Because of this structure, PFOA is amphiphilic, meaning it has a polar end (the carboxylic acid group) and a non-polar end (the perfluoroalkyl chain). The structure of PFOA explains its unique ...

Perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) was the Molecule of the Week for August 10, 2015. The following September, DuPont, a long-time manufacturer of PFOA, went to trial for discharging the chemical into ...

Disturbingly, 3M, the Minnesota-based company that made both PFOS and the related chemical PFOA, had found that virtually every blood sample it tested contained both of these manmade molecules.

PFOA is a manmade chemical that was used for decades in cookware and fabric coatings. Perfluorooctanoic acid, like other PFAS, doesn't break down in the environment.

"So it's not acceptable and I've had no notification of any of these risks," she said. Wyre Council said ICI, and subsequent site owner AGC Chemicals, were permitted to use PFOA from the 1950s to ...