Skin whitening — the use of cosmetic products or services to reduce the amount of melanin in the skin to make it appear lighter — is a multi-billion dollar global industry. High levels of mercury found in some skin whitening creams can affect the body of people using them and put entire households at risk by contaminating their homes. More:

• I would whiten my skin no matter the cost’ CNN readers around the globe tell of the pressure to look whiter.  –  CNN
• White lies- Exposing the dangers of skin whitening  –  CNN
• Mercury found in skin whitening products Risks to your health, home and family CNN  –  CNN
• Mercury in beauty creams believed to have caused vision loss in woman and put her family at risk  –  CNN

ChemSec’s ranking tool ChemScore assesses the world’s 54 largest chemical companies on their environmental impact and hazardous chemicals management, setting the benchmark for a sustainable chemical industry. More:

• ChemScore 2022 reveals growing differences between global regions  –  ChemSec
• ChemScore Report 2022  –  ChemSec
• Investors with $8 trillion call for phase-out of dangerous “forever chemicals”  –  ChemSec

It takes 25 years – a whole generation – to transform an industrial sector and all the value chains. As EU policymakers review key pollution prevention rules, a unique window of opportunity to depollute industry is closing now. Bold action is needed to enact pollution prevention that works for people and the environment. More:

• Once-in-a-generation chance to depollute EU industry  –  META

• Green Deal: Modernising EU industrial emissions rules to steer large industry in long-term green transition  –  European Commission
• EPP draft report waters down key industrial pollution prevention rules  –  EBB

A federal appeals court has upheld a $40 million verdict for a cancer survivor who sued E.I. du Pont de Nemours and Co after years of exposure to a toxic chemical that it manufactured. The 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said DuPont could not challenge the verdict, which relied on a finding in related cases that PFOA, a chemical discharged by DuPont into public waterways, was linked to the man's cancer. More:

• DuPont loses challenge over cancer victim's $40 mln verdict in PFAS case  –  Reuters
• Abbott vs. DuPont de Nemours - Verdict (download PDF)  –  United States Court of Appeal

• California sues 3M, DuPont over toxic 'forever chemicals'  –  Reuters
• DuPont, Chemours beat back lawsuit over chemicals in N.Y. drinking water  –  Reuters

When communities impacted by PFAS contamination seek medical advice, they often discover doctors are unfamiliar with these chemicals' health effects and unsure how to address their patients’ concerns. A new course and report on PFAS-related health effects can empower patients, promote life-saving screening and help tackle the continued devastating health effects of PFAS chemicals. More:

• Op-ed: Arming doctors with knowledge about PFAS pollution  –  EHN
• PFAS - Resources for Clinicians  –  PFAS Exchange

• Study: More Than 200 Million Americans Could Have Toxic PFAS in Their Drinking Water  –  Environmental Working Group

• Where did the PFAS in your blood come from? These computer models offer clues  –  EHN

Staring at negative pregnancy tests, enduring the rollercoaster of fertility treatments and the heartbreak of miscarriages: struggling to conceive a child can be extremely stressful. More:

• Sperm count down What you need to know about the male fertility crisis  –  Euronews

• Sperm count drop is accelerating worldwide and threatens the future of mankind, study warns  –  Euronews
• Brain inflammation caused by air pollution is reducing sperm counts, new study finds  –  Euronews
• Research into falling sperm counts finds 'alarming' levels of chemicals in male urine samples  –  Euronews
• Shorter Anogenital Distance Predicts Poorer Semen Quality in Young Men in Rochester, New York (Research article)
• Penises are shrinking because of pollution, warns environmental scientist  –  Euronews

• Toxic levels of 'forever chemicals' are being found in breast milk. How harmful are they?  –  Euronews

• Phthalates (download PDF) (Factsheet) –  Zero breast cancer

The presence of numerous emerging organic contaminants (EOCs) and remobilization of legacy persistent organic pollutants (POPs) in polar regions have become significant concerns of the scientific communities, public groups and stakeholders. This work reviews the occurrences of EOCs and POPs and their long-range environmental transport (LRET) processes via atmosphere and ocean currents from continental sources to polar regions. More:

• Legacy and emerging organic contaminants in the polar regions (Research article)

There is now a global PFAA footprint that is well visible with current analytical methods and also relevant in terms of possible health impacts. More:

• Stories of Global Chemical Pollution Will We Ever Understand Environmental Persistence? (download PDF) (Research article)

