Uploaded February 2026 | Updated September 2026, 22 minutes ago
When you watch this year’s Olympics, pay attention to the skiing. There’s something really interesting going on that has a lot to do with environmental protection.
This will be the first Olympics to ban the use of fluoro ski wax, which has been helping skiers go super fast since it was invented in the 1980s. That’s because fluoro wax contains PFAS, the so-called forever chemicals that are linked to health and environmental issues. When skiers or snowboarders use fluoro wax, it gets into the snow, which can not only contaminate the natural environment but also drinking water downstream. As a result, companies have been phasing out fluoro wax, and it’s now banned from many competitions – including this year’s Olympics. The average skier won’t notice much difference, but for elite skiers it’s literally changing the way they compete.
Read more about the ban and how it’s changing elite skiing in a story by Tik Root and Joseph Winters:
grist.org/culture/the-olympics-are-ditching-pfas-waxes-and-the-ridiculous-speed-they-gave-skiers
When you watch this year’s Olympics, pay attention to the skiing. There’s something really interesting going on that has a lot to do with environmental protection.
This will be the first Olympics to ban the use of fluoro ski wax, which has been helping skiers go super fast since it was invented in the 1980s. That’s because fluoro wax contains PFAS, the so-called forever chemicals that are linked to health and environmental issues. When skiers or snowboarders use fluoro wax, it gets into the snow, which can not only contaminate the natural environment but also drinking water downstream. As a result, companies have been phasing out fluoro wax, and it’s now banned from many competitions – including this year’s Olympics. The average skier won’t notice much difference, but for elite skiers it’s literally changing the way they compete.
Read more about the ban and how it’s changing elite skiing in a story by Tik Root and Joseph Winters:
grist.org/culture/the-olympics-are-ditching-pfas-waxes-and-the-ridiculous-speed-they-gave-skiers
