One of New Zealand's most common native plants could soon be used in tackling one of the world's most persistent pollution problems.
Researchers at the University of Auckland have been putting the flax harakeke to the test over the past couple of years, investigating whether it can be used to filter out toxic "forever chemicals" from drinking water.
Perfluoroalkyl and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances — known collectively as PFAS — have been used for decades in manufacturing waterproof clothing, non-stick cookware, electronic, cosmetics and more.
University of Auckland associate professor Erin Leitao told 1News the chemicals could get into waterways and eventually bioaccumulate in humans.
“That gets to a concentration that causes problems, so you end up seeing adverse health effects from them," he said.
Research was ongoing, but the chemicals have previously been linked to cancer, potential birth defects and fertility issues.
In lab testing, small strands of harakeke were placed into water contaminated with forever chemicals.
After 24 hours of shaking, researchers found the strands removed up to 99% of the hardest-to-treat chemicals.
University of Auckland professor of organic chemistry, David Barker, said the results were promising – harakeke could replace conventional filters of all different sizes, which were often made from environmentally unfriendly materials such as activated carbon and polystyrene.
He got the idea after learning about the significance of harakeke for Māori, not just for weaving and binding.
“In the past they, for instance, built a lot of their settlements around where there was harakeke on the streams," he said.
"This was because harakeke absorbs the pollutants from the water through its roots and really cleans the streams."
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