iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Hans Peter Arp @hanspeterarp.bsky.social · 30/07/2025

🌍 Mapping the chemical complexity of plastics - published in Nature Magazine! As countries negotiate a global treaty to address the plastic pollution crisis, in this new study we identify thousands of chemicals in plastics - many harmful and largely unregulated. www.nature.com/articles/s41...

nature.com

Mapping the chemical complexity of plastics - Nature

An inventory of 16,325 known plastic chemicals, including >4,200 hazardous compounds, supports the development of safer plastics.

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Hans Peter Arp @hanspeterarp.bsky.social · 09/07/2025

Mapping the chemical complexity of Plastics - now published in @nature.com! This we hope will be used as a launch pad to make plastics and materials more safer and circular!

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Hans Peter Arp @hanspeterarp.bsky.social · 07/07/2025

Breaking #TFA news: The Danish Ministry of the Environment is withdrawing the approval of 23 #pesticides because the products contain active ingredients that can form and leach #TFA into groundwater. This is the first country to ban #PFAS pesticides. Press release (Danish): mst.dk/nyheder/2025...

Tractor applying pesticide to a barren field. Photo by Bence Balla-Schottner on Unsplash

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Hans Peter Arp @hanspeterarp.bsky.social · 26/06/2025

🧪💶Ambitious chemical regulations boosts the economy. A The European Parliamentary Research Service report warns, however, chemical policy needs a strong #REACH and #PFAS strategy to get the best cost-benefit outcome and save the most lives. Full report: www.europarl.europa.eu/thinktank/en...

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Hans Peter Arp @hanspeterarp.bsky.social · 08/06/2025

Big updates this month to the ZeroPM Regulatory watch - on updates to #PFAS and #PMT substances in the EU Highlights: - PFAS in the Soil Monitoring Law - PFAS in the Water Resilience Strategy - @echa.europa.eu launches consultation for #TFA as PMT, vPvM and Reprotox 1b zeropm.eu/regulatory-w...

zeropm.eu

ZeroPM Regulatory Watch - ZeroPM

As the EU Green Deal roles out, ZeroPM's regulatory watch will announce upcoming initiatives related to persistent and mobile substances.

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CHEM Trust @chemtrust.bsky.social · 08/06/2025

‼️ @global2000.bsky.social have tested cereal products in Austria for TFA, finding all products to be highly contaminated. 😥TFA is a type of #PFAS and is currently under consideration for hazardous classifications such as toxic to reproduction. More in our #ToxicFree4EU briefing: buff.ly/0b9IKLC

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Hans Peter Arp @hanspeterarp.bsky.social · 05/06/2025

In this lysimeter study we studied the impact of using biochars to reduce mobility of PFAS in soil. Over 100 years, nearly all PFOS are predicted to leach from no-sorbent lysimeters, while < 1 % will leach from soil treated with sewage sludge- derived biochar. www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

sciencedirect.com

Measurement and modelling of sorbent-amendment impacts on seasonal and long-term PFAS transport through unsaturated soil lysimeters

This study investigated the effectiveness of waste-derived biochar amendments and commercial sorbents in stabilizing PFAS-spiked soils in field-scale …

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Hans Peter Arp @hanspeterarp.bsky.social · 04/06/2025

Plastic-Associated Chemicals: Late Lessons from Early Equilibrium Partitioning Science In this viewpoint we argue why different fields looking at the hazard and risks of plastic associated chemicals can and should unit using a common, existing framework. pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/...

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Stockholm University @stockholm-uni.bsky.social · 03/06/2025

A group of leading European scientists have sent an open letter to the European Commission urging stronger regulatory measures against chemical mixtures in the upcoming revision of REACH—the EU’s main regulation for chemicals. @marleneagerstrand.bsky.social www.su.se/department-o...

su.se

Researchers call on EU to strengthen protection against chemical mixtures in REACH revision - Department of Environmental Science

A group of leading scientists from across Europe, including researchers from the Department of Environmental Science, have jointly sent an open letter to the European Commission urging stronger regula...

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Rebecca Altman, PhD @rebecca-altman.bsky.social · 14/05/2025

Manuscript delivered 😮‍💨 — now begins development and editing and whatever lies beyond that. Every day I’ve gotten to do this, grateful beyond grateful. 🌱 Thank you, friends, family, for the years (5+) of support. Thank you, thank you, thank you.

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Shira Joudan @shirajoudan.bsky.social · 07/05/2025

New paper in Environmental Science: Processes & Impacts studying the spontaneous defluorination of some trifluoromethylphenols, led by co-first authors Zhefei Guo (PhD candidate) and Genevieve Tremblay (undergrad!) in my group: doi.org/10.1039/D4EM... (open access 😎)

doi.org

Spontaneous aqueous defluorination of trifluoromethylphenols: substituent effects and revisiting the mechanism

Trifluoromethylphenols (TFMPs) are environmental contaminants that exist as transformation products of aryl-CF3 pharmaceuticals and agrochemicals. Their –CF3 moiety raises concerns as it may form prob...

