‘Forever Chemicals’ in Rainwater Worldwide

4u4me/iStock/Getty Images Plus Water is the substance of life — rainwater, fresh clean water, there is nothing like it — but it’s changed forever, according to a new study conducted by researchers from Stockholm University and ETH Zurich. The study revealed that rainwater contains per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), man-made hazardous chemicals used in a wide range of consumer and industrial products. They are known as ‘forever chemicals’ because they don’t break down in the environment.