Tag Archives: forever chemicals

Daily Mail reveals how Forever Chemicals are affecting everyone and it’s not being talked about

USA-PFAS

Important Takeaways:

  • The Great Forever Chemical Cover-up: Most studies that link PFAS to serious health problems ‘are flying under the radar’, scientists warn – amid growing evidence manufacturers suppressed true dangers of toxins
  • A small fraction of the most compelling evidence pointing to the harms posed by forever chemicals, including birth defects and elevated cancer risk, gets the public attention it deserves.
  • Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS, have been lurking in drinking water and the air we breathe for decades. A product of large-scale manufacturing and industry, the substances will persist for at least that long due to the glacial pace at which they degrade in the environment.
  • The so-called ‘forever chemicals’ remain in the bloodstream and organs for years at a time before clearing out of the body via urination, and because the chemicals are ever-present in daily life
  • 10 cities and counties identified in a report by the Environmental Working Group as having the highest level of PFAS in drinking water.
    • They were: Brunswick County, NC; Quad Cities, Iowa; Miami, FL.; Bergen County, NJ; Wilmington, NC; Philadelphia, PA.; Louisville, KY; New Orleans, LA; Charleston, SC; and Decatur, AL.
  • A CDC report estimated that 97 percent of Americans have PFAS in their blood.

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Forever Chemicals are everywhere affecting 140 industries, and at least 45% of drinking water

Forever-Chemicals

Important Takeaways:

  • ‘Forever’ Chemicals Are Nearly Everywhere. These Companies Are Helping Clean Up the Mess
  • The planet has a problem with “forever” chemicals. Known as PFAS, the chemicals are everywhere—from our nonstick cookware to our waterproof clothes, and smartphones. The chemicals are even in our drinking water and bloodstreams, and have been linked to increased risk of cancer in humans, among other issues.
  • “PFAS touches so many sectors,” says Dimple Gosai, clean tech analyst and head of U.S. ESG research at BofA Securities. The chemicals are pervasive in consumer apparel and food packaging, she notes, and are having an impact on insurers, industrial companies, and water utilities. “It’s a risk I think everyone needs to care about.”
  • More than 9,800 lawsuits alleging harm from PFAS have been launched across 140 industries since 1999, leading to $16.7 billion in settlements, according to a recent report from risk consultancy Milliman.
  • Contaminated water is a growing concern. According to a 2023 study by the U.S. Geological Survey, at least 45% of tap water is estimated to have one or more types of PFAS

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PFAS, Forever Chemicals could be in your water

Tap-Water

Important Takeaways:

  • ‘Forever chemicals’ could be in nearly half of U.S. tap water, a federal study finds
  • At least 45% of the nation’s tap water could be contaminated with at least one form of PFAS known as “forever chemicals,” according to a newly released study by the U.S. Geological Survey.
  • The man-made chemicals — of which there are thousands — are found in all sorts of places, from nonstick cookware to stain-resistant carpets to contaminated sources of food and water. They break down very slowly, building up in people, animals and the environment over time.
  • Research has linked exposure to certain PFAS to adverse health effects in humans, from an increased risk of certain cancers, increased obesity and high cholesterol risk, decreased fertility and developmental effects like low birth weight in children.
  • USGS scientists estimate there’s a 75% chance that PFAS will be found in urban areas and a 25% chance in rural areas. And the study suggests that exposure may be more common in certain geographical regions.
  • “Results from this study indicate potential hotspots include the Great Plains, Great Lakes, Eastern Seaboard, and Central/Southern California regions,” Smalling said.
  • What can be done?
  • You could also install specific kinds of water filters that are certified to lower the levels of PFAS in water, using technologies like activated carbon treatment and reverse osmosis.
  • Meanwhile, there are federal efforts underway to limit forever chemicals in drinking water.

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U.S. drinking water widely contaminated with ‘forever chemicals’: environment watchdog

By Timothy Gardner

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The contamination of U.S. drinking water with man-made “forever chemicals” is far worse than previously estimated with some of the highest levels found in Miami, Philadelphia and New Orleans, said a report on Wednesday by an environmental watchdog group.

The chemicals, resistant to breaking down in the environment, are known as perfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS. Some have been linked to cancers, liver damage, low birth weight and other health problems.

The findings by the Environmental Working Group (EWG) show the group’s previous estimate in 2018, based on unpublished U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) data, that 110 million Americans may be contaminated with PFAS, could be far too low.

“It’s nearly impossible to avoid contaminated drinking water from these chemicals,” said David Andrews, a senior scientist at EWG and co-author of the report.

The chemicals were used in products like Teflon and Scotchguard and in firefighting foam. Some are used in a variety of other products and industrial processes, and their replacements also pose risks.

Of tap water samples taken by EWG from 44 sites in 31 states and Washington D.C., only one location, Meridian, Mississippi, which relies on 700 foot (215 m) deep wells, had no detectable PFAS. Only Seattle and Tuscaloosa, Alabama had levels below 1 part per trillion (PPT), the limit EWG recommends.

In addition, EWG found that on average six to seven PFAS compounds were found at the tested sites, and the effects on health of the mixtures are little understood. “Everyone’s really exposed to a toxic soup of these PFAS chemicals,” Andrews said.

In 34 places where EWG’s tests found PFAS, contamination had not been publicly reported by the EPA or state environmental agencies.

The EPA has known since at least 2001 about the problem of PFAS in drinking water but has so far failed to set an enforceable, nationwide legal limit. The EPA said early last year it would begin the process to set limits on two of the chemicals, PFOA and PFOS.

The EPA said it has helped states and communities address PFAS and that it is working to put limits on the two main chemicals but did not give a timeline.

In 2018 a draft report from an office of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services said the risk level for exposure to the chemicals should be up to 10 times lower than the 70 PPT threshold the EPA recommends. The White House and the EPA had tried to stop the report from being published.

(Reporting by Timothy Gardner; Editing by Cynthia Osterman)