Translation — the French version prevails.
From non-stick pans to waterproof suits, per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances have permeated our daily lives. Detected in the blood of 98 % of Americans and in Antarctic rainwater, these non-degradable molecules lie at the heart of the 21st century's greatest environmental scandal.
Leur promesse industrielle était simple : ne rien laisser accrocher. Leur problème sanitaire est le même : ils ne disparaissent presque pas.
Les premières investigations suisses dans le bâti les retrouvent déjà dans les joints, traitements de surface et mousses d'extinction.
On 6 April 1938, chemist Roy Plunkett tries to create a new refrigerant in DuPont's laboratories. When he opens a gas cylinder, nothing comes out — yet the container is abnormally heavy. Cutting it open, he finds a white powder that is extraordinarily slippery and heat-resistant. Polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) has just been born — by pure chance.
DuPont markets it under the brand name Teflon. In 1952, 3M develops Scotchgard from PFOS. PFAS then invade everyday life: non-stick cookware, waterproof clothing, food packaging, firefighting foams, ski waxes, cosmetics. More than 10'000 different PFAS substances will be created.
On April 6, 1938, chemist Roy Plunkett, working for DuPont in New Jersey, attempts to create a new refrigerant. When he opens a cylinder of tetrafluoroethylene, no gas escapes — yet the cylinder is heavier than expected. Cutting it open, he discovers a slippery white powder with extraordinary resistance to heat and chemicals. Polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) has just been born — by pure chance.
Source : Science History Institute, Biography of Roy Plunkett
The virtually unlimited resources of the Manhattan Project give PTFE its first industrial application. Scientists at Oak Ridge use it to protect uranium hexafluoride pipework — an extremely corrosive gas used in uranium enrichment. The technology is classified as a military secret.
DuPont markets PTFE under the Teflon brand. The material is presented as revolutionary: non-stick, resistant to extreme temperatures, chemically inert. It will soon be used in cookware, seals, cables, medical implants, and countless industrial applications.
Source : DuPont, History of Teflon
DuPont's Washington Works plant, near Parkersburg, West Virginia, begins using perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA, known as C8) as a processing aid in Teflon production. This compound will be discharged for decades into the Ohio River and into unlined waste pits, contaminating the drinking water of more than 100,000 people.
Two 3M chemists develop a PFAS compound that gives rise to Scotchgard, a stain-repelling and water-proofing treatment used on carpets, upholstery fabrics, and clothing. Perfluorooctane sulfonic acid (PFOS) becomes the key ingredient in a line of products sold worldwide.
PFAS permeate everyday life. Non-stick cookware, waterproof breathable clothing (Gore-Tex), grease-resistant food packaging, firefighting foams (AFFF), ski waxes, cosmetics, dental floss. More than 4,700 different PFAS compounds are developed. Industry speaks of 'miracle chemistry' — no one asks what happens to these molecules once they enter the environment.
As early as the 1970s, 3M knows that PFOS accumulates in the blood of its employees. In 1978, DuPont discovers PFOA in the blood of pregnant workers — two babies are born with birth defects. In 1981, internal studies classify PFOA as a potential carcinogen. Yet both companies continue production, dump thousands of tonnes of waste into the environment, and inform neither authorities nor the public.
In 1998, Wilbur Tennant, a West Virginia farmer whose cattle are mysteriously dying, contacts attorney Rob Bilott. His farm lies downstream from a landfill where DuPont buried hundreds of tonnes of PFOA-contaminated sludge. Bilott discovers that the Washington Works plant dumped 7'100 tonnes of sludge into unlined pits, contaminating the drinking water of more than 100'000 people.
Internal 3M studies reveal that PFOS accumulates in the blood of exposed workers. The company has known since the 1970s that this chemical substance is 'highly toxic by inhalation and moderately toxic by ingestion'. This data will not be communicated to regulators for decades.
Source : ProPublica, investigation on 3M, 2023
An internal DuPont study detects PFOA in the blood of pregnant workers at the Washington Works plant. Two of the eight babies born to these employees present congenital malformations (one eye and one tear duct malformed). DuPont transfers women of childbearing age away from the production line — but notifies neither the authorities nor the public.
