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Bandages from brands such as Band-Aid and Curad have been found to contain dangerous levels of toxic “forever chemicals,” allowing direct contact with the bloodstream through open wounds, according to a new report. Of the 40 bandages from 18 different brands tested by environmental health and consumer watchdog Mamavation and Environmental Health News, 26 had detectable levels of organic fluorine, an indicator of harmful “forever chemicals,” also known as PFAS.

A medication for high cholesterol can drastically cut "forever chemicals" (PFAS)—associated with an increased risk of cancer and banned in Europe—in the blood, researchers said. But the drug was not suitable for widespread and prolonged use because of its side effects. A clinical trial with cholestyramine led to a reduction 20 times greater than the normal result without intervention. "The effect of treatment was actually a decrease in the plasma of 63 percent," said Lindhardt. Researchers say the results are promising for treating people who have been exposed to high doses of the "forever chemicals", so called because they tend...

Without so much as a whisper of pushback from Congress, the White House is bulldozing forward with a regulatory proposal that could cost the average household up to $10,000 extra in water costs. But it’s not only President Joe Biden‘s campaign that is scared of this latest forefront of the president’s green agenda — Biden’s own Pentagon is panicking over the proposal. The World Health Organization now recommends that governments limit polyfluoroalkyl substances, also known as PFAS or “forever plastics” that are resistant to breaking down in either the environment or the human body, at a level of 100 parts...

Perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substance (PFAS) exposure is associated with later occurrence of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), according to a research letter. Manasi Agrawal, M.D. and colleagues examined the association of PFAS mixture concentrations in prediagnostic serum in patients with adult-onset IBD participating in a pilot study within the preclinical Proteomic Evaluation and Discovery in an IBD Cohort of Tri-service Subjects study. The analysis included military personnel with Crohn disease (CD), those with ulcerative colitis (UC), and age-, sex-, and race-matched healthy controls (25 in each group). The researchers found that estimated mean concentrations in the study population were 5.19 µg/L...

The EU’s chemical strategy, unveiled in 2020, included pledges to “ban [non-essential uses] of the most harmful chemicals in consumer products” such as toys, babies’ nappies, cosmetics, detergents, food packaging and textiles. “It is especially important to stop using the most harmful chemicals in consumer products, from toys and child care products to textiles and materials that come in contact with our food,” said EU Green Deal chief Frans Timmermans back in 2020. “Our health should always come first,” said EU health commissioner Stella Kyriakides also said — three years ago. But internal documents have shown these commitments are unlikely...

"Forever chemicals" are widespread in the environment, and new research finds they can be detected in about 45% of U.S. tap water samples. The chemicals are per- and polyfluorinated alkyl substances, or PFAS, and their spread through drinking water—both tap and well—may be even higher because researchers from the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) were unable to test for all of them, CNN reported. These synthetic substances have been linked to a variety of health issues, including cancer, liver damage, hormone suppression, decreased fertility, obesity, high cholesterol and thyroid disease. To gauge the impact on drinking water, a team used water...

This is very scary for athletes and parents of kids who play on artificial turf.If you played a youth field sport at any level you probably had at least some contact with artificial turf. Now there are serious concerns about long-term exposure to the playing surface. Six former Philadelphia Phillies players, Tug McGraw, Darren Daulton, John Vukovich, John Oates, Ken Brett, and David West have died due to glioblastoma, a rare form of brain cancer that seems to indicate a link in their environment — with the turf inside of Veteran’s Stadium from 1971-2003 being a common factor. A ranging...

Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul is suing the makers of so-called forever chemicals that have contaminated multiple sources of drinking water, saying the companies hid threats to public health and the environment. Raoul is suing 3M and several other large chemical companies that have in their past had some role in making a class of chemicals used in non-stick pans, clothing, furniture, water and stain repellents, food packaging and thousands of other products. Perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances, commonly known as PFAS, are tied to some types of cancer, liver damage and other health conditions. Minnesota-based 3M has promised to stop...

Eating one freshwater fish caught in a river or lake in the United States is the equivalent of drinking a month's worth of water contaminated with toxic "forever chemicals," new research said on Tuesday. The invisible chemicals, called PFAS, were first developed in the 1940s to resist water and heat and are now used in items such as non-stick pans, textiles, fire suppression foams and food packaging. But the indestructibility of PFAS, per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, means the pollutants have built up over time in the air, soil, lakes, rivers, food, drinking water and even our bodies. David Andrews, a...

There is a consistent inverse association between maternal exposure to perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) and semen quality in young adult male offspring, according to a study. Katia Keglberg Hærvig, Ph.D. and colleagues examined associations between maternal plasma PFAS levels during early pregnancy and male offspring reproductive function in adulthood. The analysis included 864 young men and first-trimester samples from their mothers. The researchers found that for a 1-unit increase in the weighted quantile sum index, combined maternal PFAS exposure was associated with lower sperm concentration, lower total sperm count, and a higher proportion of nonprogressive and immotile sperm in...

Exposure to a synthetic chemical found widely in the environment is linked to non-viral hepatocellular carcinoma, the most common type of liver cancer, according to a study. The chemical, called perfluooctane sulfate or PFOS, is one of a class of man-made chemicals called per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS. These chemicals, which are used in a wide range of consumer and industrial products, are sometimes called forever chemicals because they break down very slowly and accumulate in the environment and human tissue, including the liver. Prior research in animals has suggested that PFAS exposure increases the risk of liver cancer,...

A group of hazardous synthetic chemicals called PFAS, which don’t break down in the environment, have been found in rainwater across the globe at levels which make it unsafe to drink, according to a new study. Link to The Science: Stockholm University

<p>ATLANTA, Ga. (CBS46) - Think about that takeout food order you made recently — almost all of it probably came wrapped or boxed. It’s what is in some of that packaging that’s raising concern. A new investigation from Consumer Reports finds potentially dangerous chemicals in many commonly used food wrappers.</p>

You might have heard of PFAS, a synthetic chemical found in legacy firefighting foams, non-stick pans, carpets, clothes and stain- or water-resistant materials and paints. PFAS stands for "per- and poly-fluorinated alkyl substances." These molecules, made up of chains of carbon and fluorine atoms, are nicknamed "forever chemicals" because they don't degrade in our bodies. There is global concern about PFAS because they accumulate in our bodies over time. There was no way to reduce the amount of PFAS found in the body—until now. Our new randomized clinical trial, has found regularly donating blood or plasma can reduce blood PFAS...

In an apparent effort to rally the base, House Leadership has jammed an environmental activist project, the PFAS Action Act of 2021, into the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) -- a move that threatens military readiness and supply chains. The bill “establishes requirements and incentives to limit the use of perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances, commonly referred to as PFAS, and remediate PFAS in the environment.” PFAS can be found in a wide variety of products like non-stick pans, weatherproof clothing, carpets, belts, food packaging and various other usages. Without PFAS chemicals we wouldn’t have smartphones since they help stabilize them...