A 2021 investigation into a fast fashion firm found elevated levels of lead, phthalates, and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) – chemicals linked to health problems – in clothing for children and adults, including pregnant women. More:

• The toxic chemicals in our clothes – lead, chromium, PFAS, phthalates – and the harm they do us, our children and the workers who make them  –  South China Morning Post
• Experts warn of high levels of chemicals in clothes by some fast-fashion retailers  –  CBC

Noyon Lanka, a unit of Sri Lanka’s MAS apparel group has developed a new plant extract-based dye that reduces water and energy use in washing plants and makes the industry more environmentally friendly, officials said. More:

• Sri Lanka’s Noyon Lanka develops eco-friendly plant based dye  –  EconomyNext

Are you using the safest non-toxic waffle maker to make your family waffles? This small kitchen appliance category is very confusing for consumers. Most brands are using PFAS “forever chemicals” and nano-titanium ceramic as a non-stick coating. Both are linked to health problems. So which brands and products are the safest?. More:

• Best Non-Toxic Waffle Maker Sans PFAS -"Forever Chemicals" and Nano-Titanium  –  Mamavation

• Best & Worst Small Kitchen Appliances–Toxic Food Contact Materials  –  Mamavation
• Safest Air Fryers & Air Fryer Ovens Sans Toxic PFAS Coatings 2021  –  Mamavation

• Best & Worst Cookware & Bakeware 2022–Safest Non Toxic Brands  –  Mamavation
• Watch Out For Nano in “Non-Toxic” Stainless Steel Cookware in 2022  –  Mamavation
• Toxic Packaging Are Fast Food Wrappers Hurting Your Family  –  Mamavation

• Best Non-Toxic Sunscreens (& Ones to Avoid) in 2022  –  Mamavation
• Green Beauty Cosmetic Guide — PFAS “Forever Chemicals” & Makeup  –  Mamavation
• Safest Non-Toxic Toothpaste & Tooth Powder With & Without Fluoride  –  Mamavation

• What are the health effects of PFAS?  –  US ATSDR
• Health effects of PFAS exposure  –  Food Packaging Forum
• PFAS and cancer, a scoping review of the epidemiologic evidence (Research article)
• CDC and ATSDR Award $7 Million to Begin Multi-Site PFAS Study  –  US CDC

• Thyroid Disrupting Effects of Old and New Generation PFAS (Research article)
• Nonstick Pan Chemicals Linked to Low Sperm Count and Small Penis Size Study Finds  –  Mamavation
• Endocrine-disrupting activity of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances: Exploring combined approaches of ligand and structure based modeling (Research abstract)

• PFAS exposure in infancy linked to reduced vaccine response  –  US NIH
• Maternal levels of perfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) during pregnancy and childhood allergy and asthma related outcomes and infections in the Norwegian Mother and Child (MoBa) cohort (Research article)
• Perfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) and Their Effects on the Placenta, Pregnancy, and Child Development: a Potential Mechanistic Role for Placental Peroxisome Proliferator–Activated Receptors (PPARs) (Research abstract)

The study is one of the first that links exposure to PFAS, found in products such as nonstick pans and fabric coatings, to the most common form of liver cancer in humans. More:

• Ubiquitous ‘Forever Chemicals’ Increase Risk of Liver Cancer, Researchers Report  –  Inside Climate News
• Synthetic “forever chemical” linked to liver cancer  –  EurekAlert
• Scientists link ‘forever chemical’ exposure to development of liver cancer  –  The Hill

• Exposure to perfluoroalkyl substances and risk of hepatocellular carcinoma in a multiethnic cohort (Research article)
• Scientists link ‘forever chemicals’ exposure to liver damage  –  The Hill
• C8 Probable Link Reports  –  C8 Science Panel
• Serum Biomarkers of Exposure to Perfluoroalkyl Substances in Relation to Serum Testosterone and Measures of Thyroid Function among Adults and Adolescents from NHANES 2011–2012 (Research article)

The chocolate you eat, the moisturizer you use, the tea you drink—these everyday products contain ingredients from wild plants. The way those plants—many of them threatened—are harvested may be damaging the environment and exploiting workers, a recent report found. More:

• Everyday foods and cosmetics that use wild plants may be harming the environment  –  National Geographic
• Wild check - Assessing the risks and opportunities of trade in wild plant ingredients (Report) –  FAO
• What to Do: Consumers  –  Sustainable Herbs Program
• The tree that could help stop the pandemic  –  The Atlantic

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Environmental Protection Agency to designate two “forever chemicals” used in cookware, carpets and firefighting foams as hazardous substances, a step that would clear the way for quicker cleanup of the toxic compounds, which have been linked to cancer and other health problems. More:

• EPA to designate ‘forever chemicals’ as hazardous substances  –  AP News
• PFAS-polluted towns see promise in EPA's proposal to list chemicals as hazardous substances  –  Wisconsin Public Radio

• EPA: ‘Forever chemicals’ pose risk even at very low levels  –  AP News
• Pressure growing to remove PFAS from fast food wrappers  –  AP News
• ‘Forever chemicals’ found in groundwater near military bases  –  AP News

• EPA hazardous substance proposal holds ‘forever chemicals’ polluters accountable  –  EWG
• EPA unveils strategy to regulate toxic ‘forever chemicals’  –  AP News
• EPA will regulate two toxic chemicals in drinking water  –  AP News

While the PFAS-contamination crisis threatens U.S. public health and the environment, a North Carolina–based company has begun marketing new uses for its trademarked “forever chemicals,” called hydrofluoroolefins, or HFOs. The HFO chemicals are used as propellants and solvents in consumer products and just a couple dozen cosmetics. More:

• Honeywell moves to introduce more PFAS into your home  –  EWG
• PFAS Chemicals  –  EWG

• Reconciling Terminology of the Universe of Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances Recommendations and Practical Guidance (Report)  –  OECD
• Regulating PFAS as a Chemical Class under the California Safer Consumer Products Program (Commentary)  –  Environmental Health Perspectives
• PFAS Master List of PFAS Substances  –  US EPA
• National PFAS Testing Strategy  –  US EPA

• PFAS  –  Safer States
• An Act To Stop Perfluoroalkyl and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances Pollution (Legislative Text)  –  State of Maine Legislature
• California Assembly passes bill to track and report toxic ‘forever chemicals’ sold, distributed or imported to the state  –  EWG

• California legislature sends to Gov. Newsom bill to ban toxic ‘forever chemicals’ from cosmetics  –  EWG
• ARTICLE 1. Plant-Based Food Packaging Containing PFAS (Legislative Document)  –  California Legislative Information
• CHAPTER 12.5. Juvenile Products (Legislative Document)  –  California Legislative Information

It’s not only the odour of the “world’s smelliest fish” that should make your stomach turn. The Baltic Sea, home of the sour herring, is heavily polluted, making the fatty fish loaded with hazardous chemicals. More:

• The bitter truth about sour herring  –  ChemSec

• Hell and gore: High levels of PFAS in crayfish yet another sign of an intoxicated world  –  ChemSec
• European teenagers are high – on PFAS  –  ChemSec

Researchers touted a breakthrough in removing ‘forever chemicals’ from the environment. Not so fast, cautions a pre-eminent green chemist. More:

• Terry Collins: PFAS removal discovery not yet a ‘powerful solution’  –  EHN

• ‘Forever chemicals’ destroyed by simple new method  –  Northwestern Now
• Low-temperature mineralization of perfluorocarboxylic acids  –  Science
• How to Remove PFAS from Water  –  Fresh Water Systems

A new test study shows that Swedish crayfish are loaded with PFAS, yet another sign that we have exceeded the limit for how much PFAS the planet can take. More:

• Hell and gore: High levels of PFAS in crayfish yet another sign of an intoxicated world  –  ChemSec

• European teenagers are high – on PFAS  –  ChemSec

Recently, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released a report that found more than three quarters of urine samples tested from adults and children in the U.S. contained glyphosate, the herbicide used in Roundup weedkiller. A new FAU and Nova Southeastern University study has gone further and found a link between the weedkiller and convulsions in animals. More:

• Roundup Weedkiller Linked to Convulsions in Animals  –  EcoWatch

• Study First to Link Weed Killer Roundup® to Convulsions in Animals  –  Florida Atlantic University
• Scientists link common weedkiller to convulsions in animals  –  The Hill

