Copy
View this email in your browser
- What's New with PFAS - November 2020
Participants of the Second National PFAS Conference at Northeastern University (June 2019)
About SSEHRI's PFAS lab group:
 
The mission of the Social Science Environmental Health Research Institute is to conduct social science-oriented research, teaching, community engagement, and policy work in the area of environmental health.  

SSEHRI's NSF-funded research investigates the discovery and re-discovery of per- and polyfluorinated chemicals (or PFASs), a class of carbon-fluorine-based chemicals widely used in industrial production and found in numerous consumer products.  Exposure to certain PFASs has been linked to various human health effects, including immunodeficiencies, thyroid disorders, elevated cholesterol, birth defects, and some cancers. This project seeks to understand the confluence of actors and conditions necessary for the periodic discoveries of the health and environmental impacts of these chemicals.  Additionally, this project will focus on how selected contamination episodes have impacted the awareness, regulation and research related to this class of chemicals.

Read  more  about the PFAS  project  on our website.


This newsletter will provide a periodic overview of the latest developments in PFAS science, regulation, events, and activism. It features contributions (in no particular order) from various PFAS-related research groups, advocacy organizations, and  community activist groups; along with highlights in PFAS news media. Many thanks to our collaborators for their great work!

Queries and suggestions can be directed to our email: pfasproject@gmail.com
 
Join the mailing list for this newsletter here.
 
UPDATES FROM THE FIELD:
 
SSEHRI Update
by Lauren Richter
Lauren Richter, Phil Brown, and Alissa cordner recently published an article in Sociological Perspectives titled "Producing Ignorance Through Regulatory Structure: The Case of Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS)." This article asks what the PFAS crisis reveals about U.S. chemical regulatory frameworks, in particular, why is it that the discovery of the adverse health effects of certain PFAS have come about through lay identified animal die-offs and observable clusters of cancers? We go back to the original development of the Toxic Substances Control Act, and review testimonies of people involved in developing the law. We find that the chemical industry exerted tremendous pressure on the formulation of this law, and many attribute the law's weakness to industry influence in the 1970s. We then talk to a range of stakeholders to understand how TSCA operates today, what challenges it poses to regulators, scientists, and community members. We find that ignorance of PFAS chemicals - which are in use, where they are used, what their human health and environmental effects may be - magnify over time and space. We find that it is important to understand the discovery of ubiquitous PFAS contamination is not surprising given the structure of TSCA, and the remarkable discretion it affords the chemical industry from decisions regarding production, to optional testing and trade secret claims, to formulating their own solutions to global-scale problems. We call for more precautionary and science-driven approaches to chemical regulation, centered on independent and adequately-funded regulatory science.
 

by Martha Powers
 
In light of the current COVID-19 pandemic and the many risks facing communities, scientists are starting to consider whether those with higher exposure to PFAS may be more vulnerable to COVID-19, as there is growing evidence that PFAS can aff­ect the immune system by suppressing its ability to make antibodies critical to fighting infectious diseases. The PFAS-REACH team put together a resource about the current state of the science for the PFAS Exchange website.
by Kayla Williams, Communications Coordinator & Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Lead

Clean Production Action's GreenScreen Certified™ Firefighting Foam is the first ecolabel for PFAS-free firefighting foam products. The certification prohibits the use of PFAS. You can find certified firefighting foam products on our website!

 Additionally, the informal multi-stakeholder group "Charting a Path to PFAS Solutions in Food Service Ware and Packaging" (an initiative of the Center for Environmental Health, Clean Production Action, San Francisco Department of the Environment, and Cancer Free Economy Network) recently released a short guide for PFAS testing methods. You can find this and other useful resources created by the group here.

Military Poisons
by Pat Elder
Maryland, My Maryland 
Citizens must test the water at these bases for deadly PFAS

 

Last month the Maryland Department of the Environment released a report  that found no cause for alarm regarding the presence of PFAS in the St. Mary’s River and its oysters near a navy base that dumped the substances into the water during routine fire-fighting exercises. 

The chemicals, per - and poly fluoroalkyl substances, are linked to cancer and fetal abnormalities.

The St. Mary’s River Pilot Study of PFAS Occurrence in Surface Water and Oysters concluded that although PFAS is present in tidal waters of the St. Mary’s River, the concentrations are “significantly below risk based recreational use screening criteria and oyster consumption site-specific screening criteria.”

Read the full article here 

Joint Base Andrews Contaminates Maryland Rivers and Creeks with PFAS 
 

The Air Force has contaminated the groundwater at Joint Base Andrews with 39,700 parts per trillion of PFAS chemicals according to a report released by the Air Force in May, 2018.  This is not exactly “Breaking News” although few know about it.