• Why is high persistence alone a major cause of concern? (Research article)
• Persistent pollutants, persistent threats (Research abstract)
• To be or not to be degraded: in defense of persistence assessment of chemicals (Research article)
• Environmental Persistence of Organic Pollutants: Guidance for Development and Review of POP Risk Profiles (Research abstract)
• Considerations of temperature in the context of the persistence classification in the EU (Research article)

• Global Distribution and Budget of PCBs and HCB in Background Surface Soils: Implications for Sources and Environmental Processes (Research abstract)
• Wet Deposition of Polychlorinated Biphenyls in Urban and Background Areas of the Mid-Atlantic States (Research abstract)

• Synthetic organohalides in the sea - Proceedings of the Royal Society of London (download PDF) (Research article)
• DDT and PCB in Marine Animals from Swedish Waters (Research abstract)

• Stratospheric sink for chlorofluoromethanes: chlorine atom-catalysed destruction of ozone (Research abstract)
• Large losses of total ozone in Antarctica reveal seasonal ClOx-NOx interaction (Research abstract)

• Henry’s Law constants and the air-sea exchange of various low molecular weight halocarbon gases (download PDF) (Research article)

• Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs)  –  EU ECHA
• Environmental Sources, Chemistry, Fate, and Transport of Per‐ and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (Research article)
• Outside the Safe Operating Space of a New Planetary Boundary for Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) (Research article)
• Regulating PFAS as a Chemical Class under the California Safer Consumer Products Program (Research article)

• The concept of essential use for determining when uses of PFASs can be phased out (Research article)
• Information Requirements under the Essential-Use Concept- PFAS Case Studies (Research article)

Noise and chemical pollution in our oceans are affecting marine mammals' ability to navigate, communicate and detect danger. More:

• The hidden ocean pollution killing marine mammals  –  BBC Future

• Coastal landfills risk leaking long-banned toxic chemicals into the ocean  –  The Conversation
• Shocking' levels of PCB chemicals in UK killer whale Lulu  –  BBC News
• Microplastics in marine mammals stranded around the British coast- ubiquitous but transitory? (Research article)
• Toxicity Reference Values for the Toxic Effects of Polychlorinated Biphenyls to Aquatic Mammals (Research abstract)

• Polychlorinated biphenyls are associated with reduced testes weights in harbour porpoises (Phocoena phocoena) (Research abstract)
• Levels of Polychlorinated Biphenyls Are Still Associated with Toxic Effects in Harbor Porpoises (Phocoena phocoena) Despite Having Fallen below Proposed Toxicity Thresholds (Research abstract)
• Juvenile harbor porpoises in the UK are exposed to a more neurotoxic mixture of PCBs than adults (Research article)

• Polluted porpoises: Generational transfer of organic contaminants in harbour porpoises from the southern North Sea (Research article)
• Reproductive Failure in UK Harbour Porpoises Phocoena phocoena: Legacy of Pollutant Exposure? (Research article)

Chemicals are the invisible guests in our kitchens. You can’t see them but they are everywhere. Simply making a meal can be a toxic minefield. Dangerous chemicals lurk in just about every step of the prep: PFAS “forever chemicals” in nonstick cookware, bisphenol in plastic containers, lead in ceramics, arsenic in pans, formaldehyde in cutting boards and the list goes on. More:

• Wooden spoons and glass mugs: how to avoid toxic chemicals in your kitchen  –  The Guardian

• Is modern life poisoning me? I took the tests to find out  –  The Guardian
• Testing My Stuff For Lead  –  Natural Baby Mama
• Testing My Stuff For Lead: Part 2  –  Natural Baby Mama

• Safest Non-Toxic Parchment Paper Without PFAS -Forever Chemicals  –  Mamavation
• GuerrillaXRFTesting: Crockpots  –  Lead Safe Mama
• Always Pan tests positive for Lead, Chromium, Titanium, Cobalt & more (14 metals) using XRF technology  –  Lead Safe Mama
• What is XRF (X-ray fluorescence) and How Does it Work?  –  ThermoFisher

• Health Department Issues Lead Warning to New Yorkers: Avoid Using Traditional Ceramic Ware for Food and Drinks; May contain Lead  –  NYC Health
• CPG Sec. 545.450 Pottery (Ceramics); Import and Domestic - Lead Contamination (download PDF)  –  US FDA
• Multi-scale characterization of bamboo bonding interfaces with phenol-formaldehyde resin of different molecular weight to study the bonding mechanism (Research article)

