Sinking your teeth into a crisp apple or chomping on a stalk of celery is something you should be able to do without thinking. After all, the best nutritional science shows that eating a variety of fruits and vegetables—and plenty of them—is a crucial component of good health. But produce sometimes comes with potentially harmful pesticide levels. More:

• Stop Eating Pesticides  –  Consumer Reports
• What Do You Really Get When You Buy Organic?  –  Consumer Reports
• Application of the Food Quality Protection Act children’s health safety factor in the U.S. EPA pesticide risk assessments (Scientific commentary)

• Pesticide exposure and risk of Alzheimer’s disease: a systematic review and meta-analysis (Research article)
• Association Between Exposure to Pyrethroid Insecticides and Risk of All-Cause and Cause-Specific Mortality in the General US Adult Population (Research article)
• Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder and Urinary Metabolites of Organophosphate Pesticides (Research article)

Liza called leading scientists, advocates and physicians who helped compile a list of 10 or so of the best candidates. She then painstakingly whittled the list to three: phthalates; PFAS, or per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances; and flame retardants. All three groups of chemicals appear throughout our homes and can disrupt our hormone, or endocrine, systems. The triple crown of toxicity. More:

• The 3 Scariest Chemicals to Watch Out For in Your Home  –  The New York Times
• How to Save Your Sperm  –  The New York Times

In seabird after seabird, Anna Robuck found something concerning: per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS, lurking around vital organs. “Brain, liver, kidney, lung, blood, heart,” Robuck says, rattling off a few hiding spots before pausing to recall the rest. Robuck, a Ph.D. candidate in chemical oceanography, quickly settles on a simpler response: She found the chemicals everywhere she looked. More:

• Are Forever Chemicals Harming Ocean Life?  –  The Revelator
• Potential health effects of PFAS chemicals  –  US ATSDR
• EPA: GenX Nearly as Toxic as Notorious Non-Stick Chemicals It Replaced  –  EWG
• Immunotoxicity of Perfluorinated Compounds: Recent Developments (Research article)
• Analysis of F-53B, Gen-X, ADONA, and emerging fluoroalkylether substances in environmental and biomonitoring samples: A review (Research article)

• A global survey of perfluorinated acids in oceans (Research abstract)
• Poly- and Perfluoroalkyl Substances in Seawater and Plankton from the Northwestern Atlantic Margin (Research abstract)
• Transport of Legacy Perfluoroalkyl Substances and the Replacement Compound HFPO-DA through the Atlantic Gateway to the Arctic Ocean—Is the Arctic a Sink or a Source? (Research abstract)
• Volatile per- and polyfluoroalkyl compounds in the remote atmosphere of the western Antarctic Peninsula: an indirect source of perfluoroalkyl acids to Antarctic waters? (Research abstract)

• Legacy and emerging poly- and perfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) in seabirds from Atlantic offshore and coastal environments  –  US EPA
• Environmental perfluorooctane sulfonate exposure drives T cell activation in bottlenose dolphins (Research article)
• Elevated levels of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances in Cape Fear River Striped Bass (Morone saxatilis) are associated with biomarkers of altered immune and liver function (Research article)
• Association between perfluorinated compounds and pathological conditions in southern sea otters (Research article)
• Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) – New endocrine disruptors in polar bears (Ursus maritimus)? (Research abstract)
• Perfluoroalkyl substances in diamondback terrapins (Malaclemys terrapin) in coastal South Carolina (Research abstract)
• Variation in perfluoroalkyl acids in the American alligator (Alligator mississippiensis) at Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge (Research abstract)
• Temporal Shifts in Poly- and Perfluoroalkyl Substances (PFASs) in North Atlantic Pilot Whales Indicate Large Contribution of Atmospheric Precursors (Research abstract)
• Polyfluoroalkyl Compounds in Free-Ranging Bottlenose Dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) from the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic Ocean (Research abstract)
• Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in plasma of the West Indian manatee (Trichechus manatus) (Research abstract)

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is announcing a voluntary phase-out of certain types of grease-proofing agents on paper and paperboard food packaging. This phase-out comes after an FDA post-market scientific review and analysis from rodent studies found biopersistence of the grease-proofing substances. More:

• Voluntary phase-out by industry of certain PFAS used in food packaging  –  Food Safety News
• Goodbye to some PFAS in food packaging  –  C&EN
• FDA Announces Voluntary Agreement with Manufacturers to Phase Out Certain Short-Chain PFAS Used in Food Packaging  –  US FDA
• San Francisco moves to ban food containers made with fluorinated chemicals  –  C&EN
• Per and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS)  –  US FDA
• A guide to the PFAS found in our environment  –  C&EN
• The Toxics in Packaging Clearinghouse  –  Toxics in Packaging

The chemical contaminant PFAs is emerging as a big problem in Michigan. Michigan officials were frustrated waiting on the federal government to adopt health-protecting standards for the nonstick, so-called "forever chemicals" that have become a leading emerging contaminant in the state and across the country. So they made their own. More:

• Michigan's drinking water standards for these chemicals now among toughest in nation  –  Detroit Free Press
• PFAS Response - PFAS Response  –  Michigan Gov.

