-2017 - When it comes to testing for cancer, environmental pollution and food contaminants, traditional sensors can help. The challenges are that they often are bulky, expensive, non-intuitive and complicated. Now, one team reports in ACS Sensors that portable pressure-based detectors coupled with ...

Targeting PFOA threat to drinking water

12-Jun-2017 - A highly toxic water pollutant, known as perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), last year caused a number of U.S. communities to close their drinking water supplies. Because of its historical use in Teflon production and other industrial processes as well as its environmental persistence, PFOA ...

Researchers use graphene templates to make new metal-oxide nanostructures

09-Nov-2016 - Researchers from Brown University have found a new method for making ultrathin metal-oxide sheets containing intricate wrinkle and crumple patterns. In a study the researchers show that the textured metal-oxide films have better performance when used as photocatalysts and as battery ...

Crystal unclear

Why might this uncanny crystal change laser design?

29-Aug-2016 - Laser applications may benefit from crystal research by scientists at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and China's Shandong University. They have discovered a potential way to sidestep longstanding difficulties with making the crystals that are a crucial part of laser ...

Hydrocarbon storage, fracking and lightning risk

16-Mar-2016 - Fires caused by lightning strikes on hydrocarbon storage plants are a century-old, yet to be addressed, problem. In the era of hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, this is becoming an even more poignant issue for the fossil fuel industry. Sterling Rooke of X8 Inc in Crofton, Maryland, and Miroslaw ...

Risk of lead poisoning from urban gardening is low, new study finds

04-Feb-2016 - Using compost is the single best thing you can do to protect your family from any danger associated with lead in urban soils. Good compost will also guarantee that you will have plenty of vegetables to harvest. The University of Washington-led study looked at potential risks associated with ...