• Toxic Weedkiller Chemicals Detected in Nearly 40% of People Tested in U.S. Study  –  EcoWatch
• Urinary Glyphosate (N-(Phosphonomethyl)glycine) Data Tables Published  –  US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
• Glyphosate Found in More than 80% of U.S. Urine Samples  –  EcoWatch

While the Covid-19 pandemic brought the importance of indoor air quality (IAQ) and its impact on human health and safety to the forefront of the public health conversation, the topic isn’t a new one. Nearly 40 years ago, a report by the World Health Organization suggested that up to 30% of buildings worldwide were the subject of excessive IAQ-related complaints, including cough, dizziness, chest tightness and muscle aches. More:

• Indoor Air Pollution: How Lessons From The Past Can Build A Better Tomorrow  –  Forbes

• Indoor Air Quality  –  US EPA
• Indoor Air Facts No. 4 (revised) Sick Building Syndrome  –  US EPA

A long list of upcoming trials complicating Bayer’s efforts to escape the costly, ongoing litigation over the health effects of Roundup. More:

• Popular weedkiller Roundup on trial again as cancer victims demand justice  –  The Guardian

• IARC Monograph on Glyphosate  –  International Agency for Research on Cancer
• Glyphosate  –  International Agency for Research on Cancer

• Roundup litigation at turning point as Bayer rejects “global resolution plan”  –  The New Lede
• Case No. CGC-21-592238 (Court Document)
• No. 20-70787 (Court Document)
• No. 21-241  –  Supreme Court of the United States
• Cause No. 19SL-CC03617 (Court Document)

• EPA Official Accused of Helping Monsanto ‘Kill’ Cancer Study  –  Bloomberg
• Monsanto Was Its Own Ghostwriter for Some Safety Reviews  –  Bloomberg
• One man's suffering exposed Monsanto's secrets to the world  –  The Guardian

PFAS stands for poly- and perfluoroalkyl substances. There are around 4,500 of these fluorine-based compounds and they are found in almost every dwelling on Earth in products including food packaging, non-stick cookware, rain gear, adhesives, paper and paints. More:

• Breakthrough over potentially harmful chemicals found in most homes  –  BBC
• Low-temperature mineralization of perfluorocarboxylic acids (Research abstract)

• Literature review of PFAS bioaccumulation data  –  US EPA
• Pollution: 'Forever chemicals' in rainwater exceed safe levels  –  BBC News
• National PFAS Datasets  –  US EPA

• Our Current Understanding of the Human Health and Environmental Risks of PFAS  –  US EPA
• The chemicals that linger for decades in your blood  –  BBC Future

• The race to replace persistent chemicals in our homes  –  BBC News

PFAS chemicals seemed like a good idea at first. As Teflon, they made pots easier to clean starting in the 1940s. They made jackets waterproof and carpets stain-resistant. Food wrappers, firefighting foam, even makeup seemed better with perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances. More:

• How to destroy a ‘forever chemical’ – scientists are discovering ways to eliminate PFAS, but this growing global health problem isn’t going away soon  –  The Conversation

• Scientists Think They've Found a Shockingly Simple Way to Degrade 'Forever Chemicals'  –  ScienceAlert
• Low-temperature mineralization of perfluorocarboxylic acids (Research abstract)
• A new low-tech technique can take the ‘forever’ out of forever chemicals  –  Grist

• New water treatment systems address PFOS/PFOA issues at former Mather AFB  –  US Air Force Civil Engineer Center
• Interim Guidance on PFAS Destruction and Disposal EO 12866 - 12-17-20 - 508  –  US EPA
• Supercritical Water Oxidation as an Innovative Technology for PFAS Destruction (Research abstract)
• Treatment of PFAS-containing landfill leachate using an enhanced contact plasma reactor (Research abstract)
• Air Force tests plasma reactor to degrade, destroy synthetic chemical compounds in groundwater  –  US Air Force

• ‘Forever chemicals’ upended a Maine farm — and point to larger problem  –  The Washington Post
• Dairy farmers facing PFAS contamination now eligible for payment for their cattle  –  The NM political report
• Consumption Advisory: Grostic Cattle Company of Livingston County Beef Sold Directly to Consumers May Contain PFOS  –  Michigan.gov
• EWG: ‘Forever chemicals’ may taint nearly 20 million cropland acres  –  EWG

