Article by Gary Dagorn, Raphaëlle Aubert, Stéphane Horel, Luc Martinon and Thomas Steffen originally posted on Le Monde
After our data collection on an unprecedented scale, this map is the first to illustrate the widespread contamination of Europe by these toxic and persistent substances.
The Forever Pollution Map was created by Le Monde and its 17 partners from the cross-border investigation, the Forever Pollution Project. It is the first map to show the extent of Europe's contamination by perand polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), a family of ultra-toxic compounds used for a multitude of products and applications. Persistent in the environment, these "forever chemicals" will accompany humanity for hundreds of years – maybe even thousands.