Chemicals: Dossiers

Trifluoroacetic acid (TFA) is a highly mobile yet extremely stable substance. Itself a ‘forever chemical’, it is the smallest of the PFAS molecules produced when larger PFAS degrade. These might be refrigerants leaked from air conditioning systems and heat pumps, propellants used in aerosol cans and foams, or plant protection products used in agriculture.

Nanotechnology deals with structures which are smaller than 100 nanometers. That is less than eight hundredths of the thickness of a hair. Numerous applications for this new technology only exist as yet on paper or in research scientists' laboratories. Not a great deal is known about the possible risks for humans and the environment, nor about the potential this technology holds.