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Mariah Blake @mariahblake.bsky.social · 27/04/2025

My piece in morning's New York Times about the unlikely activists who are fighting to turn off the tap on forever chemicals— and making serious headway, even as the Trump camp is dismantling environmental regulations. #PFAS @crownpublishing.bsky.social www.nytimes.com/2025/04/27/o...

nytimes.com

Opinion | Meet the Unlikely Warriors on the Front Lines of a Major Environmental Battle (Gift Article)

Thousands of ordinary Americans whose lives have been upended by forever chemicals are battling to end their use.

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Chemistry World @chemistryworld.com · 27/04/2025

Researchers say the rule will make it impossible for the majority of scientists in the country to carry on with, or to apply to, prestigious ERC research grants, or grants from Serbia’s own national science foundation.

chemistryworld.com

Serbia limits academics’ research time to just one hour a day

Researchers say controversial policy will block majority of scientists from applying for grants

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Gabriel Sigmund @gabrielsigmund.bsky.social · 25/04/2025

Great read on #TFA. It was a pleasure to be able to give my thoughts on this issue alongside @hanspeterarp.bsky.social

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Hans Peter Arp @hanspeterarp.bsky.social · 23/04/2025

The Tibetan Plateau region is an important source of freshwater for two billion people. Climate change has been releasing substances from the permafrost. We reviewed the literature and applied a ML model to identify #PMT substances that are a concern to water quality. pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/...

pubs.acs.org

The Active Soil Layer of Thawing Permafrost Is an Emergent Source for Organic Substances of Concern to Water Resources

The Tibetan Plateau and surrounding area are an important source of freshwater for approximately two billion people. Climate change has aggregated permafrost degradation in the Tibetan Plateau over th...

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Rachel Salvidge @rachelsalvidge.bsky.social · 19/04/2025

NEW!: 3 UK military bases have been marked for investigation over fears they may be leaking toxic forever chemicals into drinking water sources and important environmental sites. In the US, billions of dollars has been spent on military site contamination. www.theguardian.com/environment/...

theguardian.com

Fears that UK military bases may be leaking toxic ‘forever chemicals’ into drinking water

Bases in Norfolk, Devon and Hampshire face MoD investigation over possible leaching of dangerous PFAS into environment

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WATERSHED Investigations @watershed-i.bsky.social · 19/04/2025

MoD investigating military bases in Norfolk, Hampshire & Devon feared to be leaking PFAS forever chemicals - including globally banned PFOS & carcinogenic PFOA - into drinking water sources. Our article in today's @theguardian.com www.theguardian.com/environment/...

theguardian.com

Fears that UK military bases may be leaking toxic ‘forever chemicals’ into drinking water

Bases in Norfolk, Devon and Hampshire face MoD investigation over possible leaching of dangerous PFAS into environment

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Pam Spaulding @pamspaulding.bsky.social · 14/04/2025

“No government — regardless of which party is in power — should dictate what private universities can teach, whom they can admit and hire, and which areas of study and inquiry they can pursue." —Harvard President Alan Garber is.gd/B8PkXt The Trump regime threat letter (PDF): is.gd/8L47wv

is.gd

Harvard says it won’t comply with Trump’s ‘unprecedented’ demands

Last month, the Trump administration launched a review into $9 billion in the school’s federal funding due to allegations of antisemitism.

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Hans Peter Arp @hanspeterarp.bsky.social · 11/04/2025

Mobility at the European Chemicals Agency! At ECHA in Helsinki to present and discuss methods to assess substance #mobility. This visit is related to the implementation of the new #PMT and #vPvM hazard classes introduced in the EU #CLP Regulation - with Raoul Wolf and Anne Deininger

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Hans Peter Arp @hanspeterarp.bsky.social · 15/03/2025

Agreed. Two points from the article to highlight: 1. The lack of mechanistic plausibility that particles larger than 1µm can cross blood/membrane barriers (from decades of air pollution research): 2. Results of polyethylene in tissues/blood cannot be trusted due to molecular similarities to lipids

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Mariah Blake @mariahblake.bsky.social · 19/02/2025

I’ve spent the last 8 years working on a book about forever chemicals, or #PFAS, and the chemical industry’s decades-long campaign to cover up their dangers. What I discovered along the way is deeply disturbing, and yet the journey has left me hopeful. www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/554198...

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Hans Peter Arp @hanspeterarp.bsky.social · 19/02/2025

Please join my webinar today "The Global Threat of from the Irreversible accumulation of Trifluoroacetic Acid (TFA)" www.healthandenvironment.org/che-webinars... (3PM EST/ 9 PM CET) Attendance has reached full capacity, but registrants on the wait list will get access to a recording afterward.

