PFAS Central: sharing notable news, scientific papers & events
Although useful, PFAS or highly fluorinated chemicals are associated with serious health harm and can remain in the environment forever.
Latest News
Removing PFAS from public water systems will cost billions and take time – here are ways you can filter out harmful ‘forever chemicals’ at home
13 May 2024 | WMNF
Every five years, the EPA is required to choose 30 unregulated contaminants to monitor in public drinking water systems. Right now, 29 of those 30 contaminants are PFAS. The tests provide a sense of just how widespread PFAS are in water systems and where.
PFAS Explained: These Forever Chemicals Are Being Banned from a Variety of Outdoor Products. Now Gear Makers Are Scrambling
13 May 2024 | Outdoor Life
PFAS are poisoning America’s watersheds and will eventually be banned in several states. That will require the outdoor gear industry to make some major changes.
Bill that would restrict PFAS in consumer products heads to governor
9 May 2024 | Vermont Public
The Vermont Legislature gave its final approval Tuesday to a bill that restricts toxic so-called "forever chemicals" in a suite of commercial goods.
Cancer-causing chemicals ban signed into law
8 May 2024 | Coloradoan
On May 1, Colorado Gov. Jared Polis signed SB24-081 Perfluoroalkyl and Polyfluoroalkyl Chemicals (PFAS), which will now prohibit the sale or distribution of certain products containing PFAS in a gradual product phaseout beginning Jan. 1, 2025, and continuing through 2028.
Republicans approve spending $36M opioid settlement money but again shut down PFAS talks
7 May 2024 | Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Republicans on the state's powerful budget committee approved their own plan for how to spend money received from opioid settlements and again refused to take up funding for addressing PFAS in a meeting Tuesday.
Latest Science
Can Bees Detect Perfluorooctane Sulfonate (PFOS)?
9 May 2024 | Environ Toxicol Chem
Bee behavior testing revealed that bees avoid syrup spiked with high levels of PFOS when given a choice between contaminated and uncontaminated food. This may have implications for bee health, pollination, and human health as PFOS has been detected in honey.
Total and Class-Specific Determination of Fluorinated Compounds in Consumer and Food Packaging Samples Using Fluorine-19 Solid-State Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy
8 May 2024 | Anal Chem
Hamburger wrapping paper was tested for PFAS using total organic fluorine (TOF) and fluorine-19 solid-state nuclear magnetic resonance (19F ss-NMR) spectroscopy, revealing limitations in TOF's accuracy due to extraction variability and highlighting the abilities of 19F ss-NMR to directly detect PFAS in food packaging.
Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) and fetal growth: A nation-wide register-based study on PFAS in drinking water
8 May 2024 | Environ Int
A nationwide study in Sweden found no clear link between maternal exposure to certain PFAS during pregnancy and newborn birthweight or risk of being small-for-gestational-age, but did find a slight increase in the risk of being large-for-gestational-age, particularly associated with PFOS.
Unregulated contaminants in drinking water: Evidence from PFAS and housing prices
6 May 2024 | JEEM
Public awareness of unregulated PFAS contamination in drinking water significantly decreases property values of affected homes, potentially exacerbating environmental inequality through residential sorting.
[Report] Ronneby PFAS Research Programme
6 May 2024
A decade of research on PFAS exposure through drinking water in a Swedish municipality confirms known risks like elevated cholesterol and kidney cancer while uncovering new ones such as osteoporosis fractures, diabetes, PCOS, and language disorders in children, highlighting the need for further investigation.
Latest Policy
SB24-081 Perfluoroalkyl & Polyfluoroalkyl Chemicals
13 May 2024
This law will phase out the sale and distribution of certain products and product categories in the state of Colorado that contain intentionally added PFAS chemicals.
[Public Comment] Filing of Food Additive Petition From Environmental Defense Fund
6 May 2024
The Food and Drug Administration is announcing that it has filed a food additive petition, submitted by Environmental Defense Fund et al., proposing that the food additive regulations be amended to remove fluorinated polyethylene.
US polluters will pay for PFAS contamination cleanup following EPA ruling
24 Apr 2024
Michael S Regan, EPA administrator, said: “Designating these chemicals under our Superfund authority will allow EPA to address more contaminated sites, take earlier action, and expedite cleanups, all while ensuring polluters pay for the costs to clean up pollution threatening the health of communities.”
Congress introduces ‘non-essential’ PFAS ban bill
24 Apr 2024
The legislation would give manufacturers 10 years to phase out the use of forever chemicals in production.
Biden-Harris Administration Finalizes Critical Rule to Clean up PFAS Contamination to Protect Public Health
19 Apr 2024
EPA action designates two widely used PFAS as hazardous substances under the Superfund law, improving transparency and accountability to clean up PFAS contamination in communities.
Opportunities
[Job for California College/University Students] Graduate Student Assistant - Environmental Health
Event: 16 Jun 2024
The California Department of Public Health is seeking to hire a graduate-level student to fill one paid student intern position.
[Job] Research Associate - Michigan State University
Event: 1 Apr 2025
The Department of Food Science and Human Nutrition seeks a Research Associate (Postdoctoral Researcher) to work in Dr. Courtney Carignan’s research program.
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