Treating the thousands of potentially toxic chemicals called per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) as a single class could reduce health risks and contamination, and improve clean-up efforts, according to a commentary by an international group of experts. More:

• PFAS should be managed as a single class of chemicals, experts say  –  Environmental Factor
• Perfluoroalkyl and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS)  –  US NIH
• Scientific Basis for Managing PFAS as a Chemical Class - Press Conference  –  Press Conference
• Scientific Basis for Managing PFAS as a Chemical Class (Scientific commentary)

In 2019, FIS announced a ban on fluorinated waxes that is set to go into effect prior to the 2020-21 ski season. In response to the popularity of Ski Racing Media’s podcast surrounding the fluoro-wax controversy, we dug a bit deeper to break down the problem, at its root, to help our readers and those impacted by the ban better understand how all this all started, who is involved, how its affecting wax companies, teams, and athletes, and what ski families in North America need to know. More:

• Future without fluoros: a complete guide  –  Ski Racing
• Q&A with Roman Kumpost on the ban on fluorinated waxes  –  International Ski Federation
• U.S., Canadian NGB/NSOs Form North American Fluorocarbon Free Policy Working Group  –  US Ski and Snowboard
• The Deal with High-Fluoro: All the Wax Facts with Todd Carroll (podcast)

PFAS (per and polyfluoroalkyl substances) chemicals are used in a lot of household products. While the effects of PFAS on human health are still being debated, they have been detected in the past in our food and drinking water, as well as many waterways. More:

• A New 'Forever Chemical' Has Been Detected in Arctic Seawater For The First Time  –  Science alert
• PFOA and Cancer in a Highly Exposed Community: New Findings from the C8 Science Panel  –  NCBI
• Transport of Legacy Perfluoroalkyl Substances and the Replacement Compound HFPO-DA through the Atlantic (Research article)

Scientists are putting together a growing list of synthetic chemicals, known as endocrine disruptors, which have gradually become widespread in our water, air, food and blood, and which have been linked to several troubling health effects. More:

• Household Chemical Effects on Our Health Appear Increasingly Dire, New Evidence Shows  –  Science alert
• The FDA Has Found Trace Amounts of a Worrying 'Forever Chemical' in Our Food  –  Science alert
• Obesity, Infertility, and Low IQ Are Just Some of the Ways Household Chemicals Wreck Our Health  –  Gizmodo

• Scientific knowledge of endocrine disrupting chemicals  –  UNEP
• Executive Summary to EDC-2: The Endocrine Society's Second Scientific Statement on Endocrine-Disrupting Chemicals (Scientific statement)
• Endocrine-disrupting chemicals: economic, regulatory, and policy implications (Research article)

Evidence has doubled in the last five years about the negative impact on our health of endocrine-disrupting chemicals in plastics, pesticides, flame retardants and other merchandise, according to a new review of recent literature. More:

• Plastics and pesticides: Health impacts of synthetic chemicals in US products doubled in last 5 years, study finds  –  CNN Health
• Perfluoroalkyl and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS)  –  US NIH
• Endocrine-disrupting chemicals: implications for human health (Research article)
• Trends in neurodevelopmental disability burden due to early life chemical exposure in the USA from 2001 to 2016: A population-based disease burden and cost analysis  –  (Research abstract)

D.C. Attorney General Karl Racine filed suit against Monsanto in May, alleging the company had polluted all 36 waterways in the city with toxic polychlorinated biphenyls, or PCBs. The company knew how harmful the chemicals were for decades, according to the lawsuit, but continued to promote and sell them. More:

• Monsanto To Pay D.C. $52 Million Over Chemical Pollution In Rivers  –  DCist
• A $550M national class-action settlement includes money for cleanup of PCBs in Baltimore waterways  –  The Baltimore Sun
• Learn about Polychlorinated Biphenyls (PCBs)  –  US EPA
• Monsanto Settlement  –  Court of the District of Columbia
• Production Import Export Use and Disposal  –  US ATSDR

Michael Richard Clifford, a 66-year-old retired astronaut living in Cary, N.C., learned before his third spaceflight that he had Parkinson’s disease. He was only 44 and in excellent health at the time, and had no family history of this disabling neurological disorder. What he did have was years of exposure to numerous toxic chemicals, several of which have since been shown in animal studies to cause the kind of brain damage and symptoms that afflict people with Parkinson’s. More:

• The Link Between Parkinson’s Disease and Toxic Chemicals  –  The New York Times
• Chronic systemic pesticide exposure reproduces features of Parkinson’s disease (Research article)
• Twins Study Links Parkinson's Disease to Environment  –  The New York Times