Source : Internal DuPont documents, disclosed during litigation
Internal DuPont studies on rats exposed to PFOA show increased tumours of the testicles, pancreas, and liver. The company internally classifies the compound as a potential carcinogen. Despite this classification, production continues unchanged and environmental discharges persist.
Source : Internal DuPont documents
Attorney Rob Bilott, specialising in environmental law at Taft Stettinius & Hollister in Cincinnati, receives a call from Wilbur Tennant, a farmer from Parkersburg whose cattle are dying mysteriously. His farm lies downstream of a landfill where DuPont buried hundreds of tonnes of PFOA-contaminated sludge. This marks the beginning of a legal battle that will last more than 20 years.
Source : Robert Bilott, 'Exposure', 2019
Rob Bilott files a federal lawsuit against DuPont on behalf of Wilbur Tennant. Analysing DuPont's internal documents, he discovers that the company had known about PFOA's toxicity for decades, that it had dumped 7,100 tonnes of contaminated sludge in unlined waste pits, and that it had contaminated the drinking water of entire communities.
Source : U.S. District Court, Southern District of West Virginia
After negotiations with the EPA, 3M announces the voluntary phase-out of its PFOS chemistry. The company had known since the 1970s that the substance accumulated in the human body, but only acted after the EPA threatened to make the toxicity data public. 3M replaces PFOS with PFBS — another per- and polyfluoroalkyl substance that also persists indefinitely in the environment.
Source : EPA, press release, May 16, 2000
The CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) reveals that PFOA and PFOS are detectable in the blood of virtually the entire American population. The contamination is universal — including in newborns. The scientific community begins to speak of 'forever chemicals'.
Source : CDC, National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES)
The EPA imposes a fine of USD 16.5 million on DuPont — the largest in its history at that time — for having concealed PFOA toxicity data for decades. DuPont had violated the TSCA (Toxic Substances Control Act) by failing to report known health risks of C8.
Source : EPA, Consent Agreement, 2004
DuPont spins off its chemical operations into a new entity, Chemours, which inherits liability for contaminated sites and PFOA-related litigation. This manoeuvre is criticised as an attempt to limit DuPont's financial exposure to the massive lawsuits underway.
Todd Haynes's film 'Dark Waters', with Mark Ruffalo as Rob Bilott, brings the DuPont scandal before a global audience. The film reveals how DuPont knowingly contaminated the drinking water of tens of thousands of people, concealed internal toxicity studies, and lobbied to prevent any regulation for decades.
Source : Dark Waters, Focus Features / Participant Media, 2019
« PFOA does not degrade. It does not burn. It does not dissolve. It accumulates in blood and organs. And we poured it into the river for forty years. »
« DuPont knew. 3M knew. They chose profits over human lives. It is exactly the same story as asbestos and tobacco. »
« Our cows were dying one after another. Their teeth were black, their organs deformed. When I realised it was the water, no one wanted to listen. »
« Low levels of manufactured PFAS were detected in human blood as early as the 1970s. We knew it was accumulating. »
Todd Haynes's film, with Mark Ruffalo as Rob Bilott, brought the DuPont scandal to a worldwide audience. It shows how a corporation knowingly contaminated the drinking water of tens of thousands of people, concealed internal toxicity studies and lobbied to prevent any regulation — exactly as the asbestos and tobacco industries had done before.
The carbon-fluorine bonds in PFAS are among the most stable in all of organic chemistry. No known natural process — not sunlight, not bacteria, not time — can break them down. The term “forever chemicals” is not a metaphor: these molecules will literally outlast our civilisation.
In 2022, a study by Stockholm University demonstrated that PFAS are detectable in rainwater everywhere on the planet, including Antarctica, at levels exceeding health thresholds. They are present in the blood of 98 % of the US population, in Arctic ice, in groundwater and in the food chain.
