It’s hard to avoid phthalates, a group of chemicals that make plastic soft and flexible, in our daily lives. Phthalates are in so many things we use: food containers; shampoo and beauty and skin care products; building and gardening materials; faux leather fashion and furniture upholstery; medical devices; toys; backpacks and purses; and home accessories like polyvinyl chloride (PVC) shower curtains. The list goes on and on. More:

• In utero exposure to plastic chemicals tied to developmental problems in toddlers  –  The Times of Israel
• Prenatal exposure to phthalates and emotional/behavioral development in young children (Research abstract)

• Di(2-ethylhexyl)phthalate (DEHP)  –  California Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment
• Diisononyl Phthalate (DINP)  –  California Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment
• BPA and Phthalates: Chemicals found in our homes - Information and Tips (download PDF) (Factsheet)  –  Washington Environmental Biomonitoring

The researchers started in an alligator pond and ended up at a fertility clinic. They were looking at bodily fluids — first in large reptiles, then humans — searching for a group of environmental contaminants that even the U.S. government didn’t have a handle on, clueless still about their ubiquity and potential harm. More:

• They couldn’t get pregnant. No one told them their ovaries held ‘forever chemicals.’  –  The Post and Courier

• New Report Calls for Expanded PFAS Testing for People With History of Elevated Exposure, Offers Advice for Clinical Treatment  –  US National Academies
• Pollution & fertility Study to look at effects of chemicals on reproduction  –  The Port and Courier
• Associations between perfluorinated alkyl acids in blood and ovarian follicular fluid and ovarian function in women undergoing assisted reproductive treatment (Research abstract)

• The PFAS Exchange - Helping to Understand Exposure and Take Action  –  Silent Spring Institute
• Effective communications strategies to increase the impact of environmental health research (Research article)
• The Devil they Knew: Chemical Documents Analysis of Industry Influence on PFAS Science (Research article)

• Chemical companies’ PFAS payouts are huge – but the problem is even bigger  –  The Guardian

The compounds, polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs), were gradually phased out after a link was found with certain health risks. It sounds like a public health success story, but new research suggests it may not be quite that simple. More:

• New flame retardants found in breast milk years after similar chemicals were banned  –  NPR

• Partnership to Evaluate Flame Retardant Alternatives to DecaBDE  –  US EPA
• Polybrominated Diphenyl Ethers (PBDEs)  –  US EPA
• U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Toxicological Profile for Polybrominated Diphenyl Ethers (PBDEs) (Report) (download PDF)  –  U.S. Department of Health and Human Services

• A review on environmental occurrence, toxic effects and transformation of man-made bromophenols (Research abstract)
• Brominated flame retardants in breast milk from the United States: First detection of bromophenols in U.S. breast milk (Research abstract)
• Polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) in U.S. mothers' milk. (Research article)

When it comes to understanding contamination, honey bees can do the hard work for us. While foraging for nectar, pollen and water, bees are constantly picking up contaminants from their environment. More:

• How bees can monitor pollution for us – everything from toxic metals to antimicrobial resistance  –  The Conversation

• How and why beekeepers participate in the INSIGNIA citizen science honey bee environmental monitoring project (Research article)
• Honey as a biomonitor for a changing world (Research abstract)
• Bees helping to monitor air quality at German airports  –  Phys.org
• Tracing nickel smelter emissions using European honey bees (Research article)

• Identifying Sources of Environmental Contamination in European Honey Bees (Apis mellifera) Using Trace Elements and Lead Isotopic Compositions (Research abstract)
• Levels of Contamination by Perfluoroalkyl Substances in Honey from Selected European Countries (Research article)
• Pesticide exposure of wild bees and honey bees foraging from field border flowers in intensively managed agriculture areas (Research article)

• Chapter Four - Heavy metal pollutants: The hidden pervasive threat to honey bees and other pollinators (Research abstract)
• Traces of a Neonicotinoid Induce Precocious Foraging and Reduce Foraging Performance in Honey Bees (Research article)

