‘I poisoned my children,’ says woman in PFAS ‘forever chemicals’ legal case. What PFAS are

PFAS have caused an environmental disaster in Italy. Here’s why getting rid of the harmful substances found everywhere on Earth is difficult

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Elisabetta Donadello joined Mums Against PFAS after learning her land in northern Italy was contaminated with the harmful chemicals. Photo: AFP

Published: 7:25pm, 17 Feb 2025Updated: 10:00am, 18 Feb 2025

Elisabetta Donadello “poisoned” her children. After unwittingly living off polluted land in northeast Italy for decades, she had toxic chemicals in her blood – which she passed on with each pregnancy.

Donadello, 50, is one of thousands of mothers in the region who discovered they had ingested “forever chemicals” known as PFAS and transmitted them to their babies, both in the womb and through breastfeeding.

Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are synthetic chemicals first developed in the 1940s to withstand intense heat and repel water and grease.

They have been used in a range of household and industrial products, including food packaging, make-up, stain-proof fabrics, non-stick cookware and flame retardants.

Donadello harvests lettuce from her garden. Photo: AFP

Because PFAS take an extremely long time to break down – earning them their “forever” nickname – they have seeped into the soil and groundwater, and from there into the food chain and drinking water.

Assessing PFAS’ impact on health

Like microplastics, these chemicals have been detected virtually everywhere on Earth, from the top of Mount Everest to inside human blood and brains. Risk can vary greatly depending on levels of exposure – almost everyone on Earth is believed to have at least a little PFAS in their bodies.