• Plastic Products Contain Toxic Chemicals  –  Consumer Reports
• Toxic ‘forever chemicals’ are contaminating plastic food containers  –  The Guardian
• Bisphenol: what to know about the chemicals in water bottles and cans  –  The Guardian

• Polyamide Kitchen Utensils: Keep contact with hot food as brief as possible (download PDF)  –  Germany BfR
• Consumer use effects on nanoparticle release from commercially available ceramic cookware (Research abstract)
• Aluminum contamination of food during culinary preparation- Case study with aluminum foil and consumers’ preferences (Research article)
• Covering your product certification needs. Form food to drinking water (Factsheet) (download PDF)  –  NSF International

• Food additive or carcinogen? The growing list of chemicals banned by EU but used in US  –  The Guardian
• Formaldehyde and Cancer Risk  –  US NCI
• Formaldehyde and Your Health  –  US ATSDR
• Melamine, beyond the kidney: A ubiquitous endocrine disruptor and neurotoxicant? (Research abstract)
• Toxicological Profile for Nickel (Report) (download PDF)  –  US ATSDR
• Mineral Oils: Untreated and Mildly Treated  –  US NCI-Mineral Oils

• You Can’t Always Trust Claims on ‘Non-Toxic’ Cookware  –  Consumer Reports
• How the FDA’s food division fails to regulate health and safety hazards  –  POLITICO
• Banned bread: why does the US allow additives that Europe says are unsafe?  –  The Guardian
• EPA is falsifying risk assessments for dangerous chemicals, say whistleblowers  –  The Guardian
• Unpacking the Fragrance Industry: Policy Failures, the Trade Secret Myth and Public Health (Report) (download PDF)  –  WVE

Twenty-two sanitary pads, panty liners and incontinence pads have detectable levels of fluorine, an indicator of the group of chemicals known as PFAS, according to a new report from Mamavation. The environmental wellness blog and community had 46 pads products tested by a U.S.-Environmental-Protection-Agency-certified lab. More:

• Evidence of PFAS in sanitary and incontinence pads  –  EHN
• What are PFAS?  –  EHN

• Investigation: PFAS on our shelves and in our bodies  –  EHN
• Unintentional PFAS in products: A “jungle” of contamination  –  EHN

• PFAS -Forever Chemicals- in Sanitary Pads & Incontinence Pads-Report 2022  –  Mamavation
• Report: 65% of Period Underwear Likely Contaminated with PFAS  –  Mamavation
• Evidence of PFAS found in tampons — including organic brands  –  EHN

Potentially life-saving insecticidal malaria nets, designed to be biologically effective for at least 3 years, may stop working well after just 12 months, suggests research of their use in one East African country. More:

• Long-lasting insecticidal malaria nets' biological effectiveness may be short-lived  –  MedialXPress
• Long-lasting insecticidal nets provide protection against malaria for only a single year in Burundi (download PDF) (Research article)

Reductive water treatment using hydrated electrons is a promising technology to destruct perfluoroalkyl substances; however, it faces challenges of slow reaction kinetics, undesirable chemical addition, and high energy consumption. Researchers developed a hydrogen-polarized water photolysis system using vacuum UV (VUV) light at 185 nm for reductive destruction of perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS). More:

• Hydrogen-polarized vacuum ultraviolet photolysis system for enhanced destruction of perfluoroalkyl substances (Research article)

Investors with US$8 trillion under management and advice are calling on the world’s biggest chemical producers to phase out persistent chemicals as the annual ChemScore ranking, released today, shows the industry is doing little to halt an emerging global crisis. More:

• Investors with $8 trillion call for phase-out of dangerous “forever chemicals”  –  ChemSec
• ChemScore Report 2022  –  ChemScore

The Western Virginia Water Authority is spending millions of dollars on an advanced filter system to keep a dangerous “forever chemical” made by Chemours chemical company from fouling the drinking water it distributes to customers in the Roanoke area. More:

• Opinion/Editorial: PFAS denials leave polluters unccountable  –  The Daily Progress

From the 1930s through the 1990s, oil companies added lead to gasoline to make engines run smoother, forcing two generations to breathe leaded air. Older generations have five fewer IQ points on average because they grew up breathing those fumes, Duke University researchers reported in 2017. More:

• Tomlinson: Millennials and Gen Z are smarter than baby boomers thanks to chemical companies' mistake  –  Houston Chronicle