« There is nowhere on Earth where the rain can be considered safe to drink under current PFAS guidelines. »
« We created a chemical that will exist longer than our civilisation. It will still be here when the last humans are gone. »
The C8 Study, the largest epidemiological study ever conducted on a chemical pollutant (69’030 participants), established a probable link between PFOA exposure and six major diseases. Subsequent studies have expanded the list of documented effects.
The PFAS issue in Swiss buildings is still in its early stages — but the parallels with the asbestos story are striking. In August 2025, the FOEN informed cantons of the first indicative PFAS thresholds under the VVEA. The Swiss Parliament voted in favour of binding limit values for drinking water, soil and foodstuffs.
Contamination is already documented around military bases (AFFF firefighting foams), airports and industrial sites. In buildings, PFAS are found in waterproofing membranes, fluoroelastomer seals, water-repellent paints, treated carpets and firefighting foams.
The strategies are identical. In both cases, industries deliberately sacrificed public health to protect their profits. The question is: will we react faster this time?
The scale of PFAS contamination exceeds anything ever observed for a chemical pollutant. Here are the essential data.
known different PFAS substances
10’000+
Estimated number of distinct per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances. Most have never been tested for toxicity.
98%
Percentage of the American population with detectable levels of PFAS in blood (CDC/NHANES).
USD 12.5 bn
Maximum amount of 3M's settlement with American drinking water utilities (2023). One of the largest in history.
USD 1.18 bn
Amount of the DuPont/Chemours/Corteva settlement with drinking water utilities (approved February 2024).
4 ppt
Limit set by the EPA for PFOA and PFOS in drinking water (April 2024) — 4 parts per trillion, a near-undetectable level.
69’030
Number of participants in the largest epidemiological study ever conducted on a chemical pollutant (Ohio Valley, 2005–2013).
After decades of inaction, the response is finally accelerating. The EPA sets near-zero limits, the EU proposes a universal ban, lawsuits are multiplying and fines are reaching record levels. But the challenge remains immense: PFAS are already everywhere.
A study by Stockholm University demonstrates that PFAS are now present in rainwater across the entire planet — including in Antarctica and on the Tibetan Plateau — at levels exceeding health guidelines. Professor Ian Cousins states: 'There is nowhere on Earth where the rain can be considered safe to drink.'
Source : Environmental Science & Technology, Stockholm University, 2022
3M concludes a landmark settlement agreement with American cities, municipalities, and drinking water utilities: between USD 10.3 and 12.5 billion over 13 years for PFAS contamination. This is one of the largest environmental settlements in history.
Source : 3M Settlement Agreement, June 2023
Five European countries (Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden) submit to ECHA a proposal for a universal ban on all PFAS — approximately 10,000 substances. This is the most ambitious restriction ever proposed under the REACH Regulation. More than 5,600 scientific comments are received during the public consultation.
Source : ECHA, Restriction Proposal, January 13, 2023
In April 2024, the EPA finalises the first federal standards for PFAS in drinking water: 4 parts per trillion (ppt) for PFOA and PFOS — a near-undetectable level. Water utilities have until 2029 to comply. This regulation acknowledges that there is no safe level of PFAS exposure.
Source : EPA, National Primary Drinking Water Regulation, April 2024
A federal court approves the USD 1.18 billion settlement between DuPont, Chemours, and Corteva on one side, and contaminated American drinking water utilities on the other. This agreement does not cover individual personal injury claims — thousands of lawsuits remain pending.
Source : Bloomberg Law, February 2024
OFEV (Federal Office for the Environment) informs the cantons of new indicative thresholds for PFAS under OLED. Initial investigations in Swiss buildings reveal the presence of PFAS in seals, waterproofing coatings, firefighting foams, and surface treatments. The issue of PFAS in the built environment is still in its early stages — but the parallels with the history of asbestos are striking.
Source : OFEV, letter to cantons, August 27, 2025
The Swiss Parliament votes in favour of establishing binding limit values for PFAS in drinking water, soils, and foodstuffs. Contamination is documented around military bases (AFFF foams), airports, and industrial sites. Switzerland is coming to terms with a problem that has only just begun.
