Most of the nation’s plastic sandwich baggies contain toxic PFAS “forever chemicals”, an analysis suggests, raising questions about the products’ safety in the US. Testing of 11 types of baggies made by major producers showed high levels of a marker of PFAS in nine. More:

• Most US sandwich baggies contain toxic PFAS ‘forever chemicals’, analysis says  –  The Guardian

• Plastic Sandwich Bags Like Ziploc Tested for Indications of PFAS “Forever Chemicals”  –  Mamavation
• Beyond paper, part 2: PFAS intentionally used to make plastic food packaging  –  EDF Health
• Plastic containers still distributed across the US are a potential health disaster  –  The Guardian

• Directly Fluorinated Containers as a Source of Perfluoroalkyl Carboxylic Acids (Research abstract)
• New US lawsuit targets ‘forever chemicals’ in plastic food containers  –  The Guardian

• Authorized Uses of PFAS in Food Contact Applications  –  US FDA

• New study reveals diet link to PFAS ‘forever chemicals’ in human body  –  The Guardian
• Toxic PFAS chemicals used in packaging can end up in food, study finds  –  The Guardian
• FDA finds surprisingly high levels of PFAS in certain foods – including chocolate cake  –  EDF Health

• Inside FDA’s ‘forever chemicals’ catastrophe  –  E&E News
• Chemical giants hid dangers of ‘forever chemicals’ in food packaging  –  The Guardian

LONDON, March 14 (Reuters) - At least 3,000 more chemicals are in plastics — from food packaging to toys to medical devices — than previously estimated by environmental agencies, a report found, raising questions over pollution and consumer safety. More:

• Chemicals in plastics far more numerous than previous estimates, report says  –  Reuters
• State of the science of hazardous chemicals in plastic  –  PlastChem

The food and aquaculture sectors generate a huge amount of fish scale waste from processes such as preparation, canning, filleting, salting, and smoking. Disposal of fish scale waste in landfills may cause serious environmental pollution problems. Therefore, converting fish scale waste into functional materials could help to reduce environmental impact and generate economic benefits. More:

• Fish scale waste could remove dye pollution from water  –  Futurity
• Upcycling fish scales for water pollution control and encryption  –  NUS News
• Upcycling fish scales through heating for steganography and Rhodamine B adsorption application (Research article)

Two years ago, he was blindsided when the state of Michigan ordered him to shut down his farm, citing high levels of PFAS — or what are often referred to as toxic “forever chemicals” — in both his beef and soil. Grostic had been using biosolids, a treated byproduct from wastewater plants, to fertilize his crops, which he then fed his cattle. But what he thought was a cost-effective fertilizer, turned out to be laden with PFAS. More:

• This farmer's livelihood was ruined by PFAS-contaminated fertilizer that few Midwest states test for  –  Nebraska Public Media

• Michigan Biosolids PFAS-related information and links  –  Michigan.gov
• Our sewage often becomes fertilizer. Problem is, it's tainted with PFAS  –  Maine Public
• Michigan farmer sues auto supplier after PFAS taints cattle herd  –  MLive

• PFOA, PFOS, and Related PFAS Chemicals  –  American Cancer Society
• Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substance Toxicity and Human Health Review: Current State of Knowledge and Strategies for Informing Future Research (Research article)

• PFAS Strategic Roadmap- EPA’s Commitments to Action 2021—2024 (download PDF)  –  US EPA
• IPP PFAS Initiative  –  Michigan.gov
• PFAS use prohibitions  –  Minnesota Pollution Control Agency

Firefighters are regarded as heroes because they often put themselves in harm’s way when responding to emergency calls. They are able to carry out heroic deeds, in large part, because of the safety shield provided by their protective equipment or “turnout” gear. However, a growing body of research suggests that the gear that protects firefighters could also be risking their health. More:

• A recent study shows increased PFAS risks to firefighters as their protective gear ages  –  NC News

• Wear and Tear May Cause Firefighter Gear to Release More ‘Forever Chemicals’  –  US NIST
• Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances in Firefighter Turnout Gear Textiles Exposed to Abrasion, Elevated Temperature, Laundering, or Weathering (download PDF)  –  US NIST
• A recent study shows increased PFAS risks to firefighters as their protective gear ages  –  NC Health News
• Another Pathway for Firefighter Exposure to Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances: Firefighter Textiles (Research abstract)

• A turning point for firefighters: Navigating the transition to PFAS-free personal protective equipment  –  NC Health News
• Firefighters and supporters are pushing hard for PFAS-free turnout gear  –  NC Health News
• Toward the future of firefighter gear: Assessing fluorinated and non-fluorinated outer shells following simulated on-the-job exposures (Research article)

The report says benzene “can form at unacceptably high levels” in both prescription and over-the-counter benzoyl peroxide products, and results from Valisure’s tests showing that some products could form more than 800 times the “conditionally restricted” US Food and Drug Administration concentration limit for benzene. More:

