The levels of 45 environmental contaminants were measured in samples from 1 300 mother-child pairs in Greece, Spain, France, Lithuania, UK and Norway, as part of the HELIX Study. Most of the contaminants were found in almost all the participants, but less than one per cent of the samples had levels that exceeded current thresholds for increased risk of adverse health effects. For mercury and two perfluoroalkyl substances (PFOS and PFOA), many of the participants had concentrations that exceeded the threshold for which a reduction in exposure is recommended. More:

• Childhood exposure to contaminants varies by country and compound – Phys.org
• In-utero and childhood chemical exposome in six European mother-child cohorts (Research article)

• The Teflon Toxin Part 19: EPA continues to approve toxic PFAS chemicals despite widespread contamination – The Intercept
• The Teflon Toxin: The series – The Intercept
• A chemical shell game – The Intercept
• Chemical Data Reporting under the Toxic Substances Control Act – US EPA
• Fact Sheet: 2010/2015 PFOA Stewardship Program – US EPA
• Mapping a contamination crisis: PFCs Pollute Tap Water for 15 Million People, Dozens of Industrial Sites – EWG
• Toward a new comprehensive global database of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs): Summary report on updating the 2007 list of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) (OECD Series on Risk Management Study)
• Legacy and Emerging Perfluoroalkyl Substances Are Important Drinking Water Contaminants in the Cape Fear River Watershed of North Carolina (Research article letter)

• Dieldrin dilemma: How dated science and fish-eating advisories may be putting brains at risk – EHN
• Fish Tissue Data Collected by EPA – EPA
• Developmental exposure to the pesticide dieldrin alters the dopamine system and increases neurotoxicity in an animal model of Parkinson’s disease (Research article)
• Variation of United States environmental regulations on pesticide soil standard values (Research article)
• Aldehyde dehydrogenase variation enhances effect of pesticides associated with Parkinson disease (Research article)
• Parkinson's disease and brain levels of organochlorine pesticides (Research article)
• Persistent organochlorine pesticides in serum and risk of Parkinson disease (Research article)
• Profiles of Great Lakes Critical Pollutants: A Sentinel Analysis of Human Blood and Urine (Research article)
• National study of chlorinated hydrocarbon insecticide residues in human milk, USA. I. Geographic distribution of dieldrin, heptachlor, heptachlor epoxide, chlordane, oxychlordane, and mirex (Research article)
• From mother to child: investigation of prenatal and postnatal exposure to persistent bioaccumulating toxicants using breast milk and placenta biomonitoring (Research article)
• Current status of organochlorine pesticides (OCPs) and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) exposure among mothers and their babies of Korea-CHECK cohort study (Research article)
• Correlation between maternal milk and infant serum levels of chlorinated pesticides (CP) and the impact of elevated CP on bleeding tendency and immune status in some infants in Egypt (Research article)
• Aldrin and dieldrin: a reevaluation of the cancer and noncancer dose-response assessments (Research article)
• Hazard identification of the potential for dieldrin carcinogenicity to humans (Research article)
• Defining toxicological tipping points in neuronal network development (Research article)

• Arctic wildlife remains at risk from contaminants, says a Arctic Council report – Arctic Today
• Mercury, PCBs still threaten Arctic and its wildlife, study shows – CBC
• New industrial poisons may threaten Arctic environment: AMAP – Nunatiq News
• AMAP Assessment 2018: Biological Effects of Contaminants on Arctic Wildlife and Fish. Arctic Monitoring and Assessment Programme (AMAP) (Assessment report)

A class action lawsuit against 3M, DuPont, and Chemours was filed this week on behalf of everyone in the United States who has been exposed to PFAS chemicals. The suit was brought by Kevin Hardwick, an Ohio firefighter, but “seeks relief on behalf of a nationwide class of everyone in the United States who has a detectable level of PFAS chemicals in their blood.” More:

• Nationwide class action lawsuit targets Dupont, Chemours, 3M, and other makers of PFAS chemicals – The Intercept
• The U.S. military is spending millions to replace toxic firefighting foam with toxic firefighting foam – The Intercept
• New teflon toxin causes cancer in lab animals – The Intercept

At least half of the world’s killer whale populations are doomed to extinction due to toxic and persistent pollution of the oceans, according to a major new study. Although the poisonous chemicals, PCBs, have been banned for decades, they are still leaking into the seas. They become concentrated up the food chain; as a result, killer whales, the top predators, are the most contaminated animals on the planet. Worse, their fat-rich milk passes on very high doses to their newborn calves. More:

• Orca 'apocalypse': half of killer whales doomed to die from pollution – The Guardian
• PCB pollution threatens to wipe out killer whales – ScienceDaily
• Predicting global killer whale population collapse from PCB pollution (Research article)

• U.S. agency struggling with organohalogen flame retardants in consumer products – C&EN
• Fact Sheet: Assessing Risks from Flame Retardants – US EPA

• San Francisco Bans Fluorinated Chemicals in Foodservice Ware and More – PackagingLaw.com

There are more than 10,000 chemicals allowed to be added to our food. Some of them are harmless; some we don’t know the effects of, and others have been studied and show they can cause serious health risks to children and adults. A report looks into the effects of additives like food coloring, nitrates, nitrites and BPAs, among other things, and their effect on health. More:

• Study examines harmful effects of some food additives on children – Q13Fox
• Food Additives and Child Health (Research article)

On September 6, 2018, a US House of Representatives hearing convened to ask why federal authorities haven’t regulated PFAS, a little-known class of chemicals that has sparked one of the biggest drinking-water contamination revelations in recent decades. More:

• The DDT of this generation is contaminating water all over the US and Australia – Quartz
• This guy googled 'Teflon' when his dad died. Now his town's a toxic water contamination site – Project Earth

The family of fluorinated compounds known as PFAS chemicals includes more than 4,700 chemicals—some linked to cancer, thyroid disease, weakened immunity and developmental defects, and others whose health effects are unknown. Drinking water is one of the most common sources of exposure. Based on information from state health agencies, testing labs, scientific researchers and water filter companies, the most effective choice for in-home treatment of PFAS-tainted tap water is a reverse osmosis filter, followed by an activated carbon filter. More:

• Removing Toxic Fluorinated Chemicals From Your Home’s Tap Water – EcoWatch

Extremely high levels of toxic fluorochemicals once used to coat specialty papers produced were found at a capped landfill formerly used by paper mills in Parchment. The Michigan Department of Environmental Quality informed that tests revealed one spot contained 11,500 parts per trillion of perfluorooctanoic acid, or PFOA, and perfluorooctanesulfonic acid, or PFOS. The compounds are among a larger collection of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances collectively called PFAS. A perfluoroalkyl polymer was a main ingredient in oil and grease-repellents used in laminated paper products produced in Parchment, a town whose name was drawn from its founding industry. More:

• High levels of PFAS found at Parchment paper mill's landfill – MLive Michigan
• Test of Parchment water source finds PFAS at 26 times health advisory – MLive Michigan
• What are the health effects of PFAS? – MLive Michigan
• Blocked report drops PFAS safety level into single digits – MLive Michigan
• Michigan expands PFAS testing around contaminated drinking water system – MLive Michigan
• Residents flock for bottled water in Parchment as PFAS concerns rise – MLive Michigan

Increasing scientific evidence suggests potential adverse effects on children’s health from synthetic chemicals used as food additives, both those deliberately added to food during processing (direct) and those used in materials that may contaminate food as part of packaging or manufacturing (indirect). More:

• Food Additives and Child Health (Research article)

A new study shows that an international treaty has led to a decrease of some pollutants in Arctic wildlife. It also gives scientists a better picture of how many years of data they need to reliably detect trends in these levels. More:

• Treaty banning dangerous chemicals helped Arctic wildlife, study shows – CBC
• Temporal trends of persistent organic pollutants in Arctic marine and freshwater biota (Research article)

The discontinued pesticide DDT is linked to an increased risk of autism, according to a new study out of Columbia University Medical Center. The study, published today in the American Journal of Psychiatry, found that a mother's exposure to DDT increased the risk of her child developing autism spectrum disorder. More:

• DDT linked to an increase in autism risk in new study – EHN
• Polychlorinated Biphenyl and Organochlorine Pesticide Concentrations in Maternal Mid-Pregnancy Serum Samples: Association with Autism Spectrum Disorder and Intellectual Disability (Research article)

Leading up to and during pregnancy, women are told to avoid alcohol and cigarettes, to make sure they get enough folate and omega-3 fatty acids, and to get adequate sleep and exercise. Most are told little or nothing about reducing their exposure to chemicals despite evidence suggesting that ingredients in plastics, vehicle exhaust and cosmetics additives can have profound impacts on babies’ health. More:

• Environmental toxins are seen as posing risks during pregnancy – The Washington Post
• The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists: Committee Opinion – US ACOG
• What you can do [to protect your family] – Project TENDR
• Toxic Matters: Resources – PRHE-University of California
• Lead: Prevention Tips – US CDC
• Project TENDR: Targeting Environmental Neuro-Developmental Risks The TENDR Consensus Statement
• International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics opinion on reproductive health impacts of exposure to toxic environmental chemicals (Research article)
• Environmental Chemicals in an Urban Population of Pregnant Women and Their Newborns from San Francisco (Research article)
• In Utero Fine Particle Air Pollution and Placental Expression of Genes in the Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor Signaling Pathway: An ENVIRONAGE Birth Cohort Study (Research article)

