PFAS — short for “per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances” — are toxic synthetic chemicals that have accumulated in the environment and even in humans. Their resistance to water, oil, and grease makes them an easy medium for the manufacture of common items like rugs, water bottles, and cookware. The problem with PFAS — and the reason they are referred to as “forever chemicals” — is that they don’t go away on their own. It’s scary to learn that an estimated 98% of Americans have detectable levels of PFAS in their blood. PFAS are highly durable, and researchers have not so far succeeded in finding ways to induce them to decompose.

Finally, research on these seemingly unbreakable compounds has paid off. Recent experimentation published in Science has found success with breaking down perfluorocarboxylic acids (PFCAs), one of the largest PFAS classes. What worked was the common solvent dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO), which is derived from wood and has been used industrially since the mid-1800s. It’s actually a byproduct of paper production. This makes things a little easier implementation-wise; it’s a solvent that is relatively easy to access, and it comes from a renewable resource.

PFCAs, the class of chemicals on which DMSO was found to be effective, certainly aren’t the only class of PFAS. But a scientific breakthrough like this opens up room to experiment on other PFAS as we look for more solutions.

DMSO may also be effective on other classes of PFAS, once scientists are able to identify more class-specific methods. It hasn’t yet been tested, but researchers from this experiment note that the solvent may be generalizable to other PFAS.

Considering scientists have been studying the effects and behaviors of “forever chemicals” since the 1950s, it may come as something of a surprise to learn that we have had access to a solution to a major class of PFAS all along.

That said, PFAS are so widespread that it’s hard even to know if a solution like DMSO is going to work everywhere. PFAS are found in water, soil, fish and humans. Just in the 50 states and two territories, almost 3,000 contaminated sites were identified this past June. Over 200 million Americans are impacted by contaminated water supplies. So there is a lot of ground to cover in tackling the PFAS crisis. DMSO doesn’t solve the entire problem of PFAS. But it does show a path forward.

Success stories like this can fuel future research. Knowing that DMSO actually worked to combat the strength of PFCAs can build confidence in researchers to try simpler avenues before ruling them out. And there’s certainly room for growth when accounting for scale issues with DMSO, as well as the fact that it hasn’t been proven to work across other classes of PFAS. A solution to chemicals we thought were nearly impossible to break down has been found in a commonly known solvent. That gives motivation. And this innovation will continue to inspire more research down the line as more potential PFAS destroyers are put to the test.

For more information, see the companion “Tip of the Iceberg” podcast episode here.