The base pollutes the Patuxent and Potomac rivers.  Groundwater from numerous sites on base where PFAS-laden foams were used move east toward the Patuxent as well as west toward the Potomac. Meanwhile, surface water from the base travels to Piscataway Creek, Cabin Branch Creek, Henson Creek, and Meetinghouse Branch, emptying waters to both rivers.   Andrews, the “Home of Air Force 1” is the only base in the state known to poison both the Patuxent and the Potomac.

PFAS may travel for miles. It contaminates fish and sickens people who consume it.  

Read the full article here

 

Do Not Eat the Fish

Seafood often contains high levels of toxic PFAS.

PFAS (per- and poly fluoroalkyl substances) used in firefighting foams on military installations in the Chesapeake Bay watershed have contaminated the seafood taken from these waters. The toxic foams have been allowed to seep into the ground and surface water to poison aquatic life.

Read the full article here

Poisoning the Pacific

by Jon Mitchell

Poisoning the Pacific (Rowman & Littlefield) reveals how seven decades of military operations have exposed more than 600,000 Chamorro, Marshallese and Okinawans to toxic substances including radioactive fallout, leaks of chemical weapons and Agent Orange. Throughout the Cold War, the Western Pacific was used to test, store and dump weapons of mass destruction; contamination from these munitions continues to render large areas of the region uninhabitable today.
 

One of the most recent problems is PFAS-contamination from military firefighting foam. Documents I obtained via the US Freedom of Information Act show how Kadena Air Force Base has polluted the

drinking water for 450,000 Japanese residents. The US military is refusing to take responsibility and denies access to Japanese officials to inspect the source of contamination. The book reveals how lax safety procedures at US bases have caused PFAS contamination throughout Japan, particularly in the poorest prefecture, Okinawa. 


All too often, military – and industrial – pollution impacts marginalized peoples the worst. I hope Poisoning the Pacific will help to raise awareness and ultimately help to secure environmental justice for communities which have been contaminated in the Pacific region.


IN THE NEWS:

Regulation

Colorado enacts multiple laws to stop 'forever chemicals' (The Gazette)

 

Massachusetts Finalizes Drinking Water Standard for PFAS (The National Law Review)
 

Did The White House Stop The EPA From Regulating PFAS? (The Intercept)
 

California Law Bans Toxic PFAS From Firefighting Foam (EWG)
 

Slotkin Introduces Bipartisan Bill to Strengthen PFAS Testing in Military Servicemembers, Families (Rep. Elissa Slotkin)
 

FDA Delays Setting Limits on PFAS in Bottled Water (Consumer Reports)


Testing


Public Water Testing For N.H. State PFAS Chemical Limits To Begin After Year-Long Delay (New Hampshire Public Radio)

Ohio EPA Detects PFAS in Aullwood Audubon Farm Discovery Center Public Water System (Ohio EPA)

 

DNR orders tests for 'forever chemicals' in fish harvested from Marinette, Peshtigo areas near firefighting foam facility (Milwaukee Journal Sentinel)

Michigan PFAS activist says blood testing probably saved her life (MLive)

Research

Emerging per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in human milk from Sweden and China (Royal Society of Chemistry)

 

Study: More Than 200 Million Americans Could Have Toxic PFAS in Their Drinking Water (EWG)
 

Duke study finds high PFAS levels in Pittsboro residents’ blood (North Carolina Health News)


Other News
 

Citizen Excellence: Sandy Wynn-Stelt receives EPA award for efforts to combat PFAS (Great Lakes Now)
 

Phasing out is not enough — the problem with fluorinated chemicals in wildlife (The Hill)
 

Attorney General Josh Stein Takes Legal Action Against DuPont Over PFAS Pollution (NC DOJ)
 

South Jersey company confirms use of unregulated replacement for toxic chemical (NJ Spotlight News)
 

PFAS chemicals reach remote oceans and accumulate in whales, dolphins, and other ocean life (Massive Science)
 

New report underscores cost impact of PFAS on POTWs, biosolids facilities (Water Finance & Management)
 

Biden EPA Transition Team member Helped DuPont Dodge Responsibility for PFOA (The Intercept)

© 2018 PER- AND POLYFLUOROALKYL SUBSTANCES

Contact us:
pfasproject@gmail.com

Want to change how you receive these emails?
You can
update your preferences or unsubscribe from this list.

 






This email was sent to <<Email Address>>
why did I get this?    unsubscribe from this list    update subscription preferences
Northeastern University Social Science Environmental Health Research Institute · 1165 Tremont Street · Boston, Ma 02115 · USA

Email Marketing Powered by Mailchimp