• Cautionary Tales – The inventor who almost ended the world  –  Tim Harford
• Pb or not Pb: the toxic question of leaded fuel  –  Chemistry World

• Green Chemistry and the Phaseout of Leaded Fuel (download PDF)  –  California State University
• Eliminating Lead Emissions From Small Aircraft Will Require Concerted Efforts Across the Aviation Sector, Says New Report  –  National academies
• As World Celebrates End of Leaded Petrol, Campaign Lessons Can Be Applied to Phasing Out Fossil Fuel – UNEP  –  Health Policy Watch

• The DDT Story  –  Pesticide Action Network
• The Deadly Dust: The Unhappy History Of DDT  –  American Heritage

• Asbestos  –  US Department of Labor
• New Data on Asbestos Indicate Cover-Up of Effects on Workers  –  The Washington Post

• Lead Exposure In Childhood Linked to Lower IQ, Lower Status  –  Duke Today
• Half of US population exposed to adverse lead levels in early childhood (Research article)

Downstream of a Chemours fluorochemical manufacturing plant on the Cape Fear River in North Carolina, people living in Brunswick and New Hanover counties suffer from higher-than-normal rates of brain tumors, breast cancers and other forms of rare — and accelerated — diseases. More:

• Where did the PFAS in your blood come from? These computer models offer clues  –  EHN

• Source apportionment of serum PFASs in two highly exposed communities (Research article)
• Can profiles of poly- and Perfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) in human serum provide information on major exposure sources? (Research article)

• Toxic ‘forever chemicals’ detected in commonly used insecticides in US, study finds  –  The Guardian
• Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances in North American School Uniforms (Research article)
• Occupational Safety and Health: Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS)  –  US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
• The Hidden Dangers in Firefighting Foam  –  U.S. Fire Administration
• Fluoropolymers in the Industry (Fact sheet) (download PDF)  –  Chemours

• Serum Biomarkers of Exposure to Perfluoroalkyl Substances in Relation to Serum Testosterone and Measures of Thyroid Function among Adults and Adolescents from NHANES 2011–2012 (Research article)

Limiting new sources of exposure to per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) can gradually lower your accumulated chemical load, aptly known as your body burden. PFAS compounds can linger in bodies for decades, with concentrations in blood plasma taking up to eight years to decline by half. Growing scientific evidence suggests that even low levels of PFAS can disrupt hormonal, immune and reproductive systems, and can increase the risk of various cancers. More:

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

• Guidance on PFAS Exposure, Testing, and Clinical Follow-Up (download PDF)  –  National academies
• Public Health Statement: Perfluoroalkyls (download PDF)  –  US ATSDR
• Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS)  –  Maine Department of Environmental Protection
• PFAS-REACH Fact Sheets and Resources  –  PFAS Exchange

• PFOS (Perfluorooctane Sulfonate or Perfluorooctane Sulfonic Acid) (Factsheet)  –  Proposition65
• Perfluorooctanoic Acid (PFOA) (Factsheet)  –  US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

• PFAS blood testing: What you need to know (download PDF)  –  PFAS-Reach
• Relation of Body Burden Measures to Ambient Exposures (Research abstract)
• Half-lives of PFOA, PFPeS, PFHxS, PFHpS and PFOS after end of exposure to contaminated drinking water (Research article)

• Our Current Understanding of the Human Health and Environmental Risks of PFAS  –  US EPA
• What are the health effects of PFAS?  –  US ATSDR
• Per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) and female reproductive outcomes: PFAS elimination, endocrine-mediated effects, and disease (Research article)
• Thyroid Disrupting Effects of Old and New Generation PFAS (Research article)

• PFAS in Public Water Systems  –  Maine DWP
• The need for affordable PFAS water testing  –  The Maine Monitor
• Search for NSF Certified Drinking Water Treatment Units, Water Filters  –  NSF International
• EWG’s water filter guide  –  EWG Tap Water Database

• Freshwater Fish Safe Eating Guidelines  –  Maine Dept of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife
• Where can you find non-toxic tuna? The Toxic tuna study  –  Mamavation
• Perfluoroalkyl Substances in U.S. market basket fish and shellfish (Research article)
• Deer Consumption Advisory  –  Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife

• Dangerous PFAS Chemicals Are in Your Food Packaging  –  Consumer Reports
• Is nonstick cookware safe?  –  Chicago Tribune

