For more than 20 years, the eastern Michigan town of Lapeer sent leftover sludge from its sewage treatment plant to area farms, supplying them with high-quality, free fertilizer while avoiding the expense of disposal elsewhere. But state inspectors ordered a halt to the practice in 2017 after learning the material was laced with one of the potentially harmful chemicals known collectively as PFAS, which are turning up in drinking water and some foods across the U.S. More:

• Concerns grow over tainted sewage sludge spread on croplands  –  BDN Maine

As a Pentagon task force looks into unsafe drinking water on its installations, a new list of Army posts has been added to the roster of bases where per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances have been found in ground water recently. More:

• These 90 Army posts have contaminated drinking water  –  MilitaryTimes
• Here’s an updated map of military sites where DoD found cancer-causing chemicals in the drinking water  –  MilitaryTimes
• Drinking Water Health Advisories for PFOA and PFOS  –  US EPA

A report from the National Wildlife Federation report is urging state governors and lawmakers in Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and New York to take steps to address the growing issue of PFAS in the Great Lakes. The report says state action is crucial. More:

• National Wildlife Federation report urges state lawmakers to take action on PFAS  –  Michigan Radio
• Basic Information on PFAS  –  US EPA

Jamie DeWitt, a pharmacology and toxicology professor at East Carolina University’s Brody School of Medicine, said the first thing parents should know about PFAS is that children are especially sensitive to such contaminants because their bodies are developing. More:

• What toxicologist says parents should know about PFAS exposure  –  MLive
• Michigan eyes toughest limits for some PFAS in drinking water  –  MLive
• PFAS Test and Response Kit  –  Freshwater Future
• PFAS Sampling Guidance  –  Michigan.gov
• In-Home Water Filtration Systems for PFAS Reduction  –  Michigan.gov

Denmark will ban the use of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in paper and cardboard used in food packaging within the next year under a proposal from the country's Ministry of Environment and Food. More:

• Denmark to ban PFAS in food packaging  –  EHN
• Denmark Moves To Ban Harmful PFAS Chemicals In Food Packaging  –  Huffpost
• Denmark just became the first country to ban PFAS 'forever chemicals' from food packaging  –  CNN
• Denmark to ban PFAS in paper & board in 2020  –  Food Packaging Forum
• Coop Denmark bans PFAS in cosmetics  –  Food Packaging Forum

Our results show that, starting in the foetal stage, where we live, the food we eat, the air we breathe and the chemical compounds that reach our bodies can affect blood pressure before adolescence,” said study lead author Charline Warembourg. “This is important because evidence shows that children with high blood pressure are more likely to be hypertensive as adults." Among childhood exposures, higher concentrations of copper and perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) – a compound used in non-stick pots and clothing – were found to lead to higher blood pressure. More:

• Many environmental exposures linked to high blood pressure in children  –  earth.com
• Early-Life Environmental Exposures and Blood Pressure in Children (Research abstract)

Wells of nearly two dozen Southern California water agencies have reportable levels of PFAS, a chemical family increasingly linked to cancer, liver and kidney damage, thyroid disease, high cholesterol, low fertility, low birth weight and ulcerative colitis. More:

• PFAS toxins found in drinking water throughout Southern California  –  Orange County Register

Flame retardants are present in thousands of everyday items, from clothing to furniture to electronics. Although these substances can help prevent fire-related injuries and deaths, they could have harmful effects on human health and the environment. Of particular concern are those known as organohalogens, which are derived from petroleum. Today, scientists report potentially less toxic, biodegradable flame retardants from an unlikely source: plants. More..

• Flame retardants—from plants  –  Phys.org
• Why kids may be at risk from vinyl floors and fire-resistant couches  –  ScienceNews
• Flame Retardant Derived From Plants  –  The Virginia Engineer

In the late 1980s, the Council of Northeast Governors (CONEG) was concerned that heavy metals in packaging would accumulate in recycled materials to levels that presented serious health concerns. The organization drafted model legislation that prohibited the intentional addition of mercury, lead, cadmium and hexavalent chromium to any component of packaging, including inks. It also set a 100 parts-per-million limit on the total amount of these four heavy metals. More..

