How do hydrogen radicals break down PFAS chemicals?

Hydrogen radicals are like tiny helpers that can break apart tough PFAS chemicals, making them easier to clean up.

Imagine you have a super-strong LEGO tower, it’s really hard to take apart because the pieces are all stuck together. Now imagine having a bunch of little ninja ants that crawl into the gaps between the LEGO blocks and pull them apart one by one. That's kind of what hydrogen radicals do with PFAS chemicals.

PFAS chemicals are like those strong LEGO towers, they're made up of long, chain-like molecules that are really hard to break down. Hydrogen radicals are like tiny ninjas with super-strong arms; they jump into the middle of these chains and start pulling them apart.

Each time a hydrogen radical jumps in, it makes one part of the PFAS molecule come loose, kind of like when you pull one LEGO block out of the tower, and the whole thing gets a little easier to take apart. This process keeps happening until the whole PFAS molecule is broken down into smaller pieces that are much easier to deal with.

It’s not magic, it's just tiny helpers doing their job!