When plastics from e-waste are recycled, toxic contaminants from plastics are transferred to new products made from the recycled material, invisibly endangering even children. This is a finding of a new study that examines the properties of toys and various consumer goods made from e-waste around the globe. More:

• The Czechs were Selling the Most Toxic Toy in the World! But Toxic Substances from Plastics are Not Avoided Anywhere  –  Arnika

• Global survey of dioxin- and thyroid hormone-like activities in consumer products and toys (Research article)
• Detection of high PBDD/Fs levels and dioxin-like activity in toys using a combination of GC-HRMS, rat-based and human-based DR CALUX® reporter gene assays (Research article)
• Migration of hazardous contaminants from WEEE contaminated polymeric toy material by mouthing (Research article)

• Tetrabromobisphenol A (TBBPA): Possible modes of action of toxicity and carcinogenicity in rodents (Research article)
• Effects of tetrabromobisphenol A (TBBPA) on the reproductive health of male rodents: A systematic review and meta-analysis (Research abstract)
• Review of the environmental occurrence, analytical techniques, degradation and toxicity of TBBPA and its derivatives (Research abstract)
• Absence of neurotoxicity and lack of neurobehavioral consequences due to exposure to tetrabromobisphenol A (TBBPA) exposure in humans, animals and zebrafish (Review article)

• U.S. Legislation Updates: Flame Retardants in Consumer Products  –  SafeGuardS S.A.

Despite some flame retardant chemicals being banned in Canada many are found in wildlife across the country including species that are endangered. More:

• Here's how flame retardants are harming wildlife, humans in Canada  –  CTV News

• Flame retardant pollution threatens wildlife on all continents, research finds  –  The Guardian
• Flame-retardant chemicals found in TVs and cars 'pose global threat to wildlife'  –  The National News
• Chemical crisis: The unseen toxic threat contaminating wildlife worldwide  –  The Hill
• Map: Wildlife Polluted by Flame Retardants on Massive Scale  –  Green Science Policy Institute-Map

• Flame Retardants and Your Health (Fact sheet)  –  National Institute of Environmental Health Science
• PFCs: Global Contaminants  –  EWG
• Discussion. Has the human population become a sentinel for the adverse effects of PFAS contamination on wildlife health and endangered species? (Research abstract)

• Tetrabromobisphenol A (TBBPA) and hexabromocyclododecanes (HBCDs) in tissues of humans, dolphins, and sharks from the United States (Research abstract)
• Environmental perfluorooctane sulfonate exposure drives T cell activation in bottlenose dolphins (download PDF) (Research article)
• Predicting global killer whale population collapse from PCB pollution (Research abstract)

• Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) – New endocrine disruptors in polar bears (Ursus maritimus)? (Research abstract)
• Thyroid hormones and deiodinase activity in plasma and tissues in relation to high levels of organohalogen contaminants in East Greenland polar bears (Ursus maritimus) (Research abstract)

• Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFASs) Impair Lipid Metabolism in Rana nigromaculata: A Field Investigation and Laboratory Study (download PDF) (Research article)
• Tissue-Specific Accumulation, Sexual Difference, and Maternal Transfer of Chlorinated Paraffins in Black-Spotted Frogs (download PDF) (Research article)

• Chemical contamination levels revealed on International Space Station  –  The National News
• Novel brominated flame retardants and dechlorane plus in Greenland air and biota (Research abstract)

• Eliminate useless uses of forever chemicals  –  The Hill
• Optimizing Chemicals Management in the United States and Canada through the Essential-Use Approach (download PDF) (Research article)

U.S. regulators say they will review the use of a chemical found in almost every tire after a petition from West Coast Native American tribes that want it banned because it kills salmon as they return from the ocean to their natal streams to spawn. More:

• Tire industry scrambles to replace 60-year-old chemical hazardous to salmon: ‘One of the biggest environmental issues that the world hasn’t known about’  –  Fortune
• Toxic tyre dust: This source of microplastic pollution could be the worst of all  –  Euronews

• Tire-related chemical is largely responsible for adult coho salmon deaths in urban streams  –  University of Washington
• Using High-Resolution Mass Spectrometry to Identify Organic Contaminants Linked to Urban Stormwater Mortality Syndrome in Coho Salmon (Research abstract)
• A ubiquitous tire rubber–derived chemical induces acute mortality in coho salmon (Research article)