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Hans Peter Arp @hanspeterarp.bsky.social · 14/02/2025

#PFAS in Europe - quo vadis? ARTE did an excellent, well-produced 10 minute news clip covering the concerns of PFAS in Europe, from its effects, clean-up and the phase out. I was very happy to be interviewed as part of this to talk about effects, clean-up and phase-out. www.arte.tv/en/videos/11...

arte.tv

ARTE Europe Weekly - PFAS: Can Europe Stop 'Forever Chemicals'? - Watch the full documentary | ARTE in English

Developed over 80 years ago for their indestructible qualities, PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances) are now inescapable. From kitchenware to drinking water, and even in the entire food chain, t...

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Hans Peter Arp @hanspeterarp.bsky.social · 10/02/2025

Yeah - old school playbook that they claim free speech while banning words, ca Orwellian "1984" Newspeak. That being said, based on the previous 2016 Trump restrictions on freedom of speech, I am most surprised by "Emissions" being banned. Perhaps its because of embarrassment of nocturnal em......

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Hans Peter Arp @hanspeterarp.bsky.social · 10/02/2025

💙 You are invited to the essential ZeroPM Webinar: "The implementation of the essential use concept from a chemical and psychological standpoint" with Sabine Pahl, Ellise Suffill, Rahul Aggarwal and Romain Figuière 26th of February 2025, 14.00 – 15.00 CET Register+info: zeropm.eu/2025/02/zero...

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Hans Peter Arp @hanspeterarp.bsky.social · 10/02/2025

Announcing the special, gold open access #ZeroPM issue of Environmental Sciences Europe! The full issue and articles can be downloaded here: enveurope.springeropen.com/zeropm A youtube trailer is below! #PFAS #PMT #Essentialuse #Alternatives #Policy www.youtube.com/watch?v=CYv5...

youtube.com

The ZeroPM ESEU Issue!

YouTube video by ZeroPM - H2020

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Hans Peter Arp @hanspeterarp.bsky.social · 03/02/2025

💙The ZeroPM Science-Policy Webinar 6: "What can we learn from 25 years of work on PFAS" - with Magnus Buhl Løfstedt, European Environment Agency is now on youtube! If your interested in how EU environmental policy is made, particularly on #PFAS - do not miss! www.youtube.com/watch?v=xFu_...

youtube.com

Science-Policy Webinar #6 What can we learn from 25 years of work on PFAS - with Magnus Løfstedt

YouTube video by ZeroPM - H2020

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Hans Peter Arp @hanspeterarp.bsky.social · 30/01/2025

Then one loop of the virtuous cycle is complete! Steps 1 - 3 are then repeated until the PFAS levels are safe for crops can be reintroduced. You can read read more about this virtuous cycle approach in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, here: pubs.acs.org/doi/full/10....

pubs.acs.org

A Virtuous Cycle of Phytoremediation, Pyrolysis, and Biochar Applications toward Safe PFAS Levels in Soil, Feed, and Food

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Hans Peter Arp @hanspeterarp.bsky.social · 30/01/2025

🖤 Step 3. #Biochar application. The PFAS-free biochar is then tilled into the soil, reducing the mobility of long-chain PFAS through sorption, lowering leaching to groundwater. This biochar could also be mixed with the feed of grazers, where it could sorb PFAS from the intestine for depuration

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Hans Peter Arp @hanspeterarp.bsky.social · 30/01/2025

🔥 Step 2. #Pyrolysis - the mobile-PFAS contaminated plants are then pyrolyzed under conditions that mineralizes the PFAS within the plant, and converts the organic matter to PFAS-free Biochar. Optimizing for PFAS mineralization is key. Biochar is a stable form of carbon = negative GHG emissions.

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Hans Peter Arp @hanspeterarp.bsky.social · 30/01/2025

🪴 Step 1. #Phytoremediation - plants that can accumulate mobile PFAS, such as #TFA and #PFBS are planted on the soil. These can be selected based on their ability to "hyperaccummulate" PFAS, but ideally should be locally sourced plants/crops. These are then harvested for biochar production.

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Hans Peter Arp @hanspeterarp.bsky.social · 30/01/2025

How can we restore #PFAS contaminated farmlands in a sustainable way? 👩‍🌾 We are piloting a new approach that involves a virtuous cycle of Phytoremediation, Pyrolysis, and Biochar Application. How does it work? pubs.acs.org/doi/full/10....

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Rebecca R Helm @rebeccarhelm.bsky.social · 28/01/2025

This kept me up last night. I don’t think most people realize how much US science has slipped in the last 10 years. I’ve already received unsolicited competitive recruitment offers from Chinese universities. Other counties see what’s happening here and know exactly what to do.

