Chemical corporations that produce PFAS generate approximately US$4 billion in annual profits from the production of this chemical, but it is estimated that they impose much larger costs on taxpayers and the health of the planet's population (i.e. as external costs). Of these costs, remediation efforts fighting PFAS soil and water contamination are the most expensive, followed by the healthcare costs of treating people who develop cancer, thyroid disease, kidney dysfunction, birth defects, and other major medical conditions that have been linked to even low levels of exposure to PFAS, and the costs of monitoring of PFAS pollution in human and other life forms. Such costs to society have been estimated to amount to approximately US$17.5 trillion annually (which would be almost one fifth of the US$96 trillion global GDP in 2021), according to a press release by The International Chemical Secretariat (ChemSec), a Sweden-based NGO that works with industry and policymakers to limit the use of toxic chemicals.