• Cancer-causing chemical can form at ‘unacceptably high levels’ in certain acne products, independent lab claims  –  CNN

• Benzene (Factsheet) (download PDF)  –  US EPA
• Facts About Benzene  –  US CDC
• Benzene and Cancer Risk  –  American Cancer Society

• FDA alerts drug manufacturers to the risk of benzene contamination in certain drugs  –  US FDA
• Valisure discovers benzoyl peroxide acne treatment products are unstable and form benzene  –  Valisure
• Valisure Citizen Petition on Benzene in Benzoyl Peroxide Drug Products (download PDF)  –  Valisure

• Independent lab finds ‘troubling’ levels of cancer-causing chemical in more types of dry shampoo products, report alleges  –  CNN
• Valisure detects high levels of known human carcinogen benzene in several sunscreen products and requests FDA actions.  –  Valisure

Walking down any aisle in a supermarket, “BPA-free” labels declare food, water bottles, sippy cups, and other products to be clear of bisphenol A (BPA)—a chemical used in plastic and as a liner in food cans. Serious health concerns linked to BPA prompted manufacturers to synthesize dozens of chemical substitutes that are now incorporated into thousands of products. But are they safe? More:

• We got rid of BPA in some products—but are the substitutes any safer?  –  National Geographic

• Bisphenol A (BPA) - Description, Biological Effects, & Environmental Effects  –  Britannica
• Biological Activity of Bisphenol A (BPA) Structural Analogues and Functional Alternatives (Report) (download PDF)  –  US NTP
• The Politics of Plastics: The Making and Unmaking of Bisphenol A “Safety” (Research article)

• Bisphenol A (BPA): Use in Food Contact Application  –  US FDA
• BPA and BPS in thermal paper  –  Minnesota Pollution Control Agency
• Bisphenol a bpa thermal paper rolls now banned  –  BPC UK

• Update on the Health Effects of Bisphenol A: Overwhelming Evidence of Harm (Research article)
• Chapter Five - Low-Dose Effects of Hormones and Endocrine Disruptors (Research abstract)
• Plastics derived endocrine-disrupting compounds and their effects on early development (Research article)
• Bisphenol A and Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus: A Review of Epidemiologic, Functional, and Early Life Factors (Research article)

• Bisphenol A: an emerging threat to female fertility (Research article)
• The Effects of Bisphenol A on Human Male Infertility: A Review of Current Epidemiological Studies (Research article)
• Bisphenol A Exposure Causes Meiotic Aneuploidy in the Female Mouse (Research article)
• Conjugated bisphenol A in maternal serum in relation to miscarriage risk (Research article)

• BPA substitutes may be just as bad as the popular consumer plastic  –  Science
• Are BPA Substitutes as Obesogenic as BPA? (Research article)
• The bisphenol F and bisphenol S and cardiovascular disease: results from NHANES 2013–2016 (Research article)
• Cytotoxicity of seven bisphenol analogues compared to bisphenol A and relationships with membrane affinity data (Research abstract)

Scientists from the University of Rochester have developed new electrochemical approaches to clean up pollution from "forever chemicals" found in clothing, food packaging, firefighting foams, and a wide array of other products. A new Journal of Catalysis study describes nanocatalysts developed to remediate per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances known as PFAS. More:

• Harmful 'forever chemicals' removed from water with new electrocatalysis method  –  Phys.org
• Complete electrocatalytic defluorination of perfluorooctane sulfonate in aqueous solution with nonprecious materials (Research article)

Are you looking for the safest plastic sandwich bags similar to Ziploc without indication of PFAS “forever chemicals?” Mamavation sent several types of plastic sandwich bags to an EPA certified laboratory to find out which ones may be contaminated with PFAS. PFAS “forever chemicals” are per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances used as stain-resistant, water-resistant, & oil-resistant chemicals in commerce, however they are very toxic, persistent, and detrimental to hormonal health. More:

• Plastic Sandwich Bags Like Ziploc Tested for Indications of PFAS “Forever Chemicals”  –  Mamavation

New food packaging products sold in the U.S., such as takeout boxes and fast-food wrappers, will no longer contain harmful "forever chemicals" known as PFAS. More:

• PFAS 'forever chemicals' to officially be removed from food packaging, FDA says  –  Live Science

• Per- and Polyfluorinated Substances (PFAS) Factsheet  –  US National Biomonitoring Program
• What Are PFAS?  –  Live Science
• PFAS in the U.S. Population  –  US ATSDR

• FDA Announces PFAS Used in Grease-Proofing Agents for Food Packaging No Longer Being Sold in the U.S.  –  US FDA
• Food packaging containing toxic "forever chemicals" no longer sold in U.S., FDA says  –  CBS News
• FDA Announces the Voluntary Phase-Out by Industry of Certain PFAS Used in Food Packaging  –  US FDA