For half a century, staple food crops in the United States — such as corn, wheat, apples and citrus — have been sprayed with chlorpyrifos, an organophosphate pesticide that can permanently damage the developing brains of children, causing reduced IQ, loss of working memory, and attention deficit disorders. More:

• What You Need To Know About Chlorpyrifos  –  Earthjustice

• Organophosphate Pesticides in the United States  –  Earthjustice
• Poisoned Food, Poisoned Brains (download PDF)  –  Earthjustice

• Updated Human Health Risk Analyses for Chlorpyrifos  –  US EPA
• Pesticides in the Diets of Infants and Children (download PDF)  –  National Academy of Sciences
• Poison Fruit  –  The Intercept

• Growing Change - Organic Strawberry Farming  –  Earthjustice

• Groups Appeal EPA’s Refusal To Ban Dangerous Pesticide  –  Earthjustice
• Court Slams EPA Failure To Protect Children And Farmworkers From Toxic Pesticide  –  Earthjustice
• If You Can Hear My Voice: The Fight to Ban Chlorpyrifos (YouTube)  –  Earthjustice
• The Fight to Ban Chlorpyrifos: Inside the Case (YouTube)  –  Earthjustice
• EPA to Ban Chlorpyrifos, Finally  –  Earthjustice

In 2017 news broke in North Carolina that the water downstream of the Fayetteville Works Plant, owned by the Chemours Company (a spin-off of DuPont), and public water systems reliant on the Cape Fear River contained high levels of per-and poly-fluoroalkyl substances (PFAS). These contaminants, which are common in everyday products like adhesives, food packaging, and cookware, are dubbed “forever chemicals” because they don’t break down easily in the environment and can linger in the body while causing numerous health problems. More:

• 8 new types of ‘forever chemicals’ found in river linked to US cancer cluster  –  Popular Science

• Uncovering per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) with nontargeted ion mobility spectrometry–mass spectrometry analyses  –  Science Advances
• Ion Mobility Spectrometry  –  NIST

• Human Health Toxicity Values for Hexafluoropropylene Oxide (HFPO) Dimer Acid and Its Ammonium Salt (CASRN 13252-13-6 and CASRN 62037-80-3) (download PDF)  –  US EPA
• CompTox Chemicals Dashboard  –  US EPA

• Toxin taints CFPUA drinking water  –  Star News
• CFPUA’s legal action against Chemours and DuPont  –  Cape Fear Public Utility Authority

• Scared about ‘forever chemicals’ after watching Dark Waters? Here’s what you need to know.  –  Popular Science
• PFAS are toxic and they’re everywhere. Here’s how to stay away from them.  –  Popular Science

Reviews the trends on persistent organic pollutants (POPs) in human milk. Discusses the WHO/UNEP-coordinated global surveys between 2000 and 2019. Provides solutions for the UN Sustainable Development Goal 3 on Good Health and Well-being. This book is open access, which means that you have free and unlimited access. More:

• Persistent Organic Pollutants in Human Milk  –  Malisch, R., Fürst, P., Šebková, K. (eds)
• Human Milk Surveys on Persistent Organic Pollutants from a Historical Perspective  –  Fürst, P. (2023).
• Overview of WHO- and UNEP-Coordinated Human Milk Studies and Their Link to the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants  –  Rainer Malisch, Karin Malisch, F. X. Rolaf van Leeuwen, Gerald Moy, Angelika Tritscher, Ana Witt et al.
• The Stockholm Convention, Global Monitoring Plan and its Implementation in Regional and Global Monitoring Reports  –  Kateřina Šebková

The analysis, which compared blood samples from 88 people who developed thyroid cancer with samples from people who did not, is the first to document an association between PFAS and thyroid cancer, which had been previously hypothesized. Past research has linked these endocrine-disrupting chemicals to thyroid disease, a condition in which the gland produces too many or too few hormones. More:

• PFAS chemicals linked to thyroid cancer, human data suggests  –  The New Lede
• Certain Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl “Forever Chemicals” Identified as Potential Risk Factor for Thyroid Cancer  –  Mount Sinai

