POPs in the news

20/03/2019 -

In one of the largest studies looking at the potential effects of pesticide exposure on still-developing fetuses and newborns, scientists found that exposure to the most commonly used pesticides was linked to higher risk of autism spectrum disorder. More:


A Mother's Exposure to Pesticides During Pregnancy May Raise Children's Autism Risk

In one of the largest studies looking at the potential effects of pesticide exposure on still-developing fetuses and newborns, scientists found that exposure to the most commonly used pesticides was linked to higher risk of autism spectrum disorder. More:

18/03/2019 -

Thousands of seals died along the coasts of the heavily polluted Baltic Sea in the late 1980s. Scientists traced the deaths to a virus similar to the one that causes distemper in dogs. Last year, the same virus struck hundreds of seals in Maine. In both instances, researchers believe that persistent organic pollutants, such as polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), dioxins, and furans, played an indirect role in the seals’ demise. More:


Linking pollution and infectious disease

Thousands of seals died along the coasts of the heavily polluted Baltic Sea in the late 1980s. Scientists traced the deaths to a virus similar to the one that causes distemper in dogs. Last year, the same virus struck hundreds of seals in Maine. In both instances, researchers believe that persistent organic pollutants, such as polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), dioxins, and furans, played an indirect role in the seals’ demise. More:

17/03/2019 -

These potentially dangerous chemicals are in most Americans’ blood, but they aren’t being regulated in our drinking water. Here’s what that means for our health. More:


What are PFAS and why are people freaking out about them?

These potentially dangerous chemicals are in most Americans’ blood, but they aren’t being regulated in our drinking water. Here’s what that means for our health. More:

16/03/2019 -

En Vietnam, el ejército de EE UU mantuvo dos guerras: una contra el Viet Cong y otra contra la naturaleza. En esta, los militares estadounidenses usaron millones de litros de herbicidas contra la selva donde se escondían los comunistas y los cultivos de arroz que les alimentaban. El herbicida más usado fue el agente naranja. Una revisión de diversos estudios muestra que, 50 años después de que dejaran de rociarlo, aún hay restos altamente tóxicos de este defoliante en suelos y sedimentos, desde los que entran en la cadena alimenticia. Más:


El agente naranja sigue pudriendo los suelos de Vietnam 50 años después

En Vietnam, el ejército de EE UU mantuvo dos guerras: una contra el Viet Cong y otra contra la naturaleza. En esta, los militares estadounidenses usaron millones de litros de herbicidas contra la selva donde se escondían los comunistas y los cultivos de arroz que les alimentaban. El herbicida más usado fue el agente naranja. Una revisión de diversos estudios muestra que, 50 años después de que dejaran de rociarlo, aún hay restos altamente tóxicos de este defoliante en suelos y sedimentos, desde los que entran en la cadena alimenticia. Más:

12/03/2019 -

Sales of synthetic chemicals will double over the next 12 years with alarming implications for health and the environment, according to a global study that highlights government failures to rein in the industry behind plastics, pesticides and cosmetics. More:


Surge in chemical use 'a threat to health and environment'

Sales of synthetic chemicals will double over the next 12 years with alarming implications for health and the environment, according to a global study that highlights government failures to rein in the industry behind plastics, pesticides and cosmetics. More:

03/03/2019 -

Now, as environmental concerns about these fluorinated chemicals mount, Dutch and US environmental regulators are taking a close look at Chemours’s practice of shipping reclaimed HFPO-DA from its plant in the city of Dordrecht, the Netherlands, to one in Fayetteville, North Carolina. In addition, Dutch authorities are raising concerns about the environmental release of HFPO-containing material as it is hauled for reprocessing or disposal. More:


Imports of used PFAS into US scrutinized

Now, as environmental concerns about these fluorinated chemicals mount, Dutch and US environmental regulators are taking a close look at Chemours’s practice of shipping reclaimed HFPO-DA from its plant in the city of Dordrecht, the Netherlands, to one in Fayetteville, North Carolina. In addition, Dutch authorities are raising concerns about the environmental release of HFPO-containing material as it is hauled for reprocessing or disposal. More:

23/02/2019 -

Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are the largest identified complex group of environmental pollutants reported in the scientific literature. These chemicals have many uses in the marketplace. However, their strong carbon–fluorine bonds keep them from degrading, and they bind to blood proteins, hindering their elimination from the body. More:

Consensus Statements

Highly Cited Reviews

Highly Cited Original Research


PFAS Collection

Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are the largest identified complex group of environmental pollutants reported in the scientific literature. These chemicals have many uses in the marketplace. However, their strong carbon–fluorine bonds keep them from degrading, and they bind to blood proteins, hindering their elimination from the body. More:

Consensus Statements

Highly Cited Reviews

Highly Cited Original Research

22/02/2019 -

That was 2016. Since then, the Defense Department has admitted that it allowed a firefighting foam to slip into at least 55 drinking water systems at military bases around the globe, sometimes for generations. This exposed tens of thousands of Americans, possibly many more, to per-and polyfluoroalkyl substances, a group of man-made chemicals known as PFAS that have been linked to cancers, immune suppression and other serious health problems. More:


Toxic ‘Forever Chemicals’ in Drinking Water Leave Military Families Reeling

That was 2016. Since then, the Defense Department has admitted that it allowed a firefighting foam to slip into at least 55 drinking water systems at military bases around the globe, sometimes for generations. This exposed tens of thousands of Americans, possibly many more, to per-and polyfluoroalkyl substances, a group of man-made chemicals known as PFAS that have been linked to cancers, immune suppression and other serious health problems. More:

18/02/2019 -

Children who live in homes with certain types of flooring and furniture may be exposed to higher concentrations of potentially harmful chemicals, known as semi-volatile organic compounds, or SVOCs, according to research. More:


Toxins from vinyl flooring and flame-retardant sofas found in children

Children who live in homes with certain types of flooring and furniture may be exposed to higher concentrations of potentially harmful chemicals, known as semi-volatile organic compounds, or SVOCs, according to research. More:

17/02/2019 -

Insects are important wildlife often overlooked in urban habitats. What we do notice are the cockroaches, ants and mosquitoes in and around our homes. All too often we reach for the insect spray. More:


The battle against bugs: it’s time to end chemical warfare

Insects are important wildlife often overlooked in urban habitats. What we do notice are the cockroaches, ants and mosquitoes in and around our homes. All too often we reach for the insect spray. More:

15/02/2019 -

This peer-reviewed study helps answer a question many of us ask when deciding whether to reach for the conventional or organic option at the store: does organic really make a difference? The results say yes, a big difference. Choosing organic can protect you from exposure to toxic pesticides. More:


What the pesticides in our urine tell us about organic food

This peer-reviewed study helps answer a question many of us ask when deciding whether to reach for the conventional or organic option at the store: does organic really make a difference? The results say yes, a big difference. Choosing organic can protect you from exposure to toxic pesticides. More:

14/02/2019 -

The state Department of Environmental Quality and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency knew that Chemours was shipping wastewater containing GenX from the Netherlands to North Carolina at least a year before the shipments were publicly disclosed by the media. More:


Environmentalists bemoan regulators’ lack of transparency on imported shipments of GenX wastewater

The state Department of Environmental Quality and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency knew that Chemours was shipping wastewater containing GenX from the Netherlands to North Carolina at least a year before the shipments were publicly disclosed by the media. More:

08/02/2019 -

A decades-long study in California is shining a light on the impact of pesticides on childhood brain development, while getting young people directly involved in the research. While the research remains the primary aim of CHAMACOS a large part of their outreach has been disseminating the study’s key findings to the public. More:


How a team of researchers and high school students in California are working together to reduce pesticide exposure in children

A decades-long study in California is shining a light on the impact of pesticides on childhood brain development, while getting young people directly involved in the research. While the research remains the primary aim of CHAMACOS a large part of their outreach has been disseminating the study’s key findings to the public. More:

06/02/2019 -

Researchers are struggling to assess the dangers of nondegradable compounds used in clothes, foams and food wrappings. The water looks unremarkable, but it is contaminated with synthetic compounds called fluorochemicals, which have been generating increasing concern around the world. More:


Tainted water: the scientists tracing thousands of fluorinated chemicals in our environment

Researchers are struggling to assess the dangers of nondegradable compounds used in clothes, foams and food wrappings. The water looks unremarkable, but it is contaminated with synthetic compounds called fluorochemicals, which have been generating increasing concern around the world. More:

06/02/2019 -

Study of more than 1,000 mothers and children in Europe links common chemicals to reduced lung function. Children exposed to three different chemical classes — parabens, phthalates and perfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS)—before birth and shortly after had reduced lung function at 6 and 12 years old, according to a study. More:


PFAS and phthalate chemical exposure early in life may hamper kids’ lungs

Study of more than 1,000 mothers and children in Europe links common chemicals to reduced lung function. Children exposed to three different chemical classes — parabens, phthalates and perfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS)—before birth and shortly after had reduced lung function at 6 and 12 years old, according to a study. More:

01/02/2019 -

DuPont-spinoff Chemours is sending industrial waste from the Netherlands to North Carolina. The waste in question comes from the production of the toxic chemical GenX, DuPont’s replacement for the surfactant PFOA, which was long used in the production of Teflon and many other products. More:


Chemours is using the U.S. as an unregulated dump for Europe's toxic GenX waste

DuPont-spinoff Chemours is sending industrial waste from the Netherlands to North Carolina. The waste in question comes from the production of the toxic chemical GenX, DuPont’s replacement for the surfactant PFOA, which was long used in the production of Teflon and many other products. More:

30/01/2019 -

They want financial aid, medical facilities, schools for their disabled children and a tribunal to book those responsible for the pesticide tragedy. More:


‘We want justice’: Victims of endosulfan poisoning in Kerala set to start hunger strike

They want financial aid, medical facilities, schools for their disabled children and a tribunal to book those responsible for the pesticide tragedy. More:

28/01/2019 -

Globally, 255 different weeds have developed resistance to 163 different herbicides. These weeds compete with crops for space, water, and nutrients in the soil—and they’re beginning to impact many farmers’ yields. More:


Australia Might Have the Answer to Herbicide-Resistant ‘Superweeds’

Globally, 255 different weeds have developed resistance to 163 different herbicides. These weeds compete with crops for space, water, and nutrients in the soil—and they’re beginning to impact many farmers’ yields. More:

27/01/2019 -

Detection of a toxic chemical in a northeastern Wisconsin wastewater treatment plant’s sludge has prompted a halt to application of the material on nearby farms and raised broader concerns about how public sewer systems across the state may be spreading the chemical across the landscape. More:


Wisconsin case shows how sewage plants spread unregulated toxins across landscape

Detection of a toxic chemical in a northeastern Wisconsin wastewater treatment plant’s sludge has prompted a halt to application of the material on nearby farms and raised broader concerns about how public sewer systems across the state may be spreading the chemical across the landscape. More:

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