When interior designers spec materials for a project, they have many considerations to make, from the pretty—color, pattern, texture—to more practical considerations like durability and sustainability. But there’s another more niche factor to take into account: the presence of PFAS (the acronym for “per- and polyfluorinated substances”), commonly called “forever chemicals.” More:

• 10 low-stress ways to avoid forever chemicals in your next project  –  Business of Home

• Sustainability Essentials Webinar: Duke University Study of PFAS in House Dust (YouTube)  –  Sustainability Essentials Webinar
• Estimating Consumer Exposure to PFOS and PFOA (Research abstract)
• How Well Do Product Labels Indicate the Presence of PFAS in Consumer Items Used by Children and Adolescents? (Research article)

• Case Study: PFAS in Carpeting  –  Green Science Policy Institute
• Evaluating the Performance of Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substance Finishes on Upholstery Fabrics (Research article)
• Exceptionally High Serum Concentrations of Perfluorohexanesulfonate in a Canadian Family are Linked to Home Carpet Treatment Applications (Research abstract)

To reduce the use of agrochemicals in the food value chain, scientists at the National Agriculture Research Laboratories (NARL) in Kawanda have developed biological control measures. These are expected to help farmers get rid of weeds on land and in water. More:

• Scientists find solution to chemicals in food chain  –  NewVision

The first impacts one thinks of when it comes to lax chemicals regulation are the negative effects on human health and the environment. This is by no means wrong, but there’s another impact that many times will go unnoticed — the eroding of trust in authorities. More:

• How lax chemicals regulation leads to serious political costs  –  ChemSec
• The ultimate guide to cheat regulation and sell toxic chemicals in the EU  –  ChemSec
• How PFAS pollution affects people’s health across Europe  –  Health and Environment Alliance
• About toxics and human rights  –  OHCHR

Pollution at Australia’s largest Antarctic research station, Casey, has exceeded international guidelines for close to 20 years. Analyzing marine sediment levels around Casey station between 1997 and 2015, Australian and Canadian scientists found that levels of multiple contaminants exceeded international quality guidelines. More:

• Australia’s largest Antarctic research station has a pollution problem  –  Canada's National Observer
• Casey research station  –  Australian Antarctic Program
• Contamination of the marine environment by Antarctic research stations: Monitoring marine pollution at Casey station from 1997 to 2015 (Research article)
• The type and spatial distribution of past waste at the abandoned Wilkes Station, East Antarctica (Research abstract)

Testimony is underway in a key federal court hearing aimed at examining scientific evidence about allegations that a widely used weedkiller called paraquat causes Parkinson’s disease. The outcome of the hearing, which runs in East St. Louis, Illinois, is critical for thousands of people with Parkinson’s who are suing paraquat maker Syngenta AG and former paraquat distributor Chevron. More:

• Science takes center stage in court hearing over paraquat and Parkinson’s disease  –  The New Lede

• Paraquat Dichloride: One Sip Can Kill  –  US EPA
• Articles on Paraquat  –  The New Lede

• Paraquat Papers Media Library  –  The New Lede
• Secret “Paraquat Papers” reveal corporate tactics to protect weed killer linked to Parkinson’s disease  –  The New Lede
• Syngenta’s “SWAT” team- Internal files reveal secret strategies to influence science  –  The New Lede

• Plaintiff's Complaint and Demand for Jury Trial - Paraquat and its Connection to Parkinson's Disease (download PDF) (Legal claim)

Just one week of an organic diet effectively reduces levels of the herbicide glyphosate in pregnant women’s urine, according to a study published in July in Environmental Health Perspectives. More:

• Organic diets reduce glyphosate exposure for pregnant people: Study  –  EHN
• Invited Perspective: The Continuing Debate—Is Glyphosate a Problem, and Can an Organic Diet Protect Us from Exposures? (Research article)

• ‘Disturbing’: weedkiller ingredient tied to cancer found in 80% of US urine samples  –  The Guardian

