The Australian parliament will conduct a national inquiry into the dangers of “forever chemicals”.
The move comes after a string of revelations about the potential dangers of the substances, including news this week that Sydney Water has detected the chemicals in the city’s drinking water sources. Independent senator Lidia Thorpe, who led the push for a parliamentary inquiry, described these chemicals as the “asbestos of the 21st century — far more prevalent and far less understood.”
Forever chemicals, technically known as per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), have been linked to cancer. This makes their widespread presence in our water particularly alarming.
