ELEVATED LEVELS OF a PFAS compound were associated with more severe forms of Covid-19, according to a Danish study now undergoing peer review. The research, which involved 323 patients infected with the coronavirus, found that those who had elevated levels of a chemical called PFBA were more than twice as likely to have a severe form of the disease. Read more…
How a problem is framed often shapes the range of solutions considered. Ubiquitous global contamination by PFAS (per- and polyfluorinated alkyl substances), human-synthesized chemicals that are water and grease repellent and found in human blood, drinking water, and wildlife, is a problem that has been framed in a number of ways. While environmental regulation is often framed as driven by scientific knowledge, our research finds that in U.S. the implementation of chemical regulation is more commonly driven by scientific ignorance and corporate malfeasance. Read more…
For two decades, state environmental officials have used a controversial pesticide to kill mosquitoes in Massachusetts, spraying millions of acres from the air and ground to reduce the spread of Eastern equine encephalitis. Read more…
PORTSMOUTH — The first in the nation federal health study on adults and children exposed to dangerous PFAS chemicals is slated to restart Thursday, Oct. 15.
Andrea Amico, co-founder of community advocacy group Testing For Pease, said “we were informed by ATSDR (the Agency For Toxic Substances and Disease Registry) that the Pease Health Study has been approved to reopen” pending final approval from an internal review board. Read more…
PFAS compounds are ubiquitous, used in a range of products, from food-delivery boxes to non-stick cookware to stain-resistant clothing.
But one of the most troubling routes to PFAS exposure is drinking water that has been contaminated by discharges from factories and other facilities. Read more…
After years of research showing the dangers of so-called forever chemicals, state regulators Thursday joined a growing number of their counterparts in other states in issuing significant new limits on the human-made compounds in drinking water, a move hailed by environmental advocates. Read more…
Consumer Reports found toxic PFAS chemicals in several popular water brands, especially carbonated ones. Read more…
North Carolina is getting tougher on industries that pollute the state’s air and waterways with potentially carcinogenic per- and polyfluoroalkyl compounds, commonly known as PFAS or “forever chemicals.” On Aug. 10, state Attorney General Josh Stein announced that he is starting an investigation into manufacturers and others that have fouled the state’s lakes, rivers and streams with PFAS. Read more…
PORTSMOUTH — One of the many concerns parents of children exposed to PFAS chemicals have is how it could impact their kids’ immune system.
Because exposure to PFAS in drinking water is believed to harm a child’s immune system, “PFAS can lower the effectiveness of vaccines they receive,” Portsmouth mother and Testing For Pease co-founder Andrea Amico said this week. Read more…
THE CONTAINERS THAT hold your takeout dinner may harbor an invisible threat: fluorinated compounds that persist in our bodies long after we ingest them. They are among almost 5,000 perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS, a class of chemicals that have been associated with health hazards that include liver damage, birth defects, cancer, and impaired immunity. Read more…
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