SRF research on remediation costs due to PFAS pollution

Researching PFAS pollution –

Toxic chemicals in the soil could cost Switzerland 26 billion francs

An international media investigation shows: Pollution with perpetual chemicals is costing Switzerland dearly. A quick ban on the poisons is still unlikely.

Published: January 14, 2025, 3:29 p.m

The PFAS forever chemicals are found everywhere in soil and water – and they don’t break down over a long period of time.

Photo: Reto Oeschger

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Eternal chemicals – the name sounds ominous. It is used for so-called PFAS (per- and polyfluorinated alkyl substances). PFAS are stable chemicals that do not break down in the environment. And they are everywhere ground and in water to find. The “Forever Pollution Project” with the participation of SRF has now calculated how much it would cost Switzerland to free itself from PFAS contamination.

With the help of scientists from the USA and Norway, a minimal variant and a comprehensive scenario were created. As SRF writes, Switzerland would have to spend at least one billion francs over 20 years with minimal cleanup to get rid of so-called long-chain PFAS. The majority of the costs would only be attributed to heavily polluted soil; only a small part would be used for the treatment of drinking water and landfills.

In addition, from now on no further PFAS chemicals will be allowed to enter the environment. An optimistic idea: The EU assumes that the group of these “forever chemicals” includes over 10,000 variants.

Omnipresent in everyday objects

The PFAS chemicals are omnipresent in everyday objects: They are found, among other things, in coatings for pans, in food packaging, cable sheathing, seals, medical tubing, in weather jackets, high-tech water filters, fuel cells and electrolytic cells and lithium-ion batteries. PFAS ensure smooth surfaces that prevent dirt, grease or water from sticking to them. They are extremely stable and can withstand high and low temperatures and many aggressive chemicals.

A quick, comprehensive ban on PFAS is therefore unlikely. For such a case, the scientists from the “Forever Pollution Project” calculated costs for Switzerland of 26 billion francs over 20 years, as SRF writes. That would be 1.3 billion francs annually that would be spent on PFAS remediation. In this scenario, the perpetual chemicals would not be banned and would continue to be released into the environment.

Ubiquitous PFAS baseline contamination not resolved

According to the report, the costs across the EU for the minimal variant would be 95 billion euros over 20 years. In the comprehensive scenario at 2000 billion euros. These forecasts are based on conservative estimates, according to the medium. The numbers only refer to the renovation of heavily polluted locations. This would not yet solve the basic contamination with PFAS that exists everywhere, even if future technologies could make the process cheaper.

According to the report, there are also subsequent health costs associated with remediation: Many PFAS variants have a proven or potential influence on the Human and animal health. In addition, compensation payments would be conceivable when meat or dairy products can no longer be sold due to high PFAS levels.

From November 1, 2026, the federal government wants to ban PFAS substances in products in which they can be easily replaced. The consultation on this will run until the end of March.