PFAS Production Is Growing. What Does That Mean for Your Drinking Water?

PFAS regulations are expanding, lawsuits are mounting, and public concern continues to grow. Yet many of the world’s largest PFAS manufacturers are increasing production.

That is the central finding of a September 2026 report from ChemSec, an independent nonprofit focused on hazardous chemicals. The report identifies ten major PFAS producers and examines how these companies plan to respond to growing regulatory, environmental, and financial pressure. Its findings reveal a difficult reality. Even as governments work to control older sources of PFAS pollution, emerging industries are creating new demand for these persistent chemicals.

Why Is PFAS Production Expanding?

PFAS are often called “forever chemicals” because they resist breaking down in the environment. Manufacturers use them because they can withstand heat, water, oil, and chemical reactions. These properties make PFAS useful across many industries, but they also allow the chemicals to remain in water, soil, wildlife, and the human body for long periods.

According to ChemSec, artificial intelligence infrastructure, semiconductor manufacturing, and lithium-ion batteries are driving much of the current growth. PFAS can appear in data-center cooling systems, refrigerants, electronic components, battery materials, and specialized manufacturing equipment. As demand for these technologies increases, several manufacturers are investing in larger PFAS production facilities.

Daikin, for example, reportedly plans to more than triple some of its fluoropolymer production capacity by 2027. Arkema, Orbia, Solstice, and Syensqo are also expanding production connected to batteries, semiconductors, refrigerants, or data-center cooling.

Chemours remains especially dependent on PFAS. ChemSec estimates that PFAS-related products generate between half and two-thirds of the company’s revenue. The company also produces or uses more individual PFAS substances than any other manufacturer included in the report.

Some Companies Are Moving Away From PFAS

The report does identify a few signs of progress. BASF plans to phase out most products formulated with PFAS by 2028. Archroma has reduced the number of PFAS substances it produces and is developing alternatives for several product categories.

In 2025, 3M completed its previously announced exit from PFAS manufacturing. However, the company still sells thousands of products containing PFAS and continues to face extensive litigation connected to decades of production and pollution. These departures show that manufacturers can move away from PFAS, but they remain exceptions within a market that is largely preparing for continued growth.

The Costs Extend Beyond the Chemical Industry

ChemSec estimates that the global PFAS market is worth approximately $25 billion to $30 billion. That represents less than 1% of the roughly $6 trillion global chemical market. The environmental and public-health costs may be much larger. The report cites a European Commission estimate placing the societal, health, and environmental costs associated with PFAS exposure at approximately €440 billion in Europe alone.

PFAS pollution can also create long-term costs for water utilities and the communities they serve. Once these chemicals enter groundwater, rivers, or public water supplies, removing them can require expensive treatment upgrades, continued monitoring, and careful disposal of contaminated materials.

What This Means for Drinking Water

The ChemSec report does not measure PFAS concentrations in household water. It focuses on the companies manufacturing these chemicals and the overall direction of the global market. Still, its findings matter for drinking-water protection.

Growing production creates more opportunities for PFAS to enter the environment through manufacturing emissions, industrial waste, consumer products, and improper disposal. Even when companies replace older PFAS compounds, newer fluorinated chemicals may create additional monitoring and treatment challenges.

This means PFAS contamination is unlikely to disappear simply because governments restrict a few well-known compounds. ChemSec argues that regulating individual PFAS one at a time will not keep pace with expanding production or the thousands of chemicals included in this broad family. The organization supports comprehensive restrictions with limited, temporary exemptions for uses considered essential.

What Can Families Do?

No household water system can solve the broader PFAS pollution problem. Preventing contamination at its source requires stronger industrial controls, transparent reporting, safer alternatives, and effective regulation. Families can still take practical steps to reduce potential exposure through drinking water.

Start by reviewing your local water utility’s annual water-quality report and checking whether it publishes PFAS testing results. Private well owners may want to use an accredited laboratory if PFAS contamination is a concern in their area. When choosing a filtration system, look for technology designed to reduce PFAS and other contaminants relevant to your water.

Reverse osmosis can provide an additional point-of-use barrier against many dissolved contaminants, including certain PFAS. Actual performance depends on the system, membrane condition, water quality, maintenance, and specific chemicals present. Filters and membranes must also be replaced according to the manufacturer’s instructions to maintain performance.

The Bottom Line

The PFAS problem is changing, not disappearing. Some manufacturers are leaving the market, but many others are expanding production to serve fast-growing industries. This creates a widening gap between efforts to control PFAS pollution and the economic forces driving continued manufacturing.

At Sanavia Water, we believe families deserve clear information about what may be present in their water and practical ways to reduce unnecessary exposure. Water treatment cannot replace responsible chemical policy, but it can give households another layer of protection while regulators and industries address PFAS pollution at its source.

Read the full ChemSec report