• Perfluoroalkyl and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS)  –  US National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences
• Scientific evidence and recommendations for managing PFAS contamination in Michigan (Report)  –  Michigan PFAS Science Advisory Panel
• Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS)  –  US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
• Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substance Toxicity and Human Health Review: Current State of Knowledge and Strategies for Informing Future Research (Research article)
• Polyfluoroalkyl Chemicals in the U.S. Population: Data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) 2003–2004 and Comparisons with NHANES 1999–2000 (Research article)

Researchers have developed a way to break down long-lasting chemicals that they say is easier and cheaper than the harsh methods currently used. Their work also hints at how these chemicals, which have been linked to health problems, fall apart — a finding that could help to destroy the persistent pollutants. More:

• How to destroy ‘forever chemicals’: cheap method breaks down PFAS  –  Nature
• Low-temperature mineralization of perfluorocarboxylic acids (Research abstract)

• National PFAS Datasets  –  US EPA
• Toxic PFAS fallout found near incinerator in Upstate New York  –  The Intercept

• Serum Biomarkers of Exposure to Perfluoroalkyl Substances in Relation to Serum Testosterone and Measures of Thyroid Function among Adults and Adolescents from NHANES 2011–2012 (Research article)

Our wastewater systems are very efficient at removing pathogens, but not environmental pollutants. Neither do most of them have the right equipment to destroy many pharmaceuticals that come out of us and flow into the seas. Some of these chemicals are so ubiquitous in the ocean that scientists use them as indicators of how far contamination spreads. More:

• We Only Think We Flush It Away  –  Nautilus
• Sewage pollution, declining ecosystem health, and cross-sector collaboration (Research article)

• PFAS Explained  –  US EPA

• Understanding Neonicotinoids  –  XERCES Society
• Neonicotinoids pose undocumented threats to food webs  –  PNAS

Ants can be more effective than pesticides at helping farmers produce food, according to new research. They are better at killing pests, reducing plant damage and increasing crop yields, according to the first systematic review of ants’ contributions to crop production. More:

• Ants can be better than pesticides for growing healthy crops, study finds  –  The Guardian

• The effects of ants on pest control: a meta-analysis (Research article)
• Ants and sustainable agriulture A review (Research article)
• Ants behave as mini farmers in Fiji – study  –  The Guardian

• How to kill winter aphids and mealybugs  –  The Guardian

Local officials contend that years of contamination miles upstream sent toxic perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances, known as PFAS, into Rome’s water supply, rendering it potentially dangerous for the city’s roughly 37,000 residents. A water source switch from the Oostanaula and added treatment have reduced the traces of the chemicals running through residents’ taps, but they have not eliminated PFAS from the community’s water supply. More:

• In Georgia, the EPA Takes Action Against ‘Forever Chemicals’  –  Undark

• PFAS Contamination in the U.S. (June 8, 2022)  –  EWG
• More than 8 million Illinoisans get drinking water from a utility where forever chemicals have been detected, Tribune investigation finds  –  Chicago Tribune

• Guidance on PFAS Exposure,Testing, and Clinical Follow-Up (Study Report)  –  US National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine
• EPA Announces New Drinking Water Health Advisories for PFAS Chemicals, $1 Billion in Bipartisan Infrastructure Law Funding to Strengthen Health Protections  –  US EPA

• Serum Biomarkers of Exposure to Perfluoroalkyl Substances in Relation to Serum Testosterone and Measures of Thyroid Function among Adults and Adolescents from NHANES 2011–2012 (Research article)

• PFAS-Free Products  –  PFAS Central

• Companies Face Billions in Damages as PFAS Lawsuits Flood Courts  –  Bloomberg Law

"We usually look for plastic bottles, carton boxes, gunny bags, bones and pig food. Yet we do this without protective gloves or gumboots so we sometimes get cuts from glass. We are really suffering," says Mariam Makeba, an informal waste picker. More:

• Waste pickers at Kenyan dump face cancer and infertility  –  Africanews
• Implications of the Dandora Municipal Dumping Site in Nairobi (Report summary)  –  UNEP