| March 12th, 2025 | News

Have you seen our most recent PFAS factsheets? These were developed by students of the Wageningen University as part of a MSc Honours Programme. The result of their efforts resulted in three factsheets: on PFAS awareness, PFAS in product chains: agriculture, textiles and cosmetics, and expert insights on PFAS contaminations.

The students were given 12 months in which they researched PFAS extensively, decided on expected outcomes, and developed a workplan on how to achieve those outcomes. With students coming from an interdisciplinary background, they researched different aspects to PFAS on health effects, legislation of supply chains and public awareness, and bringing their various disciplines together in these factsheets.

Honours programme

Rian Ruhl, researcher at Wageningen University & Research (WUR) and SOS-ZEROPOL2030 PFAS lead, together with Freddy van Hulst supervised the students. Ruhl: “WUR has an Honours programme for both BSc and MSc students. Students who aim to extend their views and knowledge past the regular curriculum and who aim to further develop various soft skills are typically selected for these programs. Part of the MSc Honours programme is a self-driven project that takes one year. The past year, one group of students were interested in raising awareness on PFAS among the general population. Astrid Hendriksen, who coordinates the programme, and leads SOS-ZEROPOL2030’s Work Package 3, then contacted us.”

Ruhl: “For us as researchers it was a good opportunity to connect to a different group of people – young, ambitious people with a high level of knowledge and high interest in the topic. By involving them in the research, we got to know that even in a country where PFAS is a hot topic, the awareness and knowledge about PFAS are relatively low.”

Lack of awareness

Archana Iyer, a student pursuing Master’s in International Development Studies with a specialisation in Development Economics at WUR: “Through this programme I got introduced to the topic of PFAS, before which I was completely unaware as in India it still not a major government or public concern. (…) As PFAS is an extremely extensive issue, we started with first reading existing research papers and also talking to experts on field to get information. Through this process we understood that there is still lack of awareness given that it is still not a global policy issue and also the technical difficulties in understanding what PFAS is. This paved our idea to make a factsheet that explains the issue of PFAS in a simple language.”

The students’ effort resulted in three parts to the factsheets, on:

1. Expert Insights: Interviews with four different experts, providing multidisciplinary perspectives on PFAS and their implications for society and the environment.
2. PFAS in Product Chains: Detailed information on three specific product chains affected by PFAS, focussing on textiles, cosmetics and agriculture.
3. Awareness Survey: An analysis of Wageningen University’s students’ and staff’s awareness about PFAS.

Dark Waters

Iris van Buuren, studying MSc Food Safety with a Food Law and Regulatory Affairs specialisation, first learned about PFAS in high school through her chemistry teacher: “She showed us the movie Dark Waters, which was about a lawsuit against DuPont contaminating a town with unregulated chemicals. (…) I never looked at a Teflon pan the same again. My high school chemistry teacher showed us this movie to teach us about our social responsibilities as scientists and prompt a discussion on the ethics of science but in a way that made it digestible for our 16–17-year-old minds. So, when I saw PFAS as a subject for the Honour’s programme project, I wanted to inform other people like my chemistry teacher did for me.”

“My biggest surprise is the dispersed knowledge on PFAS.”

Lack of transparency

Sim (full name: Thanh Yen DAO) is studying MSc in Environmental Sciences specializing in Aquatic Ecology and Water Quality Management, and said her biggest surprise was the dispersed knowledge on PFAS: “Meaning, the lack of communication between but also among PFAS producers, water companies handling it, and researchers. There are multiple removal and detection methods but no standard making it sometimes hard to compare between research.”

“Then there is also an immense amount of PFAS varieties, with new types being produced by big industries but the lack of transparency makes it hard for others to detect then eventually remove, but also hard for policy makers to regulate.”

A collective issue

Michelle van den Heuvel, studying MSc Resilient Farming and Food Systems at WUR, was also surprised by the complexity of PFAS. “I found it reassuring to see that so many people are already working on a solution and that it is becoming an increasingly important issue. At the same time, it was frustrating to realize that, because of this complexity, finding a solution is also extremely challenging. On top of that, there is no single party that is truly “responsible” for the pollution. It is a collective problem, and ideally, it should be solved collectively but making that happen is extremely difficult.”

She adds: “Precisely because it is a collective issue, I believe it is even more important to bring it to society’s attention. This might put pressure on different sectors, pushing them to prioritize finding a solution. Additionally, I think raising awareness among the general public is crucial so that people can make informed choices themselves. However, this remains a challenge, as there is no real solution yet, and even the term “PFAS-free” does not always guarantee that something is entirely free of PFAS.”

Some of the students will continue working on the topic of PFAS. As Sim says: “This project has inspired me to pursue the topic for my Master’s thesis and as it’s a big issue for water quality (my specialty), I am considering continuing researching it as part of a PhD.”

The students involved in developing the PFAS Factsheets by Wageningen University & Research were:

• Michelle van den Heuvel
• Iris van Buuren
• Thanh Yen DAO
• Archana Iyer
• Pepijn van Hees
• Bas Hendriks

Have a look at our Resources tab, or download the PFAS fact sheets here.