In 1938, chemist Roy J. Plunkett stumbled across a substance that would change the world forever. He was experimenting with refrigerant gases when he noticed that one compound had transformed into a white, waxy solid. It had extraordinary properties, being impervious to heat and chemical degradation and also extremely slippery.
Today, we know this chemical as Teflon, and produce more than 200,000 tonnes of the stuff every year. It is used in everything from non-stick frying pans to medical catheters. Though undoubtedly useful, Teflon was also the first of a group called perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), better known…
