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
New contamination at an infamous N.J. chemical plant has scientists worried
12 Jul 2020 | NJ News
Along the Delaware River in South Jersey, where heavy industry has long contributed to polluted water, air and ground, scientists have raised the alarm over a new contamination.
Boron nitride destroys PFAS ‘forever’ chemicals PFOA, GenX
7 Jul 2020 | EurekAlert
Rice University chemical engineers found an efficient catalyst for destroying PFAS "forever" chemicals where they least expected.
Op-ed: PFAS chemicals—the other immune system threat
6 Jul 2020 | Environmental Health News
Exposure to PFAS suppresses the ability of the immune system to make antibodies—the part of the immune system critically important in fighting COVID-19 and other infectious agents.
Widespread PFAS chemical pollution will likely make COVID-19 worse
5 Jul 2020 | Massive Science
These common household and industrial chemicals impair immune system function.
Does PFAS exposure make you more vulnerable to coronavirus? Senators want a study to find out
1 Jul 2020 | Courier Times
U.S. Sen. Bob Casey was part of a group of 19 senators to write to the secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Service Alex Azar last week to inquire about whether the potential connection between PFAS exposure and COVID-19 was being “thoroughly examined.
Latest Science
Are feathers of a songbird model species (the great tit: ) suitable for monitoring perfluoroalkyl acids (PFAAs) in blood plasma?
14 Jul 2020 | Environ. Sci. Technol.
Results suggest that feathers cannot be used to estimate PFOA and PFOS concentrations in blood plasma, except when there is a great deal of variation in pollutant concentrations among sites/individual birds.
Accumulation of six PFAS compounds by woody and herbaceous plants: potential for phytoextraction.
14 Jul 2020 | Int J Phytoremediation
PFPeA, PFHxA, PFOA, PFBS, PFHxS, and PFOS were successfully remediated using herbaceous and woody plant species.
Perfluoroalkyl, fluorotelomer sulfonate, and perfluorooctane sulfonamide contamination in biosolids: Composition, co-contamination and re-use implication
13 Jul 2020 | Env. Poll.
Biosolids from 12 wastewater treatment plants across Australia were collected and analyzed for their PFAS concentrations.
Spatial profiles of perfluoroalkyl substances and mercury in fish from northern Lake Victoria, East Africa
13 Jul 2020 | Chemosphere
Trophic magnification is a key factor in the PFAS and MeHg+ spatial profiles.
Efficient Photocatalytic PFOA Degradation over Boron Nitride
13 Jul 2020 | ES&T L
Boron nitride was found to efficiently defluorinate PFAS when combined with UV light.
Latest Policy
Whitmer signs bills regulating PFAS foam use at Michigan fire stations
8 Jul 2020
Fire departments would have 48 hours to tell state regulators about the use of a chemical-based firefighting foam type that’s caused drinking water contamination around Michigan under legislation signed into law
[Press Release] Blumenthal, Slotkin, Shaheen & Turner Introduce Bicameral, Bipartisan Legislation to Reduce PFAS Exposure Among Servicemembers & Military Families
7 Jul 2020
U.S. Senators Richard Blumenthal and Jeanne Shaheen and U.S. Representatives Elissa Slotkin and Mike Turner (R-OH) introduced bipartisan legislation to reduce exposure of servicemembers and their families to harmful PFAS chemicals.
Will Congress finally address toxic 'forever chemicals?'
30 Jun 2020
The haunting folk song refrain, “When will we ever learn?” could apply well to the reckless manufacture of a class of harmful chemicals called PFAS.
Filling gaps in science exposes gaps in chemical regulation
24 Jun 2020
The regulation of chemicals should protect public health and the environment from undue risk of harm, should promote the development and use of safer alternatives to more hazardous chemicals, and should provide the public with sufficient information to understand how well chemical risks are being managed.
ECHA’s committees recommend restricting a subgroup of PFAS
17 Jun 2020
The Committee for Socio-economic Analysis (SEAC) supported Norway’s proposal to restrict the use of perfluorohexane-1-sulphonic acid (PFHxS) to prevent it being used as a regrettable substitute for another 'forever chemical' PFOA, which will be banned from July onwards.
Opportunities
Five European member states are launching a “call for evidence” for a comprehensive PFAS restriction
Posted: 11 May 2020
All stakeholders are invited to fill out the questionnaire before July 31, 2020
FLUOROS 2020: An International Symposium on Fluorinated Compounds and Their Impacts on Human and Environmental Health
Event: 13 Oct 2020
An opportunity for unbiased and multidisciplinary exchange of information regarding the latest developments and scientific advances on PFAS. Participants will share the latest knowledge and resources concerning the environmental and biomedical advances on PFAS and their work towards minimizing both human exposure and environmental effects related to PFAS.
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