Latest news with #Pfas
The Guardian
5 days ago
- Business
- The Guardian
Pfas detected in US beers in new study, raising safety concerns
All but one of 23 beers sampled for toxic Pfas 'forever chemicals' contained the compounds, new research finds, raising safety questions about one of the world's most popular beverages. The researchers checked craft beer from multiple states, major domestic brands, and several international labels. When possible, they compared the measurements to Pfas levels in the county water supply where each was bottled, revealing a 'strong correlation' that suggests contaminated water is driving most of the problem. The levels were often above some drinking water limits for Pfas. The study isn't meant to scare people away from drinking beer, the authors wrote, but 'inform brewers, consumers, and policymakers in making data-driven decisions about beer consumption and addressing risks'. 'If you want to still enjoy happy hour, then I think you should, but I hope our findings help future happy hours be relatively healthier,' lead author Jennifer Hoponick Redmon, a senior environmental health scientist for the RTI International non-profit, told the Guardian. Pfas are a class of about 15,000 compounds most frequently used to make products water-, stain- and grease-resistant. They have been linked to cancer, birth defects, decreased immunity, high cholesterol, kidney disease and a range of other serious health problems. They are dubbed 'forever chemicals' because they do not naturally break down in the environment. The levels detected in the beer were as high as 40 parts per trillion (ppt). Drinking water limits for several common Pfas compounds are between four and 10 ppt, though drinking water is more of a risk because people generally consume more of it. The highest levels were detected in beer brewed in the Cape Fear River Basin in North Carolina, where the environment has been thoroughly contaminated by Pfas largely stemming from a Chemours chemical plant in Fayetteville. Beer produced there showed some chemicals made at the Chemours plant, and generally contained a wider variety of Pfas compounds. The levels in Cape Fear regions in which public water utilities have installed new filtration systems in response to Chemours' pollution showed lower levels than those in areas that have not. The highest levels of PFOA, a chemical for which federal regulators have said no level of exposure in drinking water is safe, were detected in beer made in Michigan's Kalamazoo county, which also had high levels of the compound in its water. The study also found a correlation between firefighting foam pollution hot spots and Pfas levels in the beer. Firefighting foam contains high concentrations of Pfas and is used by the military, airports and other sources, and is among the leading causes of water pollution. Two of the international brands – from Mexico and the Netherlands – showed no or low levels of the chemicals. Some of the Pfas could stem from other sources, such as wheat or barley contaminated from the use of tainted fertilizers, pesticides or water. Hoses and tubing are sometimes made with Pfas, as are some plastics and packaging. The study did not check those variables. Hoponick Redmon said brewers interested in reducing Pfas levels should install granular activated carbon or reverse osmosis filtration systems, which are the most effective for Pfas removal. Beer drinkers can protect themselves by checking for Pfas levels in the areas in which beer is bottled, and asking brewers if they use the filtration systems.
The Guardian
15-05-2025
- Health
- The Guardian
How 'forever chemicals' have seeped into almost everything
Pfas are a group of thousands of chemicals that are used for their non-stick and water-resistant properties. They are often refered to as 'forever chemicals' because they can take thousands of years to break down. Pfas are being found in so many everyday items that it's starting to feel like they are everywhere - non-stick frying pans, waterproof mascaras, stain-resistant clothing, packaging for takeaway food items. Pfas are even in our food, our drinking water and in the rain. Josh Toussaint-Strauss talks to Leana Hosea and Rachel Salvidge of Watershed investigations, a nonprofit that works to expose the causes behind Pfas contamination. Together they discuss what the spread of Pfas means for our health and the environment, and what can be done to get rid of them or at least limit our exposure.
The Guardian
15-05-2025
- Health
- The Guardian
Trump officials want to cut limits of Pfas in drinking water – what will the impact be?
