# Can We Actually Afford to Clean Up Forever Chemicals?

Page: https://stenobird.com/podcast/don-t-waste-water-water-tech-to-solve-the-world-429684/can-we-actually-afford-to-clean-up-forever-chemicals
Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/don-t-waste-water-water-tech-to-solve-the-world-429684/can-we-actually-afford-to-clean-up-forever-chemicals.md
Podcast: [(don't) Waste Water! | Water Tech to Solve the World](https://stenobird.com/podcast/don-t-waste-water-water-tech-to-solve-the-world-429684)
Published: 2025-10-15T03:45:41+00:00
Episode link: https://podcast.ausha.co/dont-waste-water/s13e12-can-we-actually-afford-to-clean-up-forever-chemicals
Audio file: https://audio.ausha.co/oZApVsX3zM6d.mp3?t=1760499848
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JSON: https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/don-t-waste-water-water-tech-to-solve-the-world-429684/episodes/can-we-actually-afford-to-clean-up-forever-chemicals
Duration seconds: 3475

## Resource

How Can We Afford to Remove PFAS from Our Environment When Treatment Costs Exceed Global GDP? 🤫 Tired of stitching together Crunchbase, overpriced reports, and "a guy who knows a guy"? I built the fix. 50 Founder Seats. Join the waitlist: leviathandata.io 🙌 Supporters 🙌 A big thank you to my partner SimpleLab: https://link.dww.show/simplelab ⬇️ IN THIS EPISODE ⬇️ PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances) are persistent synthetic chemicals (forever chemicals) used in countless everyday products that contaminate drinking water, wastewater, and the environment. Dr. Ali Ling is a professor at the University of St. Thomas, specializing in PFAS management and wastewater treatment, with a decade of consulting experience helping industrial and municipal facilities address emerging contaminants, and expertise in big-picture systems thinking. 🌶️ KEY SPICES 🌶️ 💰 Cost-Effective Approach - Source reduction is 1,000 times cheaper than environmental cleanup, with upstream industrial controls costing hundreds versus millions of dollars per kilogram of PFAS removed 🔬 Technology Expertise - Comprehensive knowledge of GAC, ion exchange, destruction technologies, and emerging treatment solutions across drinking water, wastewater, and industrial applications 📊 Data-Driven Strategy - Evidence-based analysis showing that removing PFAS at current production rates would exceed global GDP, making source control the only viable path forward 🎯 Risk Prioritization - Understanding that drinking water represents less than 20% of human PFAS exposure, with diet and indoor dust contributing significantly more to health risks 🌍 Future-Focused Thinking - Emphasis on persistence as a critical factor, recognizing that today's PFAS releases create irreversible accumulation threatening future generations (f…

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