• How YOUR home is crawling with ‘forever chemicals’: DailyMail.com graphic reveals how no room is safe from toxic PFAS — which have been linked to cancer, infertility and birth defects  –  Daily Mail
• Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) exposure and thyroid cancer risk (Research article)
• Perfluorooctanoic Acid (PFOA), Perfluorooctane Sulfonate (PFOS), and Related Chemicals  –  American Cancer Society

• PFAS pollute 83% of U.S. waterways -  –  E&E News by POLITICO
• EPA announces proposed drinking water standards for six toxic PFAS chemicals  –  The New Lede

• CT residents sue water companies over PFAS contamination  –  CT Mirror
• Time running out for water utilities to join national PFAS settlement  –  Michigan Radio
• 3M settlement marks “significant step forward” for PFAS-contaminated communities  –  The New Lede
• 3M Set to Oppose Approval of Huge Class in PFAS Case at 6th Cir.  –  Bloomberg Law

Roderick is the environmental health officer for Webster County in north-central Iowa, where a few thousand rural residents live among sprawling corn and soybean fields. Many draw their water from private wells, which are exempt from most federal testing and purity regulations. Roderick spreads the word that they aren’t exempt from danger. More:

• Millions of Americans might be poisoning themselves because they don’t test their well water  –  Fortune

• Domestic (Private) Supply Wells: What is in Your Well Water?  –  U.S. Geological Survey
• Private Drinking Water Well Programs in Your State  –  US EPA
• State-Level Policies Concerning Private Wells in the United States (Research article)

• Quality of Water from Domestic Wells in Principal Aquifers of the United States, 1991–2004  –  U.S. Geological Survey
• Private Well Water Safety and Testing  –  Maine.gov

• Tap water study detects PFAS ‘forever chemicals’ across the US -  –  U.S. Geological Survey
• PFAS – Frequently Asked Questions (download PDF)  –  California Water Boards
• PFAS in groundwater  –  Swiss Federal Office for the Environment

With the holiday season approaching, many of us will be indulging in a favorite treat: chocolate. Yet despite dark chocolate’s reputation as a healthier sweet, it can also be contaminated with lead and cadmium, two heavy metals linked to serious health problems, as many people learned from Consumer Reports’ testing last year. More:

• A Third of Chocolate Products Are High in Heavy Metals, CR's Tests Find  –  Consumer Reports
• Lead and Cadmium Could Be in Your Dark Chocolate  –  Consumer Reports
• How Lead and Cadmium Get Into Dark Chocolate  –  Consumer Reports
• Are There Heavy Metals in Milk Chocolate?  –  Consumer Reports

As the largest member of the dolphin family, killer whales, also known as orcas, are found worldwide. Marine vessel traffic can disturb the hunting and communication of these black-and-white marine mammals. But they face another type of human threat—legacy and emerging persistent organic pollutants (POPs) in their environments. More:

• Diet affects killer whale pollution exposure more than location  –  Futurity
• What do killer whales eat?  –  Futurity
• Varying Diet Composition Causes Striking Differences in Legacy and Emerging Contaminant Concentrations in Killer Whales across the North Atlantic (Research article)

EDCs include PFAS but also pesticides, phenols, a group of chemicals found in toys and dental products; phthalates, a group of chemicals in food packaging; parabens, a group of chemicals used as food preservatives; and triclosan, an antimicrobial agent used in soaps and hand sanitizers. More:

• Two major studies reveal devastating effect of PFAS and food additives on male and female sexual health: From sperm damage to smaller testicles, early menopause and ovary cysts  –  Daily Mail
• Endocrine-disrupting chemicals and male reproductive health (Research abstract)
• Endocrine disruptors: Unravelling the link between chemical exposure and Women's reproductive health (Research abstract)

The characteristics and widespread effects of per- and polyfluorinated alkyl substances demand their replacement with fluorine-free alternatives, say the writers of a comprehensive review on their use. More:

• Health and environmental impacts prompt a call for strict ruling on ubiquitous ‘forever chemicals’  –  European Commission
• ECHA publishes PFAS restriction proposal  –  ECHA
• Chemicals Strategy for Sustainability Towards a Toxic-Free Environment (download PDF)  –  European Commission

• Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS)  –  ECHA
• PFAS: forever chemicals—persistent, bioaccumulative and mobile. Reviewing the status and the need for their phase out and remediation of contaminated sites (Research article)
• Risk to human health related to the presence of perfluoroalkyl substances in food  –  EFSA

How do you solve a problem like PFAS? More than 9,000 different types of synthetic per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are used to make everything from firefighting foam to the non-stick coating on cooking pans. Nicknamed "forever chemicals", PFAS are persistent and ubiquitous. They have been found in rainwater, soil, wildlife and humans. Now, scientists are working on ways to clean up their long-lasting effects. More:

• Can we take the 'forever' out of forever chemicals?  –  Future Planet

• All you need to know about PFAS  –  ChemSec
• Why is high persistence alone a major cause of concern? (Research article)
• ChemSec identifies the top 12 PFAS producers in the world and reveals shocking societal costs  –  ChemSec
• Teflon™ Fluoropolymers Exhibit Excellent Chemical and Thermal Resistance  –  Teflon

• Where do 'forever chemicals' in drinking water come from?  –  BBC Future
• Revealed: The massive contamination of Europe by PFAS 'forever chemicals'  –  Le Monde
• Journalists tracking PFAS across Europe  –  The Forever Pollution Project
• Outside the Safe Operating Space of a New Planetary Boundary for Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) (Research article)

• Ecological screening assessment report on perfluorooctane sulfonate, salts and precursors- chapter 2  –  Government of Canada
• Global danger: Threatened and endangered species at risk from PFAS exposure  –  EWG
• Exposure pathways and bioaccumulation of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances in freshwater aquatic ecosystems: Key considerations (Research article)
• Chemical Research in Toxicology: Renal Elimination of Perfluorocarboxylates (PFCAs) (Research abstract)

• Perfluoroalkyl and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS)  –  US NIH
• How can I be exposed?  –  US ATSDR
• Perfluorooctanoic Acid (Monograph 110-01) (download PDF)  –  IARC
• How Well Do Product Labels Indicate the Presence of PFAS in Consumer Items Used by Children and Adolescents? (Research article)

• The chemicals that linger for decades in your blood  –  BBC Future
• Serum Half-Lives for Short- and Long-Chain Perfluoroalkyl Acids after Ceasing Exposure from Drinking Water Contaminated by Firefighting Foam (Research article)
• Half-lives of PFOS, PFHxS and PFOA after end of exposure to contaminated drinking water (Research article)

• Legacy and alternative per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances in the U.S. general population: Paired serum-urine data from the 2013–2014 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (Research article)
• Biomonitoring of Perfluoroalkyl Acids in Human Urine and Estimates of Biological Half-Life (Research abstract)

• Carbon–fluorine bond cleavage mediated by metalloenzymes (Research article)
• Electrochemical degradation of PFOA and its common alternatives: Assessment of key parameters, roles of active species, and transformation pathway (Research abstract)
• Hydrogen-polarized vacuum ultraviolet photolysis system for enhanced destruction of perfluoroalkyl substances (Research article)

• Aerobic Biotransformation and Defluorination of Fluoroalkylether Substances (ether PFAS): Substrate Specificity, Pathways, and Applications (Research article)
• Defluorination of Perfluorooctanoic Acid (PFOA) and Perfluorooctane Sulfonate (PFOS) by Acidimicrobium sp. Strain A6 (Research article)
• Microbial Defluorination of Unsaturated Per- and Polyfluorinated Carboxylic Acids under Anaerobic and Aerobic Conditions: A Structure Specificity Study (Research article)
• Structure-Specific Aerobic Defluorination of Short-Chain Fluorinated Carboxylic Acids by Activated Sludge Communities (Research article)

Acceptable levels of “forever chemicals” in drinking water should be reduced tenfold and a new national chemicals agency created to protect public health, the Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC) has told the UK government. More:

• Scientists call on ministers to cut limits for ‘forever chemicals’ in UK tap water  –  The Guardian

• What are PFAS, how toxic are they and how do you become exposed?  –  The Guardian

• Revealed: scale of ‘forever chemical’ pollution across UK and Europe  –  The Guardian
• Firm releases almost 800kg of ‘forever chemical’ a year into Lancashire river  –  The Guardian
• Cleaning up UK drinking water  –  Royal Society of Chemistry