• Breaking It Down: Estimating Short-Chain PFAS Half-Lives in a Human Population  –  Environmental Health Perspectives
• Breastfeeding may expose infants to toxic chemicals  –  Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health
• Understanding PFAS Exposure and Your Body  –  US ATSDR
• 12 Worst Hormone-Disrupting Chemicals & Their Health Effects  –  Live Science

• Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS): Significance and Considerations within the Regulatory Framework of the USA (Research article)

When the simple blue-and-white postcard arrived in January 2023, Sarah Ferris missed it. The mailer, sent by the city of Vancouver, Washington, told 270,000 municipal water users that a group of chemicals called PFAS had been found in city water. Levels were low, the postcard said; the city would soon test again to comply with state law and share more information. More:

• The dangers of PFAS — and of downplaying their ubiquity  –  High Country News

• All The Stuff in Your Home That Might Contain PFAS ‘Forever Chemicals’  –  Time

• Most drinking water in the U.S. is contaminated by PFAS; here’s what you can do about it  –  High Country News
• A quarter of rural water systems likely contain ‘forever chemicals’  –  High Country News

• Official health communications are failing PFAS-contaminated communities (Research article)

Hundreds of chemical facilities around the US must implement new procedures to try to better safeguard communities from accidents that are happening with alarming frequency and jeopardizing human and environmental health, regulators said this week. More:

• EPA moves to limit frequent chemical accidents  –  The New Lede

• Hazardous chemical accidents happening with “alarming frequency”  –  The New Lede
• Key Findings Chemical Incident Tracking 2021-2023 (download PDF)  –  Coming Clean
• Winter storm leaves Texas air polluted with 2.1 million pounds of unauthorized chemicals, report says  –  Fox Weather
• Toxins from Marathon refinery fire leaked 15 hours before evacuation called  –  Louisiana Illuminator

• EPA finalizes critical new chemical disaster prevention rule after years of community pressure  –  Coming Clean
• EPA finalizes stronger safety standards to protect at-risk communities from chemical accidents  –  US EPA
• Chemical Accident Prevention - EPA Should Ensure Regulated Facilities Consider Risks from Climate Change  –  GAO

Is it time to rethink your cookware? Experts say that nonstick pots and pans—even those that are advertised to be free of the harmful chemicals known as PFAS—may still contain substances with unclear effects on your health. More:

• ‘Forever chemicals’ are hiding in your kitchen. Here’s where—and what you can do  –  National Geographic

• Per- and Polyfluorinated Substances (PFAS) Factsheet  –  US National Biomonitoring Program

• “Forever Chemicals” Called PFAS Show Up in Your Food, Clothes, and Home  –  NRDC
• Those ‘forever chemicals’ on our furniture don’t actually prevent stains  –  Fast Company
• PFAS-Containing Firefighting Foams  –  Clean Water Action

• Dietary Habits Related to Food Packaging and Population Exposure to PFASs  –  Environmental Health Perspectives
• Perfluoroalkyl Substances in U.S. market basket fish and shellfish (Research abstract)

• PFAS-Free Products  –  PFAS Central
• You Can’t Always Trust Claims on ‘Non-Toxic’ Cookware  –  Consumer Reports

The Pesticide Action Network (PAN) Europe report purported to track residues of 31 Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) — known as “forever chemicals” because they are impossible to eradicate — in fruit and vegetables in the EU between 2011 and 2021. More:

• EU Policy. Fruit and veg increasingly tainted by 'forever-chemicals', NGO warns  –  EuroNews
• European citizens face increasing exposure to PFAS pesticides through fruit and vegetables  –  PAN Europe
• Toxic Harvest The rise of forever PFAS pesticides in fruit and vegetables in Europe (Report) (download PDF)  –  Pesticide Action Network et al.

Fast-food wrappers and packaging that contain so-called forever chemicals are no longer being sold in the U.S., the Food and Drug Administration announced. It Is the result of a voluntary effort with U.S. food manufacturers to phase out food contact packaging made with PFAS, the acronym for perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances, which do not degrade and can harm human health. More:

• Fast-food wrappers that contain PFAS are no longer sold in the US, the FDA says  –  AP News
• FDA Announces PFAS Used in Grease-Proofing Agents for Food Packaging No Longer Being Sold in the U.S.  –  US FDA

Philip Landrigan, M.D., '63 director of the Program on Global Public Health and the Common Good and the Boston College Global Observatory on Planetary Health, is the lead author of a groundbreaking new report about the far-reaching health hazards of plastics manufacturing and pollution across the entire product life cycle. More:

