Is it wrong to say that fluorine is harmful? PFAS and inorganic fluorine compounds are different

We in the outdoor industry are in the process of switching to non-fluoride materials and water repellents, but on the other hand, there are those who believe that the switch is because fluorine is harmful.
While this perception is not completely wrong, it is often a misunderstanding.
Here we would like to explain how we can use fluorine more correctly by converting the wrong perception that fluorine is harmful into correct knowledge.

Fluorine cannot be considered as a single element

First of all, there is the principle that we should not judge fluorine as a single element. In the first place, it is unlikely that fluorine exists as a single element, and it is also rare for fluorine to exist as fluorine gas. Fluorine gas is an extremely dangerous gas that should not be touched or inhaled, but it is a leap to say that anything containing fluorine is harmful.
The same is true of chlorine. Chlorine is also a dangerous gas as chlorine gas. That does not mean that anything that contains chlorine is dangerous. The element of chlorine is found in many things around us. And food also contains the element of chlorine.
Likewise, the element fluorine is not only found in many things around us, but also in the food we eat. For example, it is often found in marine products, and I think it can be said that not a day goes by that Japanese do not take the element of fluorine at all.
It makes little sense to talk about fluorine as an element, whether it is harmful or harmless.
It is not possible to determine whether fluoride is harmful or harmless just because it contains the fluorine element.

Is fluoride as a cavity preventative harmful?

One of the most common uses of fluoride in our daily lives is the use of fluoride as a cavity preventative. It would be very serious if it were harmful to the human body. These fluorines are called inorganic fluorines, and are different from organic fluorine compounds (PFAS), which are considered harmful to the human body and the environment.
For example, plastic bags and salt are made of the same chlorine, but just as we do not recognize them as the same thing just because they contain chlorine, the fluoride used to prevent tooth decay and the organic fluorine compounds (PFAS) I will explain here are completely different things.
We have seen some people concerned that fluoride may be harmful because it is restricted to young children. Too much of any nutrient in the body can be harmful. The same is true of fluoride, which can be harmful if taken in too large quantities, but this is especially true for young children, who are advised not to use fluoride in gargling until they are under 3 years old, because if they accidentally swallow fluoride when gargling, they may ingest too much. Even for adults, too much fluoride is bad, but the same is true for all nutrients, so we are not saying that fluoride is particularly bad.

It is the organo-fluorine compounds (PFAS) that we are concerned about.

In contrast, the problem we are facing these days is with organo-fluorine compounds (PFAS). The difference is the presence or absence of a carbon-fluorine bond. That is the only difference, but it makes a big difference in physical properties.
The problem with organo-fluorine compounds (PFAS) is that they are man-made, and because the bond between carbon and fluorine is so strong, they do not decompose easily when released into the environment. PFAS have also been detected in Arctic organisms, and they remain in the environment for a long time.
As recently as 2023, the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) listed PFOA, a part of PFCs, as a possible carcinogen. Hormone disrupting effects and impaired immune function have also been noted.
Because of these findings, organofluorine compounds (PFAS) are said to be harmful.

However, there are some caveats to calling organofluorine compounds (PFAS) harmful

Although organofluorine compounds (PFAS) have been found to have the problems described above, this does not mean that the use of organofluorine compounds (PFAS) can be immediately discontinued.
First of all, because of the excellent properties of organo-fluorine compounds (PFAS), if their use were discontinued, the impact on various industries would be too great. Another problem is that, because of the excellent properties of organo-fluorine compounds (PFAS), it is difficult to find alternative substances that can replace them.
In addition, the effects on the human body mentioned earlier are only a concern, and it has not been determined that they are definitely affecting the human body. The question also remains as to the amount of intake. It is known that if a large amount is ingested and accumulated in the human body, it will have an effect, but how much accumulation is actually a problem is not well understood. It should be noted that other substances can also be harmful when taken into the human body in large quantities, so this is only an expression of concern.

Furthermore, the effects on the human body described above are only for a small percentage of organofluorine compounds(PFAS), not all of them. Rather, only a small fraction of organofluorine compounds (PFAS) have been investigated, and we do not know much about most organofluorine compounds (PFAS). What we are investigating are the organo-fluorine compounds that we have used a lot in the past. Therefore, some organofluorine compounds (PFAS) are relatively easy to decompose in the environment and do not accumulate in the human body to a large extent. However, research has not yet caught up with such compounds, and we have only begun to understand the toxicity of a small number of organo-fluorine compounds (PFAS).

The Movement Toward PFAS Free

It is true that some organo-fluorine compounds have not been fully investigated yet, but it is not desirable for them to be released into the natural world, since they are certainly not naturally occurring substances. We need to eliminate them as much as possible. For example, GORE-TEX, which is originally a lump of organofluorine compounds (PFAS), has been developed as a new material that does not use such compounds. Patagonia has also developed a completely fluorine-free rain jacket using this new Gore-Tex material. Rain jackets using organic fluorine compounds (PFAS) have been the norm until now, so this is a new and challenging approach.

Conclusion

We need to understand organo-fluorine compounds (PFAS) properly, not with the misconception that they are immediately harmful, but with a watchful eye on them as potentially harmful substances, and continue our efforts to prevent the further release of organo-fluorine compounds (PFAS) that are not found in nature.