• Toxic chemicals can enter food through packaging, so we made a list  –  GreenBiz
• Walmart steps up on recycling efforts – but a gap remains in the circular economy conversation  –  EDF+Business
• The Toxics in Packaging Clearinghouse  –  Toxics in Packaging
• Food Packaging Product Stewardship Considerations FSAP  –  FSAP
• Evaluating Perfluoroalkyl Acids in Composts with Compostable Food Serviceware Products in their Feedstocks (Research article)

Defenders of the chemicals known as PFAS have seized upon an industry-funded study of cancer patients as evidence that PFOA, the compound used to make Teflon, firefighting foam, and many other products, isn’t as dangerous as it seems. More:

• Industry cites 3M research on cancer patients exposed to PFOA to claim the chemical isn’t so bad – The Intercept

Chemical giant and Teflon maker Chemours has quietly stopped making some non-stick coatings used in disposable food packaging amid public debate about their health effects. The DuPont spinoff said it no longer manufactures three products containing PFAS, or per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, in the U.S. or globally that were applied to paper food packaging to resist oil and grease. More:

• Exclusive: Maker of 'forever chemicals' cuts food packaging products – Politico

Millions of people have eaten out of them: Molded fiber bowls, the popular food containers from restaurants like Chipotle and Sweetgreen. They are supposed to be compostable and environmentally friendly, but some public health experts say the chemicals that allow these bowls to hold hot, wet, and greasy foods without falling apart are toxic to both the environment and you. The chemicals are called per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, more commonly referred to as PFAS. More:

• PFAS chemicals in food: Experts Questions & Answers – WebMD

The biggest culinary star of the past five years isn’t a chef, or a restaurant group. It’s a bowl, a humble piece of take-out packaging that’s taken the world of commercial foodservice by storm, rising so quickly that few have noted its troubling secret. [...] Once molded fiber manufacturers have mashed raw plant-based fibers—typically processed sugarcane, but also cornstalks, sorghum, or recycled newspaper—into a pulp, PFAS is added in a process called a “wet-end” application. More:

• The bowls at Chipotle and Sweetgreen are supposed to be compostable. They contain cancer-linked “forever chemicals”  –  New Food Economy
• Whole Foods Ranked Worst on Cancer-Linked Package Chemicals  –  Bloomberg
• Study: PFAS in Food Packaging  –  Toxic-Free Future
• Fluorinated Compounds in U.S. Fast Food Packaging (Research article)
• Quantitative determination of perfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in soil, water, and home garden produce (Research article)
• Total Fluorine Measurements in Food Packaging: How Do Current Methods Perform? (Research article)

Environmental and children’s health advocates breathed a sigh of relief when, over a decade ago, U.S. manufacturers began to phase out a number of flame retardant chemicals from furniture, electronics, textiles and other everyday items. Polybrominated diphenyl ethers, or PBDEs, were facing increasing scrutiny for impacts on children’s brain development, hormone disruption, reduced fertility, and other adverse health effects, as well as for their ubiquity in the environment and persistence in the food chain. More:

• Why are harmful flame-retardant chemicals still showing up in children’s toys?  –  Ensia
• What are we doing to our children’s brains- A look at chemical exposure  –  Ensia

Human exposure and health effects

• An assessment of sources and pathways of human exposure to polybrominated diphenyl ethers in the United States (Research article)
• A perspective on the potential health risks of PBDEs (Research article)
• Polybrominated Diphenyl Ethers (PBDEs): New Pollutants-Old Diseases (Research article)

Toxics in recycled plastics

• Poisoning Our Goods: Toxics in Recycled Plastics  –  IPEN
• Downsides of the recycling process: Harmful organic chemicals in children's toys (Research article)
• Black plastics: Linear and circular economies, hazardous additives and marine pollution (Research article)

The resident orcas of British Columbia's South Coast have no natural enemies, but the toxins in their environment are creating unnatural threats that could wipe out the entire population of the Salish Sea's top predator, scientists say. The southern residents are the marine mammals most contaminated by polychlorinated biphenyls (PCB) on the planet. More:

• How toxic food and toxic water could be killing the killer whales  –  CBC
• Long-banned toxin may wipe out many killer whales  –  Science
• Predicting global killer whale population collapse from PCB pollution (Research article)

In 1979, veterinarians started noticing a mysterious, sharp rise in thyroid disease among house cats. The increase, which has jumped from 1 in 200 to 1 in 10 since the 1970s, was recently linked to a class of flame retardants called polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs). The chemicals featured in many household items — from mattresses and makeup to couches and carpets — were phased out starting in 2004. More:

• This everyday chemical was cast aside. Its replacement might be making cats sick  –  PBS
• The Mystery of the Wasting House-Cats  –  The New York Times
• Technical Fact sheet – Polybrominated Diphenyl Ethers (PBDEs)  –  US EPA

As industry phases out certain toxic PFAS chemicals, the compounds are decreasing in and around the Great Lakes, but replacement chemicals—which some argue also pose serious health concerns—are increasing, according to new research from Canada. More:

• “Forever chemical” replacements on the rise in the Great Lakes  –  EHN
• PFAS Basics  –  PFAS Central
• Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) in Drinking Water –  Michigan.gov

PFAS monitoring

• PFAS Contamination Crisis  –  EWG-Interactive Map
• Perfluoroalkyl Acids in Great Lakes Precipitation and Surface Water (2006–2018) Indicate Response to Phase-outs, Regulatory Action, and Variability in Fate and Transport Processes (Research article)

Fluorinated alternatives

• Fluorinated Alternatives: Myths versus Facts  –  Green Science Policy
• Short-chain perfluoroalkyl acids: environmental concerns and a regulatory strategy under REACH (Research article)

Paris Dauk’s left arm lies close to her chest, reminiscent of how a bird bears a broken wing. She’s talkative and has a propensity to fill her face, itself marked by abnormal growths, with a toothy grin. Yet while the bird’s wing may eventually heal, Dauk’s limb will not, remaining forever crumpled, underdeveloped, and, ultimately, deformed. More:

• The U.S.’s Toxic Agent Orange Legacy  –  The Atlantic
• The day ‘the sky became smoke white’  –  Phnom Penh Post
• Facts About Herbicides  –  US Veteran Affairs
• The U.S. Military and the Herbicide Program in Vietnam  –  NCBI Bookshelf
• The extent and patterns of usage of Agent Orange and other herbicides in Vietnam (Research article)

Agent Orange

• Agent Orange  –  History.com
• Agent Orange and U.S. Veterans  –  The Aspen Institute
• The Agent Orange Data Warehouse  –  Worker Veteran Health

Human Health Effects

• Veterans' Diseases Associated with Agent Orange  –  US Veteran Affairs
• Birth Defects in Children of Vietnam and Korea Veterans  –  US Veteran Affairs
• The Children of Agent Orange  –  ProPublica
• Agent Orange effects being seen in grandchildren of Vietnam War veterans  –  CBS17

New Hampshire adopted the country’s most sweeping limits for PFAS chemical contamination in drinking water. The new standards make New Hampshire the first state to require local water systems, landfills and wastewater plants to routinely test and treat for four chemicals classified as PFAS. More:

• N.H. Approves Unprecedented Limits For PFAS Chemicals In Drinking Water  –  NHPR
• N.H. Sharply Lowers Proposed PFAS Water Limits, Now Among Nation’s Strictest  –  NHPR

'Most people assume that they aren't at risk from toxic chemicals but the reality is different. Mums in the UK have some of the world's highest concentrations of flame retardants in their breast milk, some of which have now been banned. In their report, called Toxic Chemicals in Everyday Life, the MPs on the Commons environmental audit committee examine the human health impact of chemicals. More:

• Unborn children at risk of being 'pre-polluted' in the womb by poisonous chemicals in furniture  –  Daily Mail
• Report: Toxic Chemicals in Everyday Life  –  UK House of Commons Environmental Audit Committee