Safer Materials Advisor

PFAS chemicals (perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl or “forever chemicals”) pose serious environmental and health concerns across consumer and industrial domains due to their persistence, toxicity, and bioaccumulation properties. Ever-evolving regulations, inconsistent definitions, data availability issues, massive litigation risk, and changing consumer expectations make this a particularly challenging problem for organizations to address.

For several years IBM has developed AI-driven technology and collaborated with clients in various industries to accelerate the discovery of sustainable materials. We are now leveraging and advancing that technology in order to address PFAS-related challenges on three fronts:

• Identification: What PFAS exposure do I have in my products, processes and supply chain? How do I know I’m in compliance with global reporting and regulatory requirements?
• Substitution: Are there existing, suitable “safe” alternatives?
• Discovery: If there are no existing substitutes, how can I develop new replacements?