Synthétisée en 1939 par un universitaire bâlois, la molécule insecticide permettra de neutraliser les épidémies de typhus et de paludisme, sauvant notamment une bonne partie des troupes alliées. Mais la substance se révélera plus dangereuse que prévu. More:

• Le DDT, de l’invention providentielle au polluant mortel – Le Temps

Farmed fish can contain persistent organic pollutants, or POPs, transferred from the feed they consume, according to a study. Carla Ng, assistant professor of civil and environmental engineering at the university, tracked the presence of a class of synthetic flame retardants called polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs), which were once a popular additive to increase fire resistance in consumer products such as electronics, textiles, and plastics. More:

• Study: Farmed fish can contain pollutants transferred from feed – Undercurrent News
• Polybrominated Diphenyl Ether (PBDE) Accumulation in Farmed Salmon Evaluated Using a Dynamic Sea-Cage Production Model (Research article)

Studies conducted in the late 1970s and early 1980s were kept under wraps by chemical companies as pollution spread across the US, according to an editorial. More:

• Hidden studies from decades ago could have curbed PFAS problem: Scientist – Environmental Health News
• Delayed discovery, dissemination, and decisions on intervention in environmental health: a case study on immunotoxicity of perfluorinated alkylate substances (Research article)
• The Lawyer Who Became DuPont’s Worst Nightmare – The New York Times
• PFCS: Global contaminants: PFOA is a pervasive pollutant in human blood, as are other PFCS – EWG
• Polyfluorinated Compounds: Past, Present, and Future (Research article)

Internal studies and other documents show that 3M knew by the 1970s that PFOA and PFOS were toxic and accumulating in people's blood. More:

• 3M knew about the dangers of PFOA and PFOS decades ago, internal documents show – The Intercept
• The Teflon Toxin - The series – The Intercept
• GenX - New Teflon toxin causes cancer in lab animals – The Intercept
• Teflon toxin contamination has spread throughout the world – The Intercept
• Up to 110 million Americans could have PFAS contaminated drinking water – EWG
• Environmentalists outraged Michigan warning about PFAS went unheeded – Bridge Michigan
• Bipartisan Outrage as EPA, White House Try to Cover Up Chemical Health Assessment – Union of Concerned Scientists

Toxicological profile

• Toxic Substances Portal - Perfluoroalkyls – US Agency for Toxic Substances & Disease Registry
• Maximum Contaminant Level Recommendation for Perfluorooctanoic Acid in Drinking Water – New Jersey Drinking Water Quality Institute

Human exposure

• 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)
• Fluorocarbons and Human Health: Studies in an Occupational Cohort - Thesis 1992 – University of Minnesota

Toxicity

• Delayed discovery, dissemination, and decisions on intervention in environmental health: a case study on immunotoxicity of perfluorinated alkylate substances (Research article)
• Perfluorooctanoic Acid (PFOA) Exposures and Incident Cancers among Adults Living Near a Chemical Plant (Research article)
• Mortality among employees of a perfluorooctanoic acid production plant (Research article)
• Effect of perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) on influenza A virus-induced mortality in female B6C3F1 mice (Research article)
• Immunotoxicity of perfluorinated alkylates: calculation of benchmark doses based on serum concentrations in children (Research article)
• Suppression of humoral immunity in mice following exposure to perfluorooctane sulfonate (Research article)
• Estimated exposures to perfluorinated compounds in infancy predict attenuated vaccine antibody concentrations at age 5-years (Research article)

Endocrine disruption

• Endocrine disrupting properties of perfluorooctanoic acid (Research article)
• Association of Perfluorooctanoic Acid (PFOA) and Perfluorooctane Sulfonate (PFOS) with age of puberty among children living near a chemical plant (Research article)
• REPRODUCTIVE TOXICOLOGY: Study Associates PFOS and PFOA with Impaired Fertility (Research article)
• Prenatal Exposure to Perfluorooctanoate and Risk of Overweight at 20 Years of Age: A Prospective Cohort Study (Research article)

Thyroid disease and high cholesterol

• Association between Serum Perfluorooctanoic Acid (PFOA) and Thyroid Disease in the U.S. National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (Research article)
• PFOA and High Cholesterol: Basis for the Finding of a Probable Link (Research article)