Researchers find people's exposure to PFAS and certain flame retardants could be significantly reduced by opting for healthier building materials and furniture. If you've been considering throwing out that old couch, now might be a good time. Dust in buildings with older furniture is more likely to contain a suite of compounds that impact our health. More:

• Dust from your old furniture likely contains harmful chemicals—but there’s a solution  –  EHN
• Impact of “healthier” materials interventions on dust concentrations of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, polybrominated diphenyl ethers, and organophosphate esters (Research article)

Researchers are increasingly concerned about the presence of toxic industrial contaminants called PFAS in the Arctic. These can damage the immune system and may also make people more susceptible to the more severe effects of COVID-19. More:

• Concern mounts over impact of toxic “forever chemicals” in the Arctic  –  Nunatsiaq News
• Diabetes is a “time bomb” in the Arctic: expert  –  Nunatsiaq News
• What are the health effects of PFAS?  –  US ATSDR
• Endocrine disrupting chemicals and COVID-19 relationships: a computational systems biology approach. (Research article)
• Perfluoroalkyl acids in pregnant women from Nunavik (Quebec, Canada): Trends in exposure and associations with country foods consumption (Research article)

Today humans are exposed to thousands of man-made chemicals. Can we infer how cumulative exposures shape our health? I am an environmental toxicologist studying effects of man-made chemicals on our health. I decided to develop a computational approach to objectively compare sensitivity of all genes to all chemicals and identify the most vulnerable biological processes. More:

• Exposure to man-made chemicals influences genes controlling aging, immune system and metabolism  –  The Conversation
• Unbiased approach for the identification of molecular mechanisms sensitive to chemical exposures (Research article)

A total of about 400 different agricultural pesticides were used in the United States in 2017, the latest year data is available. More and more pesticides have been used because they “contribute to higher yields and improved product quality by controlling weeds, insects, nematodes, and plant pathogens,” according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. More:

• GRAPHIC: The U.S. still uses many pesticides banned in other countries  –  Investigate Midwest
• PAN International Consolidated List of Banned Pesticides  –  PAN International

Chemicals are essential for the well-being, high living standards and comfort of modern society. They are used in many sectors, including health, energy, mobility and housing. However, most chemicals have hazardous properties which can harm the environment and human health. The European Commission published a chemicals strategy for sustainability on 14 October 2020. More:

• EU Chemicals Strategy  –  European Commission
• Chemicals Strategy for Sustainability Towards a Toxic-Free Environment (PDF) –  European Commission

There are a range of harmful chemicals in everyday products, including in food, food packaging, clothes, furniture, cosmetics and cleaning products. A lot of these chemicals are not well regulated and are not listed on ingredients lists or labels, making it difficult for consumers to identify them. More:

• ENDOCRINE DISRUPTORS How to reduce your exposure  –  CHEM Trust
• Avoiding harmul chemicals in baby products - Advice for parents  –  CHEM Trust

The Initiative for Responsible Mining Assurance is one of the newest of more than a dozen mining standards. But most are narrow in focus or lack independence. Some concentrate on single issues like workers’ rights or particular parts of the industry, such as the supply chain. Others were developed by the mining industry without oversight or are just aspirational. There is an appetite for something better.More:

• In a world that needs metals, how can we mine more responsibly?  –  The Narwhal
• Initiative for Responsible Mining Assurance  –  IRMA

Spending each morning at the kitchen sink scraping at the charred remains of breakfast gets tedious after a while. Non-stick cookware may seem like an appealing alternative — but is it safe? More:

• Are non-stick pans safe  –  Live Science
• Endocrine disrupting properties of perfluorooctanoic acid (Research article)
• PTFE-coated non-stick cookware and toxicity concerns: a perspective (Research article)

• Shatter Resistant Bulbs- A Potential Danger to Your Chickens  –  McMurray
• Polytetrafluoroethylene Gas Intoxication in Broiler Chickens on JSTOR (Journal article)
• Rare disease- Polymer fume fever (Research article)
• Thermolysis of fluoropolymers as a potential source of halogenated organic acids in the environment (Research article)

Gov. Gavin Newsom signed legislation Sept. 29 banning these foams in the state, with limited exceptions. The advocacy organization Environmental Working Group estimates that 7.5 million Californians have toxic nonpolymeric PFAS in their drinking water at a level of at least 1 part per trillion, with much of this contamination linked to the use of firefighting foam. More:

• California bans PFAS firefighting foams  –  C&EN
• A guide to the PFAS found in our environment  –  C&EN
• 24 chemicals banned from use in cosmetics  –  California Legislative Information

Earlier this year, state and federal researchers reported finding a new, potentially dangerous chemical in soil samples from multiple locations in New Jersey. The compound was a form of PFAS, a group of more than 5,000 chemicals that has raised concerns in recent years because of their potential link to learning delays in children and cancer, as well as their tendency to last in the environment for a long time. More:

• New 'Forever Chemicals' Are Contaminating the Environment, Regulators Say  –  Consumer Reports
• Should You Be Concerned About PFAS Chemicals?  –  Consumer Reports
• 4 Ways to Avoid PFAS in Your Water  –  Consumer Reports
• Nontargeted mass-spectral detection of chloroperfluoropolyether carboxylates in New Jersey soils (Research article)

• Why Dangerous 'Forever Chemicals' Are Still Allowed in America's Drinking Water  –  Consumer Reports
• Statewide PFAS Directive, Information Request and Notice to Insurers  –  State of New Jersey

There’s one store where the fields are literally right next to the parking lot. Nineteen year old Maritza Flores and her mom shop at one there all the time. And a lot of the time, when she’s there, she notices this smell. And instantly she knows, someone has just sprayed pesticides. She’s used to it. Maritza Flores has been part of a study her entire life that measures early life exposures to pesticides. More:

• Pregnancy And Pesticides: A Study As Old As Its Subjects Reveals Health Concerns  –  KALW
• CHAMACOS Study  –  UC Berkeley
• Pesticide Exposure, Safety Issues, and Risk Assessment Indicators (Research article)
• Pregnancy lipidomic profiles and DNA methylation in newborns from the CHAMACOS cohort (Research article)

Paul Hessburg is a former wildland firefighter who also spent 36 years as a U.S. Forest Service scientist researching the behavior of wildfires. Once able to easily hike 20 miles in a day, he found his capacity diminished after a particularly smoky summer working in Idaho three years ago. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says that from 2000 to 2019, 400 wildland firefighters died on the job, but this may hide slower, quieter illnesses and death. More:

• Overstretched Wildland Firefighters Risk Lung, Heart Maladies  –  InvestigateWest
• Women firefighters face high exposure to toxic ‘forever chemicals’  –  Berkeley News
• Modern Wildfires Pose New Health Risks For Firefighters  –  California Healthline
• Firefighters’ blood, urine had high levels of mercury, other toxins after Sonoma County’s Tubbs fire  –  The Press Democrat

But there is a catch: No matter how careful you may be, the food you eat and the beverages you drink likely contain one or more of some 10,000 chemicals allowed to be added to foods -- some of which are known endocrine (hormone) disruptors linked to developmental, cognitive and other health problems in babies and adults. More:

• FDA must do more to regulate thousands of chemicals added to your food, petitioners say  –  CNN
• FDA takes an important step by phasing out paper greaseproofing agents containing a specific PFAS  –  EDF
• Lack of Key Considerations in FDA Food Chemical Safety Process Leaves Consumers at Risk of Chronic Diseases  –  Endocrine News
• Food Additives and Child Health (Policy statement)  –  American Academy of Pediatrics
• Endocrine-Disrupting Chemicals: An Endocrine Society Scientific Statement (Scientific statement)
• Navigating the U.S. Food Additive Regulatory Program (Review)

A new study found that some carbonated water brands have measurable amounts of so-called PFAS chemicals, which are linked to adverse health effects. Researchers examined more than 40 brands of bottled water and found that sparkling water was more likely to include higher levels of the chemicals than still water. More:

• Some sparkling water brands have PFAS chemicals, study finds  –  CBS News
• What’s Really in Your Bottled Water?  –  Consumer Reports

PFAS, industrial chemicals used to waterproof jackets and grease-proof fast-food containers, may disrupt pregnancy with lasting effects. Scientists think that PFAS can alter levels of both mothers’ and babies’ thyroid hormones, which oversee brain development, growth and metabolism, and also play a role in immunity. More:

• These Everyday Toxins May Be Hurting Pregnant Women and Their Babies  –  The New York Times
• Perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS) and Perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA)  –  Pennsylvania Department of Health
• Science Panel Website  –  C8 Science Panel
• The Devil they knew PFAS contamination and the need for Corporate Accountabilty  –  U.S. House Hearing

• PFAS chemical exposure  –  US ATSDR
• Dietary Habits Related to Food Packaging and Population Exposure to PFASs  –  EHP
• A Review of the Pathways of Human Exposure to Poly- and Perfluoroalkyl Substances (PFASs) and Present Understanding of Health Effects (Review article)

• Concentrations of perfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) in human embryonic and fetal organs from first, second, and third trimester pregnancies (Research article)
• Accumulation of perfluoroalkyl substances in human tissues (Research article)
• Changing Interpretation of Human Health Risks from Perfluorinated Compounds (Research article)
• Serum Perfluoroalkyl Substances, Vaccine Responses, and Morbidity in a Cohort of Guinea-Bissau Children (Research article)

While several bans and policies have offered some protection, the same chemicals threatening these birds 60 years ago continue to accumulate in their bodies—and new chemical threats are adding to their toxic burdens, according to two new studies. In the first study, researchers examined how legacy pollutants around Lake Erie such as PCBs, PBDEs and DDT continue to bioaccumulate in common terns. More:

• Long-banned toxics are still accumulating in Great Lakes birds—as new chemical threats emerge  –  EHN
• Evidence of continued exposure to legacy persistent organic pollutants in threatened migratory common terns nesting in the Great Lakes (Research article)
• Perfluoroalkyl acids and sulfonamides and dietary, biological and ecological associations in peregrine falcons from the Laurentian Great Lakes Basin, Canada (Research abstract)

Food regulators in the European Union have updated their guidelines for protecting consumers from per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in food. The latest recommendations from the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA), released Sept. 17, set a limit for combined exposure to 4 PFAS—perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS), perfluorononanoic acid (PFNA), perfluorohexane sulfonic acid (PFHxS)—in food. EFSA previously recommended individual limits for PFOA and PFOS. More:

• EU agency sets limit on PFAS in food  –  C&EN
• PFAS in food: EFSA assesses risks and sets tolerable intake  –  EFSA
• Risk to human health related to the presence of perfluoroalkyl substances in food (Scientific opinion)  –  EFSA

But for the courageous work of attorney Rob Bilott, the world may have never known about the dangers of the fluorinated “forever chemicals” known as PFAS. Bilott’s book "EXPOSURE: Poisoned Water, Corporate Greed, and One Lawyer’s Twenty-Year Battle Against DuPont" was recently issued in paperback. More:

• The PFAS and the Furious  –  EWG
• Groundbreaking Reporting Helped Bring ‘Dark Waters’ to Light  –  EWG
• Bad Chemistry  –  The Intercept
• Basic Information on PFAS - Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS)  –  US EPA
• Per- and Polyfluorinated Substances (PFAS) Factsheet  –  US CDC
• Dark Waters Movie Trailer  –  Focus Features
• The C8 Health Project- Design, Methods, and Participants (Research article)

• Application of the Key Characteristics of Carcinogens to Per and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances - HTML (Research article)
• Perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) and their effects on the ovary (Research article)

• Industrial chemicals pass from mother to fetus throughout pregnancy  –  ScienceDaily
• Tests Find PFAS Chemicals in Cosmetics at ‘Elevated Levels’  –  EWG
• In a First, California Moves to Protect People from Toxic PFAS Chemicals in Carpets  –  EWG
• Perfluoroalkyl acids and their precursors in indoor air sampled in children's bedrooms (Research article)
• Dietary Habits Related to Food Packaging and Population Exposure to PFASs (Research article)
• Serum concentrations of PFASs and exposure-related behaviors in African American and non-Hispanic white women (Research article)
• Perfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) in edible fish species from Charleston Harbor and tributaries, South Carolina, United States: Exposure and risk assessment (Research article)

• Neutral Poly-/perfluoroalkyl Substances in Air and Snow from the Arctic (Research article)
• Latitudinal Gradient of Airborne Polyfluorinated Alkyl Substances in the Marine Atmosphere between Germany and South Africa (Research article)
• Perfluorinated Chemicals in the Arctic Atmosphere (Research article)

• PFAS concentration in birds  –  BONISOLI ALQUATI LAB
• PFAS in Victorian waterfowl (Report)  –  Australia Gov
• PFAS in Deer  –  Michigan.gov
• Occurrence of perfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) in a large number of wild and farmed aquatic animals collected in the Netherlands (Research article)
• Observation of emerging per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) in Greenland marine mammals (Research abstract)
• Perfluorinated contaminants in fur seal pups and penguin eggs from South Shetland, Antarctica - (Research abstract)
• The toxic exposure of flamingos to per- and Polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) from firefighting foam applications in Bonaire (Research abstract)

• Feeding the Waste Cycle: How PFAS ‘Disposal’ Perpetuates Contamination  –  EWG
• Disposal of products and materials containing per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS): A cyclical problem (Research abstract)

Oakdale residents who drank water polluted with toxic "forever chemicals" experienced elevated rates of infertility, premature births and low birthweight babies due to the contaminants, according to a multiyear review of health records. More:

• PFAS-laced water caused infertility, premature births and low birthweight, study says  –  StarTribune
• Minn. Study Is First To Show Cause-and-Effect Link Between ‘Forever Chemicals’ in Drinking Water and Reproductive Harms  –  EWG
• Reducing exposure to high levels of perfluorinated compounds in drinking water improves reproductive outcomes: evidence from an intervention in Minnesota (Research article)

Baboons in the U.S., howler monkeys in Costa Rica, and baboons, chimpanzees, red-tailed monkeys, and red colobus in Uganda are all getting exposed to dangerous pesticides and flame-retardant chemicals, according to new research. More:

• Toxic pesticides and flame-retardants found in monkey, baboon, and chimpanzee poop  –  EHN
• Feces are Effective Biological Samples for Measuring Pesticides and Flame Retardants in Primates (Research abstract)