Source : Swiss Parliament, September 2025 session
From 1938 to 2025 : all the key events in the history of PFAS.
On April 6, 1938, chemist Roy Plunkett, working for DuPont in New Jersey, attempts to create a new refrigerant. When he opens a cylinder of tetrafluoroethylene, no gas escapes — yet the cylinder is heavier than expected. Cutting it open, he discovers a slippery white powder with extraordinary resistance to heat and chemicals. Polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) has just been born — by pure chance.
Source : Science History Institute, Biography of Roy Plunkett
The virtually unlimited resources of the Manhattan Project give PTFE its first industrial application. Scientists at Oak Ridge use it to protect uranium hexafluoride pipework — an extremely corrosive gas used in uranium enrichment. The technology is classified as a military secret.
DuPont markets PTFE under the Teflon brand. The material is presented as revolutionary: non-stick, resistant to extreme temperatures, chemically inert. It will soon be used in cookware, seals, cables, medical implants, and countless industrial applications.
Source : DuPont, History of Teflon
DuPont's Washington Works plant, near Parkersburg, West Virginia, begins using perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA, known as C8) as a processing aid in Teflon production. This compound will be discharged for decades into the Ohio River and into unlined waste pits, contaminating the drinking water of more than 100,000 people.
Two 3M chemists develop a PFAS compound that gives rise to Scotchgard, a stain-repelling and water-proofing treatment used on carpets, upholstery fabrics, and clothing. Perfluorooctane sulfonic acid (PFOS) becomes the key ingredient in a line of products sold worldwide.
PFAS permeate everyday life. Non-stick cookware, waterproof breathable clothing (Gore-Tex), grease-resistant food packaging, firefighting foams (AFFF), ski waxes, cosmetics, dental floss. More than 4,700 different PFAS compounds are developed. Industry speaks of 'miracle chemistry' — no one asks what happens to these molecules once they enter the environment.
Internal 3M studies reveal that PFOS accumulates in the blood of exposed workers. The company has known since the 1970s that this chemical substance is 'highly toxic by inhalation and moderately toxic by ingestion'. This data will not be communicated to regulators for decades.
Source : ProPublica, investigation on 3M, 2023
An internal DuPont study detects PFOA in the blood of pregnant workers at the Washington Works plant. Two of the eight babies born to these employees present congenital malformations (one eye and one tear duct malformed). DuPont transfers women of childbearing age away from the production line — but notifies neither the authorities nor the public.
Source : Internal DuPont documents, disclosed during litigation
Internal DuPont studies on rats exposed to PFOA show increased tumours of the testicles, pancreas, and liver. The company internally classifies the compound as a potential carcinogen. Despite this classification, production continues unchanged and environmental discharges persist.
Source : Internal DuPont documents
Attorney Rob Bilott, specialising in environmental law at Taft Stettinius & Hollister in Cincinnati, receives a call from Wilbur Tennant, a farmer from Parkersburg whose cattle are dying mysteriously. His farm lies downstream of a landfill where DuPont buried hundreds of tonnes of PFOA-contaminated sludge. This marks the beginning of a legal battle that will last more than 20 years.
Source : Robert Bilott, 'Exposure', 2019
Rob Bilott files a federal lawsuit against DuPont on behalf of Wilbur Tennant. Analysing DuPont's internal documents, he discovers that the company had known about PFOA's toxicity for decades, that it had dumped 7,100 tonnes of contaminated sludge in unlined waste pits, and that it had contaminated the drinking water of entire communities.
Source : U.S. District Court, Southern District of West Virginia
After negotiations with the EPA, 3M announces the voluntary phase-out of its PFOS chemistry. The company had known since the 1970s that the substance accumulated in the human body, but only acted after the EPA threatened to make the toxicity data public. 3M replaces PFOS with PFBS — another per- and polyfluoroalkyl substance that also persists indefinitely in the environment.
Source : EPA, press release, May 16, 2000
The CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) reveals that PFOA and PFOS are detectable in the blood of virtually the entire American population. The contamination is universal — including in newborns. The scientific community begins to speak of 'forever chemicals'.