• Glyphosate exposure linked to lower birth weights for Indiana babies  –  EHN
• Is the Use of Glyphosate in Modern Agriculture Resulting in Increased Neuropsychiatric Conditions Through Modulation of the Gut-brain-microbiome Axis? (Perspective article)

A new study from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem has shed light on the potential consequences of prenatal exposure to phthalates on the emotional and behavioral development of children. More:

• Exposure to these chemicals during pregnancy can impact your baby - study  –  The Jerusalem Post
• Prenatal Exposure to Phthalate Chemicals Linked to Developmental Issues in Toddler Boys, According to Hebrew University Researchers  –  Hebrew University of Jerusalem
• Prenatal exposure to phthalates and emotional/behavioral development in young children (Research abstract)

The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) office responsible for protecting the public from toxic substances has changed how it defines PFAS for a second time since 2021, a move critics say they fear will exclude thousands of “forever chemicals” from regulation and largely benefit industry. More:

• EPA’s new definition of PFAS could omit thousands of ‘forever chemicals’  –  The Guardian
• US food pesticides contaminated with toxic ‘forever chemicals’ testing finds  –  The Guardian

Water of about 26 million is contaminated as new data offers the most robust look into exactly which communities are polluted. More:

• Drinking water of millions of Americans contaminated with ‘forever chemicals’  –  The Guardian

• Study: More Than 200 Million Americans Could Have Toxic PFAS in Their Drinking Water  –  EWG
• Revealed: US water likely contains more ‘forever chemicals’ than EPA tests show  –  The Guardian
• Data Summary of The Fifth Unregulated Contaminant Monitoring Rule (UCMR 5)  –  US EPA
• A Further Examination of a Subset of UCMR 3 PFAS Data Demonstrates Wider Occurrence (Google Drive)  –  Eurofins

Two environmental hazards are emerging in tandem with the promise of disruptions to municipal financial markets. One, global warming, has received widespread attention; the other, toxic waste, less so. More:

• Opinion: How toxic fertilizers create toxic municipal bonds  –  EHN

Birth defects related to chromosomal abnormalities often stem from exposure to chemicals early in the mother's life. But determining which chemicals are at fault poses a serious challenge—akin to solving a hit-and-run case, decades after the fact. Two researchers in the UC Davis College of Biological Sciences are developing a method that could identify harmful chemicals far more quickly. More:

• Using glowing fish to detect harmful pesticides  –  Phys.org

Birth defects related to chromosomal abnormalities often stem from exposure to chemicals early in the mother's life. But determining which chemicals are at fault poses a serious challenge—akin to solving a hit-and-run case, decades after the fact. Two researchers in the UC Davis College of Biological Sciences are developing a method that could identify harmful chemicals far more quickly, with the help of red- and green-glowing zebrafish. More:

• Using glowing fish to detect harmful pesticides  –  Phys.org

Laurie Harper, director of education for the Bug-O-Nay-Ge-Shig School, a K-12 tribal school on the Leech Lake Band Indian Reservation in northcentral Minnesota, never thought that a class of chemicals called per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS, would be an issue for her community. That’s partly because, up until a few months ago, she didn’t even know what PFAS were. More:

• What one school’s fight to eliminate PFAS says about Indian Country’s ‘forever chemical’ problem  –  Grist
• PFAS contamination across Tribal Lands (Interactive Map)  –  EWG

• EPA proposes first-ever limits on PFAS in drinking water  –  Grist
• Here are the chances your water supply is contaminated by PFAS  –  Grist
• A quarter of rural water systems likely contain ‘forever chemicals’  –  High Country News
• Federal PFAS Testing and Tribal Public Water Systems (Research article)

• Bill would allow people to seek medical monitoring due to chemical exposure  –  Minnesota Reformer
• The landmark trial that could determine who pays to rid America’s drinking water of PFAS  –  Grist
• Fond du Lac Band Ojibwe Sues Chemical Companies over PFAS  –  Turtle Talk
• 3M reaches historic settlement over PFAS contamination  –  Grist