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Hans Peter Arp @hanspeterarp.bsky.social · 28/01/2025

Please join me for my #webinar: "Ultrashort-Chain PFAS: The global threat of trifluoroacetic acid" Hosted by the Collaborative for Health & Environment - EDC Strategies Partnership February 19, 2025 3 pm US Eastern Time, 9 pm Central European Time www.healthandenvironment.org/che-webinars...

healthandenvironment.org

Ultrashort-Chain PFAS: The global threat of trifluoroacetic acid

Trifluoroacetic acid (TFA) is one of the ultrashort-chain perfluoroalkyl acids, a subset of the larger family of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS). TFA is a degradation product of many...

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Hans Peter Arp @hanspeterarp.bsky.social · 21/01/2025

New release: #ZeroM Regulatory watch recap of most important EU policy initiatives for #PFAS and #PMT/#vPvM substances in 2024, and what to look out for in 2025. zeropm.eu/2025/01/reca... #REACH #CLP #water #soils #essentialuse #EPR #TFA

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Hans Peter Arp @hanspeterarp.bsky.social · 20/01/2025

💙 You are invited to the free ZeroPM #Webinar: "Navigating the #science to #policy interface – what can we learn from 25 years of work on #PFAS" with Magnus Buhl Løfstedt from the European Environment Agancy (EEA). 22nd of January 2025, 15.00 – 16.00 CET Registration: zeropm.eu/2025/01/zero...

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Rachel Salvidge @rachelsalvidge.bsky.social · 20/01/2025

They’re toxic, everywhere and here forever. PFAS forever chemicals are in water, soils, air, wildlife and your body. They're linked to cancers & other diseases. We wrote 10 stories for the Guardian about PFAS. Here’s a round-up in case you missed it: 1/16

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Hans Peter Arp @hanspeterarp.bsky.social · 16/01/2025

Thinking of refurbishing? Homes with high plastic content likely burn faster and with more deadlier smoke than those made with natural textiles and building materials. www.theatlantic.com/science/arch...

theatlantic.com

What Happens When a Plastic City Burns

Most modern couches are basically blocks of gasoline.

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Hans Peter Arp @hanspeterarp.bsky.social · 15/01/2025

💙 The #ZeroPM Webinar: A Global Perspective on the Persistence and Mobility of Regulated Chemicals - with @sivani.bsky.social and Raoul Wolf is now online! Video: youtu.be/9ehjndSWO-Y?... Slides: zenodo.org/records/1462... Database (betaversion): database.zeropm.eu #PFAS #PMT #Cheminformatics

youtu.be

Webinar #4 A Global Perspective on the Persistence and Mobility of Regulated Chemicals

YouTube video by ZeroPM - H2020

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Stéphane Horel @stephanehorel.bsky.social · 14/01/2025

The #ForeverLobbying Project exposes the real cost of #PFAS pollution on the environment, science, and politics. 46 journalists teamed up with 18 experts to investigate the worst pollution crisis humanity has ever faced, caused by the “poison of the century”. foreverpollution.eu/lobbying/

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Hans Peter Arp @hanspeterarp.bsky.social · 14/01/2025

Links for more on the bill and our methodology: The bill for the EU 27, Iceland, Norway, Switzerland and the UK: foreverpollution.eu/lobbying/the... The methodology: foreverpollution.eu/lobbying/the... Link on TFA impacts: pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/...

foreverpollution.eu

The Bill - The Forever Pollution Project

Our team has estimated a range of costs of PFAS remediation in Europe on two different scenarios

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Hans Peter Arp @hanspeterarp.bsky.social · 14/01/2025

It was amazing to work with Ali Ling, Raphaëlle Aubert and Eurydice Bersi as the team for making these cost estimates, along with Forever Pollution project, led by Stéphane HOREL at Le Monde, and contributions from ZeroPM and ARAGORN EU.

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Hans Peter Arp @hanspeterarp.bsky.social · 14/01/2025

Threshold values for #PFAS in soil and water in EU regulations can facilitate management.

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Hans Peter Arp @hanspeterarp.bsky.social · 14/01/2025

2) If released, the quicker they are remediated at the point of of release, such as from a factory, contaminated soil or contaminated landfill, the cheaper and more effective.

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Hans Peter Arp @hanspeterarp.bsky.social · 14/01/2025

Three main take aways: 1) The most cost-effective way of managing PFAS is to prevent production, use and emissions in the first place, as supported by the broad PFAS restriction in the EU

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Hans Peter Arp @hanspeterarp.bsky.social · 14/01/2025

"Cleaning up the most concentrated sources of long-chain PFAS in Europe would cost €4.8 billion per year Getting rid of all PFAS €2 trillion over 20 years Short-chain and ultrashort-chain PFAS, like TFA, are extremely mobile and can very easily enter the cells of living creatures."

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