• How Well Do Product Labels Indicate the Presence of PFAS in Consumer Items Used by Children and Adolescents? (Research article)
• Tests find PFAS abundant in some dental floss  –  EHN
• PFAS-Free Products  –  PFAS Central
• Your guide to safer personal care products  –  EWG Skin Deep

• Understanding PFAS and Your Home Garden  –  University of Maine
• Step 8: Should I Eat Produce Grown in My Garden?  –  University of Maine
• Sludge in the Garden  –  Sierra Club
• Perfluoroalkyl Acid Distribution in Various Plant Compartments of Edible Crops Grown in Biosolids-Amended soils (download PDF) (Research article)

• PFAS in Fire Fighter Turnout Gear (download PDF)  –  IAFF
• Building a better world: Eliminating Unnecessary PFAS in Building Materials (download PDF) (Report)  –  Green Science Policy Institute
• A pilot study of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances in automotive lubricant oils from the United States (Research abstract)

At the end of Joy Road in Fairfield, a steep dead-end road climbs a hillside to a scattering of homes with distant mountain views and some of the higher concentrations of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) the state has found to date in groundwater. The neighbors here live under what one resident, Nathan Saunders, called the “cloud of an unknown future,” fearing how PFAS exposure may erode their health. More:

• Forever exposure, forever anxiety: Coping with the inescapable toxicity of PFAS  –  The Maine Monitor

• Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS)  –  US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
• Extinguishing the Risk of Forever Chemicals: State of the science to protect first responders  –  US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
• PFAS Analytic Tools  –  US EPA

• A Spreading Problem: How PFAS got into soils and food systems  –  The Maine Monitor
• Toxic water in Fairfield - Part one  –  Wabi5
• Toxic Water in Fairfield: Part two  –  Wabi5
• As hunting season ramps up, state officials broaden testing for ‘forever chemicals’ in fish and wildlife  –  CentralMaine.com

• Study identifies potentially harmful substances in household dust  –  Yale School of Public Health
• Prevalence and Implications of Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) in Settled Dust (Research article)
• The Air That We Breathe: Neutral and Volatile PFAS in Indoor Air (Research abstract)
• Inhalation risks of wind-blown dust from biosolid-applied agricultural lands: Are they enriched with microplastics and PFAS? (Research abstract)
• Scientists say ‘forever chemicals’ may be contaminating 57,000 US sites  –  The Hill

• Another Pathway for Firefighter Exposure to Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances: Firefighter Textiles (Research abstract)
• Professional ski waxers' exposure to PFAS and aerosol concentrations in gas phase and different particle size fractions (Research abstract)
• Occupational Exposure to Airborne Perfluorinated Compounds during Professional Ski Waxing (Research abstract)

• Toxicological Profile for Perfluoroalkyls (download PDF) (Report)  –  US ATSDR
• Per‐ and Polyfluoroalkyl Substance Toxicity and Human Health Review: Current State of Knowledge and Strategies for Informing Future Research (Research article)
• Half-lives of PFOS, PFHxS and PFOA after end of exposure to contaminated drinking water (Research article)
• Evaluating the effects of living with contamination from the lens of trauma: a case study of fracking development in Alberta, Canada (Research article)

• Resolve, To Protect Consumers of Public Drinking Water (download PDF) (Legal document)  –  State of Maine
• Deer Consumption Advisory  –  Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife
• The slow path to eliminating PFAS in firefighting foam  –  The Main Monitor
• USSS Announces Fluorinated Wax Policy for 2021/2022 Season  –  FasterSkier
• Stricter federal guidelines on ‘forever chemicals’ in drinking water pose challenges  –  Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health

• Managing PFAS in Maine (download PDF) (Report) –  Maine PFAS Task Force
• PFAS in Deer Harveseted in the Fairfield Area, Maine (download PDF) (Report)  –  Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife / Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention
• Aqueous Film-Forming Foam (AFFF) (download PDF) (Factsheet)  –  ITRC

• Real Estate Damage Economics: The Impact of PFAS “Forever Chemicals” on Real Estate Valuation (Research article)

The mining city of La Oroya, in western-central Peru is one of the most polluted places in the world.. According to the International Federation for Human Rights, 97 per cent of La Oroya children between six months and six years of age, and 98 per cent between age seven and 12, had elevated levels of lead in their blood in 2013. More:

• Health or survival? The impossible choice facing one Peruvian mining community  –  Euronews