The Trump administration has announced it would attempt to kill some of the strong new Pfas 'forever chemical' drinking water limits set in April 2024. While the moves would deliver a clear win for the US chemical and water utility industries, it's less clear whether the action will be successful, what it means longterm for the safety of the US's drinking water, and its impact on progress in addressing forever chemical pollution. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is attempting maneuvers that violate the law, observers say, and even if they survive a legal challenge, progress under the Biden administration cannot be fully undone. There's also some momentum in regulatory and legal battles that public health advocates have won at the state level and in courts that will ultimately improve water piecemeal regardless of the EPA's backtracking. Still, the announcement raises a fresh round of questions about the water utility industry, which has led the attack on the new rules. And the announcement represents a blow on a popular environmental and public health issue that has seen notable successes in recent years. 'With this action, EPA is making clear that it's willing to ignore Americans who just want to turn on their kitchen taps and have clean, safe water,' said Erik Olson, senior strategic director for health at the NRDC. The non-profit is an intervenor on legal action on the issue, and lobbied for the limits. Pfas are a class of chemicals often used to make products resistant to water, stains and heat. They are called 'forever chemicals' because they do not naturally break down, and are linked to cancer, liver problems, thyroid issues, birth defects, kidney disease, decreased immunity and other serious health problems. The chemicals are ubiquitous in the environment and thought to be contaminating drinking water for more than 200 million people across the US. The 2024 Pfas rules marked the first time in 27 years the EPA had put in place new drinking water limits for contaminants. The EPA created limits for six Pfas compounds, and the Trump administration targeted four of those – PFNA, PfHxS, and HFPO dimer acid, more commonly called GenX. However, the Safe Drinking Water Act would in theory stop the EPA from simply killing or even weakening the limits because it includes an 'anti-backsliding' rule that prohibits a loosening of restrictions. It states that a revision 'shall maintain, or provide for greater, protection of the health of persons'. 'The EPA can't repeal or weaken the drinking water standard – this action is not only harmful, it's illegal,' Olson said. However, the water utility and chemical industries have sued to attempt to kill the limits for all six Pfas – not just the four covered in yesterday's announcement. The EPA and justice department under Joe Biden began defending the rules, and it's unclear how the Donald Trump EPA's will handle the cases for the four Pfas limits it announced it intends to undo. Kyla Bennett, policy with the Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility, and former EPA scientist, said she suspects the agency and the justice department will, in effect, try to lose the case. 'The DOJ could stop defending and do a shitty job and make the court say: 'These limits aren't science-based,' then strike them down,' Bennett said. It would then be up to legal intervenors like NRDC to defend the rules. Olson detailed the agency's other legal options, which involve revising the rule. That could take more time than the Trump administration has in office, but it delays the rules' implementation. 'It's going to take years and years, and they're going to kick the can down the road because they dont give a shit,' Bennett added. While the proposal shreds blanket protections against the four Pfas, it leaves in place limits for PFOA and PFOS. Reverse osmosis systems utilities are installing to remove PFOS and PFOA would catch most of the other Pfas, as well. However, not all water utilities are installing systems that can catch smaller Pfas, like GenX. Moreover, Chemours is responsible for high levels of GenX pollution around its Pfas plants in North Carolina and West Virginia. The consent agreements in place use EPA limits as the standard for cleanup and requirements for the company to provide impacted residents with safe drinking water. The full impact on those communities is unclear, but the EPA's plans are 'right on the bullseye of what Chemours wanted', Olson said. The development also highlights the need for reform of the country's water utility industry, which is leading the charge against the limits. What happens when the largely public industry charged with ensuring the country's water is safe opposes clean water rules, as it has repeatedly? 'It's definitely a huge problem,' Olson said. 'Most people would be shocked to hear that their water utility is spending precious dollars on lobbying, litigating and fighting against public health requirements, rather than using the money to install better water systems.' There are few good quick answers, advocates say. Still, there's some momentum that the EPA action and utilities won't slow. More than$12bn in legal settlement is already available for utilities that were a part of those suits. Meanwhile, the federal government has made more than $20bn available, and many projects are underway, while states have also enacted their own limits and made some money available. The Trump administration, for its part, wrote in its press release that it is 'keeping [limits] for PFOA, PFOS' and it is 'on a path to uphold the agency's nationwide standards to protect Americans from PFOA and PFOS in their water'. The statement did not impress campaigners. 'It's just lies and that press release was gas lighting,' Bennett said.
The Guardian
11-05-2025
- Health
- The Guardian
Eating more fiber could reduce ‘forever chemicals' in bodies, study suggests
Consuming higher amounts of fiber reduces levels of toxic Pfas 'forever chemicals' in human bodies, a new peer-reviewed pilot study suggests. The research found fiber most effectively reduces Pfos and Pfoa, among the two most common and dangerous Pfas. Each can stay in bodies for years, and federal data shows virtually everyone has the chemicals in their blood. The researchers are 'excited' about the results of studies on mice and a small human population, said Jennifer Schlezinger, a paper co-author with Boston University. A larger study is in the works. 'We're still mid-experiment but we're seeing very promising things,' she said. 'The key is that this is feasible, accessible and economical.' Pfas are a class of about 15,000 compounds most frequently used to make products water-, stain- and grease-resistant. They have been linked to cancer, birth defects, decreased immunity, high cholesterol, kidney disease and a range of other serious health problems. They are dubbed 'forever chemicals' because they do not naturally break down in the environment. The US Environmental Protection Agency has found no level of exposure to Pfos or Pfoa in drinking water is safe. They have a half-life in human blood of anywhere from two to five years, by most estimates. That means the body expels half the amount of the chemical that is in blood during that period. Depending on blood levels, it can take decades to fully expel Pfas. Military bases are often Pfas hotspots that have exposed untold numbers of service members to the chemicals, and the US Department of defense is funding the research. The authors theorize that dietary fibers form a gel that may stop cells lining the gut from absorbing the Pfas. They note that fibers form a gel that impedes the absorption of bile acids, leading to increased bile acid elimination in feces. Bile acids are chemically similar to long-chain Pfas, and the Pfas can move into the gut with the bile. The mechanism in the gel-forming dietary fibers that eliminates bile acid seems to do the same thing for Pfas. Schlezinger said insoluble and soluble fibers were needed, and those can be added to a glass of juice. Oat beta glucan is also effective. It should be taken with meals because that is when the body largely produces bile, which needs to be timed with fiber consumption. Sign up to Detox Your Kitchen A seven-week expert course to help you avoid chemicals in your food and groceries. after newsletter promotion Pfoa and Pfos are classified as 'long chain' Pfas, which means that they are among larger compounds in the chemical class. The fiber seemed to generally work well at capturing and discharging those via feces, but did not work as well for smaller 'short-chain' Pfas. Short-chain Pfas are excreted through urine, but long chains are not. Cholestyramine, a cholesterol drug, has also been used to reduce Pfas blood levels. But it has been found to create frequent, large, hard stools in mice, Schlezinger said. Fiber, by contrast, creates easy-to-pass stools, and has added health benefits, she noted.