• Health hazards of plastic: From cradle to grave  –  BC News
• The Minderoo-Monaco Commission on Plastics and Human Health (Research article)
• Integrating a Chemicals Perspective into the Global Plastic Treaty (Research article)

• Benchmarking the in Vitro Toxicity and Chemical Composition of Plastic Consumer Products (Research article)
• Hazardous Chemicals in PVC Flooring (Report) (download PDF)  –  Greenpeace

• Human health risks due to exposure to inorganic and organic chemicals from textiles: A review (Research article)
• Hazardous chemicals in branded textile products on sale in 27 countries during 2012 (Report) (download PDF)  –  Greenpeace

• Widespread Chemical Contamination of Recycled Plastic Pellets Globally (download PDF)  –  IPEN
• Downsides of the recycling process: Harmful organic chemicals in children's toys (Research article)

• Plastic Products Leach Chemicals That Induce In Vitro Toxicity under Realistic Use Conditions (Research article)
• Systematic evidence on migrating and extractable food contact chemicals: Most chemicals detected in food contact materials are not listed for use (Research article)
• Identification and quantification of the migration of chemicals from plastic baby bottles used as substitutes for polycarbonate (Research abstract)

• X-Press Pearl: A 'New kind of oil spill' (Report) (download PDF)  –  IPEN
• An overview of chemical additives present in plastics: Migration, release, fate and environmental impact during their use, disposal and recycling (Research article)
• Occurrence and concentrations of chemical additives in plastic fragments on a beach on the island of Kauai, Hawaii (Research article)
• Transport and release of chemicals from plastics to the environment and to wildlife (Research abstract)

• Hazardous Chemicals in Plastics in Marine Environments: International Pellet Watch (Research abstract)
• The Complex Mixture, Fate and Toxicity of Chemicals Associated with Plastic Debris in the Marine Environment (Research article)
• Microplastic as a Vector for Chemicals in the Aquatic Environment: Critical Review and Model-Supported Reinterpretation of Empirical Studies (Research article)
• Relative importance of microplastics as a pathway for the transfer of hydrophobic organic chemicals to marine life (Research article)

• Accumulation of plastic-derived chemicals in tissues of seabirds ingesting marine plastics (Research abstract)
• In Vivo Accumulation of Plastic-Derived Chemicals into Seabird Tissues (Research article)
• Transfer of Additive Chemicals From Marine Plastic Debris to the Stomach Oil of Northern Fulmars (Research article)
• The complex issue of chemicals and microplastic pollution: A case study in North Pacific lanternfish (Research article)

PCBs, or polychlorinated biphenyls, are human-made substances that were used as coolants and lubricants in electrical equipment until they were banned due to their links to health problems and because they do not break down easily in the environment. More:

• Cancer-causing PCB chemicals still being produced despite 40-year-old ban  –  The Guardian

• Is current generation of polychlorinated biphenyls exceeding peak production of the 1970s? (Research abstract)

• Levels of toxic PCB chemicals found at 30 times ‘safe’ limits in stranded whales  –  The Guardian
• Polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) concentrations and profiles in marine mammals from the North Atlantic Ocean (Research article)

Plastics, pesticides and forever chemicals are exposing billions of people around the world to pernicious and dangerous health effects, a new report has found. In the report, scientists from the Endocrine Society and the International Pollutants Elimination Network criticized the way regulators determine the toxicity level of chemicals — and suggested that for a staggering array of common compounds, no dose may be safe. More:

• For thousands of common chemicals, there is ‘no safe level,’ says report  –  The Hill

• Endocrine Disrupting Chemicals Threats to Human Health (download PDF)  –  IPEN & Endocrine Society
• Endocrine Disruptors and Obesity (Research article)
• The Effect of Bisphenol A on Puberty: A Critical Review of the Medical Literature (Research article)

All those chemical pesticides have had a profound impact on ecosystems and human health. It is why some countries have banned them, and the EU has long threatened — but failed — to outlaw glyphosate, a controversial weedkiller that threatens biodiversity and has been linked to the development of cancer. But what's the alternative?. More:

• What are natural pesticides?  –  DW
• How Germany's ban on harmful pesticides could impact Africa  –  DW
• Neem: A Tree For Solving Global Problems - Effects on Insects  –  US National Libray of Medicine

Il y a toujours plus de "polluants éternels" (PFAS) dans les fruits et légumes en Europe, dénoncent plusieurs ONG dans une enquête. La présence de pesticides contenant ces substances chimiques a explosé entre 2011 et 2021 dans les végétaux consommés dans l'Union européenne, notamment dans les fruits d'été. More:

• Explosion des "polluants éternels" dans les fruits et légumes européens  –  RTS

• Pesticides PFAS révélations (Report) (download PDF)  –  PAN Europe & Générations Futures
• Pesticides PFAS : révélation sur une situation ignorée jusqu’à ce jour !  –  Générations Futures