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Why PFAS Is So Hard to Eliminate—and What Manufacturers Can Do

05/21/2025

TL;DR

PFAS are difficult to eliminate because they’re deeply embedded in critical industries and hard to replace. But growing regulation and health risks make inaction costly. Manufacturers must act now—by identifying PFAS use, exploring safer alternatives, and leveraging innovation to stay ahead. 

What’s Changing

The regulatory pressure on PFAS is rising globally, and with it, the need for clearer business strategies. Despite their risks, PFAS remain functionally valuable and deeply embedded across industries—from electronics and textiles to packaging and medical devices. This makes them difficult to eliminate, even as regulations tighten. For manufacturers, the challenge is not just understanding the problem, but determining how to adapt product design, sourcing, and compliance processes to meet growing scrutiny.

Why It Matters for Manufacturers

  • Cost: Removing PFAS late in the game can mean expensive redesigns, rework, and supplier bottlenecks. Acting now saves money and future disruption. 
  • Quality: PFAS-free materials must be validated early to avoid compromising product performance or approval timelines. 
  • Risk: As global bans grow, manufacturers who fail to adapt face regulatory fines, legal action, and reputational damage. 

What to Do Now

  1. Map Your Exposure: Identify where PFAS exists in your products or processes—even upstream in supplier materials or coatings. 
  2. Evaluate Alternatives: Understand where substitution is viable, and where performance-critical applications still require PFAS (for now). 
  3. Invest in Innovation: Collaborate across teams to explore R&D opportunities and regulatory developments that support long-term transition. 

Deeper Dive: Why PFAS Isn’t Just a Compliance Problem

PFAS don’t readily break down, which makes them both effective in manufacturing and dangerous to the environment. They accumulate in soil, water, and living organisms—and have been found everywhere from polar ice caps to deep ocean trenches. Their persistence and ability to move through air and water make them a global contaminant. 

Their bioaccumulative nature means they concentrate as they move up the food chain, with increasing risks for humans and wildlife. Research has linked PFAS exposure to cancers, reproductive issues, and immune system dysfunction. These aren’t just theoretical risks: they’re now showing up in lawsuits, product recalls, and major regulatory crackdowns. 

This broader context is why simply substituting PFAS is a complex challenge. In some applications—like aerospace, medical devices, and semiconductors—there aren’t easy drop-in replacements. Any meaningful transition requires alignment between R&D, procurement, regulatory, and sustainability teams. 

How Viridium AI Helps

Sifting through nested supply chains to access material and chemical intelligence has never been more complex. Viridium AI’s industry-leading Material Science Intelligence Platform simplifies data readiness, accelerates material assessments, and enables safer material use.

Contact us to learn more: info@viridium.ai