Synthetic turf is a man-made, non-living replacement of turfgrass that requires little water or maintenance. The grass blades are made of fibers such as nylon or plastic while the base is typically a crumb rubber made from used tires, plastic pellets or sand. Synthetic grass usually contains PFAS chemicals. More:

• Once it was hailed as a drought fix — but now California’s moving to restrict synthetic turf over health concerns  –  CalMatters

• Our Current Understanding of the Human Health and Environmental Risks of PFAS  –  US EPA
• Health harms associated with long-chain and short-chain PFAS commonly detected... (download PDF)  –  EWG

• Well water throughout California contaminated with ‘forever chemicals’  –  CalMatters

• Organic Turf Infill - Geo Plus  –  Matrix Turf
• Green Sand Infill for Artificial Grass - Cost Efficient  –  Global Syn-Turf

The sale and trade of mercury-added skin lightening products (SLPs) have continued despite widespread sampling, reporting, awareness campaigns, and legal prohibitions, including a global treaty ban. The Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA) carried out undercover investigations in three different regions (Asia, North America, and Europe) and was able to confirm the continued production, trade, and sale of mercury-added SLPs. More:

• Mercury in Retrograde  –  Environmental Investigation Agency
• Second short national reports of the Minamata Convention due by 31 December 2023  –  Minamata Convention on Mercury
• Mercury in Retrograde - The Dark World of Toxic Skin Lightening Products (Report) (download PDF)  –  Environmental Investigation Agency

Snow falls in winter, melts in spring and travels through a vast network of groundwater aquifers to Lake Tahoe,” the South Lake Tahoe Public Utility District says. “By pumping water from these aquifers, the South Lake Tahoe area has some of the tastiest and purest water in California. But that doesn’t tell the whole story. More:

• Exclusive: How pollution from dry cleaners left California sitting on cancer-linked ‘time bombs’  –  The Tribune

• Risk Evaluation for Perchloroethylene (PCE)  –  US EPA
• 02-California State Water Resources Control Board  –  GeoTracker
• Dry-Cleaners-A-Major-Source-of-PCE-in-ground water (download PDF) (Report)  –  State of California

• Morbidity Study of Former Marines, Employees, and Dependents Potentially Exposed to Contaminated Drinking Water at USMC Base Camp Lejeune: A Summary of Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) Study Design and Results  –  US ATSDR

• Risk Management for Perchloroethylene (PCE)  –  US EPA
• Drycleaner Remediation Programs- An Overview and Case Studies (download PDF) (Report)  –  US EPA
• Phase Out of Perchloroethylene from the Dry Cleaning Process  –  California Air Resources Board

The devil is in the details, as they say, and when it comes to PFAS regulation, there are a lot of details. That was the message from Maine Department of Environmental Protection staff when they updated lawmakers earlier this month on their efforts to create rules around the first-in-the-nation PFAS reporting law. More:

• Maine’s new PFAS law draws objections from businesses around the world  –  The Maine Monitor

• The price of PFAS: ‘Forever chemicals’ generate boundless costs  –  The Maine Monitor

• The battle over PFAS in Europe  –  C&EN
• Title 38, §1614- Products containing PFAS  –  Maine Legislature
• Maine’s law to reduce PFAS in products is off to a slow start  –  The Maine Monitor

• How you can reduce your PFAS body burden  –  The Maine Monitor

The threat posed by pesticides to our kids when they’re at school is just one of the many reasons Congress preserved a role for state and local governments when enacting our federal pesticide laws. More:

• Opinion: To protect school kids from toxic pesticides, protect state and local pesticide laws  –  EHN

Exposure to two widely used weed killers could be harming the brain function of young people, impacting their memory and learning abilities, according to a study. The study looked specifically at glyphosate, the active ingredient in Roundup herbicide and scores of other brands, and also at 2,4-D – a long-used, weed-killing chemical that has seen a surge in use in recent years and has increasingly been combined with glyphosate to kill tenacious weeds. More:

• Young brains appear at risk from exposure to popular weed killers  –  The New Lede
• Urinary Glyphosate, 2,4-D and DEET Biomarkers in Relation to Neurobehavioral Performance in Ecuadorian Adolescents in the ESPINA Cohort (Research article)

• 2,4-D: Concerns about cancer and other serious illnesses  –  U.S. Right to Know