toxics

A polar bear stands against a gray, snowy backdrop.

February 22, 2023

At least 330 species across the globe contaminated with PFAS

A class of chemicals linked to multiple health hazards in humans have been detected in hundreds of wildlife species across the United States, according to a report issued Wednesday.

The report was released by the Environmental Working Group (EWG) along with a map demonstrating that per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, also known as PFAS, are contaminating wildlife on every continent except Antarctica.

The data adds to several other reports of PFAS contamination in wildlife, and adds to the mounting concerns many researchers have about the long-term health and sustainability of important ecosystems.

“It’s a shocking wake-up call that much more needs to be done to protect wildlife … from the impacts of industrial chemicals,” said David Andrews, a senior scientist at EWG and an author of the report.

PFAS are a class of chemicals used in a wide array of industries and products. They are often referred to as ‘forever chemicals’ because they don’t break down in the environment. The chemicals have been linked to an array of human health problems, including certain cancers, reproductive issues and developmental problems.

The map showing the extent of the contamination in wildlife reflects data from 125 peer-reviewed studies of a wide range of species, including fish, birds, reptiles, amphibians, and mammals. PFAS contamination has been documented in polar bears in the Arctic Circle, tigers in China, plankton off the coast of Panama, crocodiles in South Africa, and many more species.

January 26, 2023

EPA failing to regulate water pollution from oil refineries, says new report

Millions of gallons of unregulated wastewater generated at oil refineries are flowing into US waterways every day, a regulatory failure endangering public health, according to a report released Thursday.

The new study, issued by the Environmental Integrity Project (EIP), reveals that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is failing to regulate and enforce limits required by the Clean Water Act on dangerous wastewater pollution from the nation’s oil refineries — waste that can contain hazardous chemicals linked to cancer, anemia, and immune and neurological effects, such as cyanide, mercury, selenium, and benzene. The authors of the report call for the EPA to set more restrictive limits for refineries in order to protect public health and the environment.

The findings are evidence that progress on clean water issues has stalled, said Eric Schaeffer, the executive director of EIP and a former director of civil enforcement at the EPA. “These are not the fishable and swimmable waters we were promised [by the Clean Water Act],” he said.

Oil refineries transform crude oil into usable petroleum products such as diesel, gasoline, and kerosene. The refinery process uses enormous amounts of water, which refineries must then discard.

The report, which surveyed 81 refineries in 24 states, found that US refineries discharged an estimated 60,000 pounds of selenium, along with 10,000 pounds of nickel, 15.7 million pounds of nitrogen, and 1.6 billion pounds of chlorides, sulfates, and other pollutants, into waterways in 2021. According to the authors, these estimates are likely low as they do not include contaminants released during spills or in stormwater runoff.

More than two-thirds of the refineries examined by EIP were found to contribute to heavy pollution of downstream rivers, lakes, and estuaries, making such water bodies unable to support healthy aquatic life or safe recreation.

The current standards governing wastewater from refineries are “weak and outdated,” the EIP report states.

December 21, 2022

3M sees “writing on the wall,” says it will stop making PFAS

by Shannon Kelleher

The company 3M, which makes over 60,000 products, said Tuesday it will stop manufacturing toxic PFAS “forever chemicals” and work to discontinue use of PFAS in its products by the end of 2025.

The announcement comes amid a wave of lawsuits against the company and other manufacturers, alleging the per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in their products have endangered human health and the environment. Meanwhile, more and more states are banning PFAS in a range of consumer goods, with California recently restricting the chemicals in clothing and cosmetics.

More than 20 years ago, 3M committed to phasing out two PFAS chemicals, PFOA and PFOS. But since then the company has manufactured various other PFAS, which belong to a class of thousands of chemicals.

“We know that 3M has known for decades that PFAS were harmful, said Lydia Jahl, a science and policy associate at the Green Science Policy Institute. “The writing was already on the wall and they’re just responding to that. I think they’re seeing that it’s expensive to produce PFAS because of all these lawsuits.”

Scientists have found that PFAS exposure is linked to a range of health problems, including heightened risk for cancer, birth defects, and liver disease. Part of the chemicals’ danger is also how slowly they degrade and how they accumulate in the body over time. Today, PFAS are present in the blood of an estimated 97% of Americans and have been found in many drinking water systems across the country.

Even as it announced its intention to phase out PFAS in a press release, and despite abundant scientific evidence about the chemicals’ health risks, 3M claimed the chemicals are both safe and necessary.

November 7, 2022

New PFAS exposure scoring method could speed research on health effects

Researchers have developed a new statistical tool they say could speed up research on the health effects of exposures to toxic “forever chemicals” that are commonly found in an array of consumer products.

In a study published last week in Environmental Health Perspectives, researchers from the Mount Sinai Medical Center and Johns Hopkins School of Public Health presented a new tool that offers PFAS researchers a way to compare total exposures to PFAS across scientific studies. The tool may provide researchers a more effective method to study these persistent toxins.

PFAS, an acronym for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, are a class of thousands of chemicals commonly used in non-stick cookware, food packaging, and waterproof clothing. The chemicals have been linked to certain cancers and reproductive issues.

Studying chemical mixtures is crucial to public health research, since people are exposed to many chemicals—including many types of PFAS—at once in their daily lives. But most studies that focus on toxic chemical mixtures only study those effects in relation to specific health outcomes; for example, a study might determine a chemical’s effect on blood pressure, or heart disease. Additionally, studies might measure different types of PFAS chemicals. That makes it hard for environmental health researchers to compare data.

October 12, 2022

New study says more than 57,400 US sites have PFAS contamination

Scientists have identified more than 57,400 sites in the United States that can be presumed to be contaminated with toxins linked to cancer and other health problems, according to a study published on Wednesday.

The sites identified by the analysis include 49,145 industrial facilities, 4,255 wastewater treatment plants, 3,493 military sites, and 519 airports. A map of the sites is publicly available on a PFAS Project Lab website.

PFAS, an acronym for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, are a class of thousands of chemicals commonly used to make such things as food packaging, cookware, fabrics, paints, and fire-fighting foams. Exposures to some types of PFAS have been linked to a range of adverse human health issues, including certain types of cancer, birth defects, and reproductive issues.

October 5, 2022

Chicago’s southeast side pushes back against pollution

By Paul Gordon

For more than 100 years, the Southeast side of Chicago has been a magnet for industry – a place where working class families made their homes and raised their children alongside steel mills, grain elevators, cement kilns and other operations drawn to the easy transportation of goods afforded by rail lines and the proximity of the Calumet River.

There once was a common saying in the area: “If there is soot on the windows, there is food on the table.”

The price for the industrial prosperity has been high: Now the area is home to two Superfund sites, multiple landfills, and numerous abandoned tracts of heavily polluted land that lie adjacent to a new cast of polluters – factories constantly busy milling, grinding and combusting.

Once a marshy area, 40% of Chicago’s wetlands have disappeared since 1900. The wetlands, which filter pollutants and prevent flooding, began to drain when the city altered the course of the Chicago River, sending its industrial waste-fouled waters away from population centers.

Without the wetlands, residents of Chicago’s southeast side experience high rates of flood damages, poor air quality, heat vulnerability, and other harmful environmental impacts, leaving people struggling for ways to protect their health and the environment.

“All of the environmental issues facing Chicago are magnified on the Southeast side where industrialization and contamination have created an inhospitable and dangerous environment for many,” said Daniel Suarez, conservation manager for Audubon Great Lakes, a regional arm of the national nonprofit conservation group.