Irish Examiner
23-04-2025
- Health
- Irish Examiner
‘Alarming' increase in levels of forever chemical TFA found in European wines
Levels of a little-known forever chemical known as TFA in European wines have risen 'alarmingly' in recent decades, according to analysis, prompting fears that contamination will breach a planetary boundary. Researchers from Pesticide Action Network Europe tested 49 bottles of commercial wine to see how TFA contamination in food and drink had progressed. They found levels of trifluoroacetic acid (TFA), a breakdown product of long-lasting Pfas chemicals that carries possible fertility risks, far above those previously measured in water. Wines produced before 1988 showed no trace of TFA, the researchers found, but those after 2010 showed a steep rise in contamination. Organic and conventional wines showed a rise in TFA contamination, but levels in organic varieties tended to be lower. 'The wines that contained the highest concentration of TFA, on average, were also the wines we found with the highest amount of pesticide residue,' said Salomé Roynel from Pesticide Action Network Europe, which has called on the European Commission and EU member states to ban Pfas pesticides. The researchers used 10 Austrian cellar wines from as early as 1974 – before policy changes they suspect led to the widespread use of precursor chemicals to TFA – as well as 16 wines bought in Austrian supermarkets from vintages between 2021 and 2024. When the initial analysis revealed unexpectedly high levels of TFA contamination, they asked partners across Europe to contribute samples from their own countries. The results from 10 European countries showed no detectable amounts of TFA in old wines; a 'modest increase' in concentrations from 13µg/l to 21µg/l between 1988 and 2010; and a 'sharp rise' thereafter, reaching an average of 121µg/l in the most recent wines. PFAS are chemicals that are widely used in consumer products, some of which have been shown to have harmful effects on people. Authorities have historically not been troubled by potential health effects of TFA contamination, but recent studies in mammals have suggested it poses risks to reproductive health. Last year, the German chemical regulator proposed classifying TFA as toxic to reproduction at the European level. A study in October argued the persistent nature of the substance and the growth in concentrations imply that TFA meets the criteria of a 'planetary boundary threat for novel entities', with increasing planetary-scale exposure that could have potential irreversible disruptive impacts on vital Earth system processes. Hans Peter Arp, a researcher at Norwegian University of Science and Technology and lead author of the study, who was not involved in the Pesticide Action Network report, said that although the new research was only a preliminary screening, the results were 'expected and shocking'. 'Overall they are consistent with what the scientific community knows about the alarming rise of TFA in essentially anything we can measure,' he said. 'They also provide further evidence that Pfas-pesticides can be a major source of TFA in agricultural areas, alongside other sources such as refrigerants and pharmaceuticals.' The main sources of TFA are thought to be fluorinated refrigerants known as F-gases, which disperse globally, and Pfas pesticides, which are concentrated in agricultural soil. Concentrations of F-gases rose after the 1987 Montreal protocol banned ozone-depleting substances such as chlorofluorocarbons, while Pfas pesticides are thought to have become widespread in Europe in the 1990s. A study in November using field data from southern Germany revealed a 'significant increase' in TFA groundwater concentrations when comparing farmland with other land uses. Gabriel Sigmund, a researcher at Wageningen University in the Netherlands and co-author of the study, who was not involved in the Pesticide Action Network report, said TFA could not be degraded by natural processes and was very difficult and costly to remove during water treatment. For most TFA precursor pesticides, there is little to no available data on their TFA formation rates, he added. 'This makes it very difficult to assess how much TFA formation and emission potential agricultural soils currently have, as accumulated pesticides can degrade and release TFA over time,' he said. 'So even if we completely stopped the use of these pesticides now, we have to expect a further increase in TFA concentrations in our water resources and elsewhere over the next years.' - The Guardian Read More Famed Sherpa guide attempts to climb Mount Everest for 31st time