Source : CDC, National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES)
The EPA imposes a fine of USD 16.5 million on DuPont — the largest in its history at that time — for having concealed PFOA toxicity data for decades. DuPont had violated the TSCA (Toxic Substances Control Act) by failing to report known health risks of C8.
Source : EPA, Consent Agreement, 2004
As part of a court settlement, DuPont funds the largest epidemiological study ever conducted on a chemical pollutant: the C8 Health Project. 69,030 people living in contaminated communities in West Virginia and Ohio participate. Results published between 2012 and 2013 establish a probable link between PFOA and six conditions: kidney cancer, testicular cancer, thyroid disease, hypercholesterolaemia, pre-eclampsia, and ulcerative colitis.
Source : C8 Science Panel, www.c8sciencepanel.org
The EPA launches the PFOA Stewardship Program. Eight global companies, including DuPont and 3M, commit to phasing out PFOA and long-chain PFAS by 2015. However, the substitutes used (GenX, PFBS) belong to the same chemical family and display similar persistence properties.
Source : EPA, PFOA Stewardship Program, 2006
DuPont spins off its chemical operations into a new entity, Chemours, which inherits liability for contaminated sites and PFOA-related litigation. This manoeuvre is criticised as an attempt to limit DuPont's financial exposure to the massive lawsuits underway.
Todd Haynes's film 'Dark Waters', with Mark Ruffalo as Rob Bilott, brings the DuPont scandal before a global audience. The film reveals how DuPont knowingly contaminated the drinking water of tens of thousands of people, concealed internal toxicity studies, and lobbied to prevent any regulation for decades.
Source : Dark Waters, Focus Features / Participant Media, 2019
A study by Stockholm University demonstrates that PFAS are now present in rainwater across the entire planet — including in Antarctica and on the Tibetan Plateau — at levels exceeding health guidelines. Professor Ian Cousins states: 'There is nowhere on Earth where the rain can be considered safe to drink.'
Source : Environmental Science & Technology, Stockholm University, 2022
3M concludes a landmark settlement agreement with American cities, municipalities, and drinking water utilities: between USD 10.3 and 12.5 billion over 13 years for PFAS contamination. This is one of the largest environmental settlements in history.
Source : 3M Settlement Agreement, June 2023
Five European countries (Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden) submit to ECHA a proposal for a universal ban on all PFAS — approximately 10,000 substances. This is the most ambitious restriction ever proposed under the REACH Regulation. More than 5,600 scientific comments are received during the public consultation.
Source : ECHA, Restriction Proposal, January 13, 2023
In April 2024, the EPA finalises the first federal standards for PFAS in drinking water: 4 parts per trillion (ppt) for PFOA and PFOS — a near-undetectable level. Water utilities have until 2029 to comply. This regulation acknowledges that there is no safe level of PFAS exposure.
Source : EPA, National Primary Drinking Water Regulation, April 2024
A federal court approves the USD 1.18 billion settlement between DuPont, Chemours, and Corteva on one side, and contaminated American drinking water utilities on the other. This agreement does not cover individual personal injury claims — thousands of lawsuits remain pending.
Source : Bloomberg Law, February 2024
OFEV (Federal Office for the Environment) informs the cantons of new indicative thresholds for PFAS under OLED. Initial investigations in Swiss buildings reveal the presence of PFAS in seals, waterproofing coatings, firefighting foams, and surface treatments. The issue of PFAS in the built environment is still in its early stages — but the parallels with the history of asbestos are striking.
Source : OFEV, letter to cantons, August 27, 2025
The Swiss Parliament votes in favour of establishing binding limit values for PFAS in drinking water, soils, and foodstuffs. Contamination is documented around military bases (AFFF foams), airports, and industrial sites. Switzerland is coming to terms with a problem that has only just begun.
Source : Swiss Parliament, September 2025 session
PFAS in buildings is an emerging concern. Our experts follow regulatory developments and can already help you identify and manage these pollutants in your properties.
Contact us →This page is based on verifiable and recognised sources. The facts presented are documented in the scientific literature, court records and reports from official institutions.
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