A new study investigating Antarctic pollution near Australia’s Casey Station has found that some sediment contaminant levels exceed international guidelines. More:

• Antarctic pollution puts marine environment at risk  –  Cosmos
• Casey Research Station  – Australian Antarctic Program
• Contamination of the marine environment by Antarctic research stations: Monitoring marine pollution at Casey station from 1997 to 2015 (Research article)
• Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs)  –  Government of South Australia

Gary Flook served in the Air Force for 37 years, as a firefighter at the now-closed Chanute Air Force Base in Illinois and the former Grissom Air Force Base in Indiana, where he regularly trained with aqueous film forming foam, or AFFF — a frothy white fire retardant that is highly effective but now known to be toxic. More:

• Pioneering Study Links Testicular Cancer Among Military Personnel to ‘Forever Chemicals’  –  KFF Health News

• Guidance on PFAS Exposure, Testing and Health Outcomes  –  U.S. National Academies
• PFAS - Perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances  –  U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs
• The U.S. Military Is Spending Millions to Replace Toxic Firefighting Foam with Toxic Firefighting Foam  –  The Intercept

• A Nested Case–Control Study of Serum Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances and Testicular Germ Cell Tumors among U.S. Air Force Servicemen (Research article)
• Studies of Cancer in Humans - Painting, Firefighting, and Shiftwork  –  U.S. NCBI Bookshelf

• Attorney General Bonta Leads Bipartisan Coalition in Opposing 3M’s Proposed PFAS Settlement  –  State of California Department of Justice

Are kids’ backpacks treated with PFAS “forever chemicals” like other water-resistant fabrics such as raincoats? Several Mamavation community members reached out to us asking about what brands of backpacks were the safest for their young children. More:

• Kid's Backpacks & Avoiding PFAS "Forever Chemicals" — Buying Guide  –  Mamavation

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

• Endocrine-disrupting activity of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances: Exploring combined approaches of ligand and structure based modeling (Research abstract)
• Thyroid Disrupting Effects of Old and New Generation PFAS (Scientific review)
• Perfluoroalkyl Chemicals and Male Reproductive Health: Do PFOA and PFOS Increase Risk for Male Infertility? (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)
• Perfluoroalkyl substances exposure and immunity, allergic response, infection, and asthma in children: review of epidemiologic studies (Research article)

• Concerning Amounts of Toxic PFAS "Forever Chemicals" in Tooth Floss & and Dental Floss — Report  –  Mamavation
• Safer Green Beauty Cosmetics Guide--PFAS "Forever Chemicals" in Makeup  –  Mamavation
• Indications of PFAS "Forever Chemicals" in Contact Lenses — Report  –  Mamavation

• Best (& Worst) Period Underwear & Period Panties Tested for Indications of PFAS  –  Mamavation
• PFAS "Forever Chemicals" inside Sanitary Pads & Incontinence Pads — Report 2022  –  Mamavation
• Do Your Tampons Contain PFAS "Forever Chemicals" They Might. — Report  –  Mamavation

• Safest Cookware in Simple Terms—Stainless Steel, Cast Iron, Ceramic & Bakeware 2022  –  Mamavation
• Safest Non-Toxic Baking Sheets, Cookie Sheets, & Sheet Pans  –  Mamavation
• Best Non-Toxic Cupcake & Muffin Pans Sans Toxic Coatings  –  Mamavation

• Safest Air Fryers & Air Fryer Ovens Sans Toxic PFAS 2023  –  Mamavation
• Blenders With the Safest BPA-Free Food Contact Surfaces 2022  –  Mamavation
• Best (& Worst) Non-Toxic Indoor Kitchen Grills & Paninis Sans PFAS  –  Mamavation
• The Best Non Toxic Toasters & Toaster Ovens Of 2022 (A Guidebook)  –  Mamavation
• Best Non-Toxic Waffle Maker Sans PFAS "Forever Chemicals" and Nano-Titanium  –  Mamavation