A new study has found that the extensive use of pesticides and several other agrochemicals can expedite the transmission of a crippling disease known as schistosomiasis. According to researchers, ecological balances in aquatic environments, that aid in the prevention of infections, are also upset. More:

• Pesticides Can Speed Up The Transmission of Deadly Waterborne Pathogens, Find Scientists  –  IBT
• Effects of agrochemical pollution on schistosomiasis transmission- a systematic review and modelling analysis (Research article)

A new study published in the journal Lancet Planetary Health has found that the extensive use of pesticides and several other agrochemicals can expedite the transmission of a crippling disease known as schistosomiasis. According to researchers from the University of California, Berkeley, ecological balances in aquatic environments, that aid in the prevention of infections, are also upset. More:

• Pesticides Can Speed Up The Transmission of Deadly Waterborne Pathogens, Find Scientists  –  IBT
• Effects of agrochemical pollution on schistosomiasis transmission- a systematic review and modelling analysis (Research article)

‘The kids wore the grass away. It became like a mudbath, the kids were constantly dirty. It just didn’t look very good.’ When her holiday in Dubai was cancelled, she and her husband decided to splash the cash on solving the problem: an artificial lawn. Experts say decline in urban butterflies and urban bees is due to artificial lawns. More:

• How green is your fake lawn? Sales have soared during lockdown but critics say they are bad for the environment and wildlife  –  Mail Online
• Toxic PFAS Chemicals Found in Artificial Turf  –  The Intercept

An article in the local newspaper caught Andrea Amico’s eye in May 2014. It reported that one of the three drinking-water wells at a sprawling business and industrial park nearby was shut down because of high levels of chemical contamination. More:

• Why limiting PFAS in drinking water is a challenge in the US  –  C&EN

In the 1970s, fire regulations began requiring the addition of chemical flame retardants (CFRs) to a variety of consumer products. Now, we find these compounds in products as diverse as cell phones, televisions, computers, clothing, upholstered furniture, and carpets. While CFRs meet certain standards for slowing the ignition and spread of fires, they also leach chemicals into indoor air and dust and have been found in food and water. More:

• Regrettable Replacements: The Case of Chemical Flame Retardants  –  Canada's National Collaborating Centre for Environmental Health
• Flame Retardants  –  US NIH
• Flame retardants - Canada  –  Government of Canada
• Chemical fire retardants  –  Science Learning Hub
• Phosphate Ester Flame Retardants  –  US ASTDR

• Are cell phones an indicator of personal exposure to organophosphate flame retardants and plasticizers? (Research article)
• Urinary Metabolites of Organophosphate Flame Retardants: Temporal Variability and Correlations with House Dust Concentrations (Research article)

• Toxic roulette  –  Chicago Tribute
• Harmful chemicals removed from products often replaced with something as bad or worse  –  Harvard T.H. Chan
• Global flammability standards.  –  Camira
• Want to Avoid Toxic Couch Chemicals? Just Look for New Label!  –  NRDC

Chemical pollutants mean bad news for the environment, but some types are far more harmful than others. At the extreme end of the spectrum are toxic substances such as PFAS and GenX ,which fall into a class known as “forever chemicals” for their ability to endure in the environment for a very long time. Rice University researchers have happened upon a powerful new tool they say could help neutralize this threat, offering a new catalyst that can destroy them in a matter of hours. More:

• Boron nitride catalyst destroys toxic PFAS "forever chemicals"  –  New Atlas
• This makeup ingredient could destroy 99% of ‘forever chemicals’  –  Grist
• Boron nitride destroys PFAS 'forever' chemicals PFOA, GenX  –  ScienceDaily
• Efficient Photocatalytic PFOA Degradation over Boron Nitride (Research abstract)

In 2014, my world changed forever when I learned my family was exposed to contaminated drinking water containing high levels of PFAS. Since then, I haven't stopped worrying about my family's health," says Andrea Amico, a New Hampshire resident and PFAS community advocate turned national activist. More:

• Op-ed: PFAS chemicals—the other immune system threat  –  EHN
• Resources on PFAS  –  PFAS Exchange

• Toxicological Profile- Perfluoroalkyls  –  US ATSDR
• What are the health effects of PFAS?  –  US ATSDR
• Perfluorooctanoic Acid or Perfluorooctane Sulfonate  –  US NTP

• Scientific Basis for Managing PFAS as a Chemical Class (Research article)
• Risk Management for Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) under TSCA  –  US EPA
• The concept of essential use for determining when uses of PFASs can be phased out (Research article)

• PFAS-Free Products  –  PFAS - Free Products
• Detox Me app: Tips for healthier living  –  Silent Spring Institute

Exposure to endocrine-disrupting chemicals in medicine and medical devices is grossly underestimated, and physicians have an ethical obligation to talk about these exposures with their patients, according to a new study. More:

• The danger of hormone-mimicking chemicals in medical devices and meds  –  EHN
• Unwitting Accomplices: Endocrine Disruptors Confounding Clinical Care (Research article)