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
Chemical trade group sues EPA over ‘forever chemical’ advisory
8 Aug 2022 | The Hill
A trade group representing American chemical manufacturers has filed a lawsuit against the EPA over new nonbinding advisories for so-called toxic “forever chemicals.”
‘They all knew’: textile company misled regulators about use of toxic PFAS, documents show
5 Aug 2022 | The Guardian
A French industrial fabric producer that poisoned drinking water supplies with PFAS “forever chemicals” across 65 sq miles of southern New Hampshire misled regulators about the amount of toxic substance it used.
Massive Quantities of PFAS Waste Go Unreported to EPA
5 Aug 2022 | The Intercept
US Ecology failed to report more than 11 million pounds of PFAS-contaminated waste at its facility in Beatty, Nevada.
23 more Mass. firefighters – file suit over PFAS in gear, foam
4 Aug 2022 | Telegram & Gazette
The lawsuit, like an earlier suit brought by nearly a dozen city firefighters, alleges that PFAS in turnout gear and/or firefighting foam was a ‘substantial factor and proximate cause’ of their cancers and related complications.
Pollution: 'Forever chemicals' in rainwater exceed safe levels
2 Aug 2022 | BBC
New research shows that rainwater in most locations on Earth contains levels of chemicals that "greatly exceed" safety levels.
Latest Science
Influence of microplastics on the photodegradation of perfluorooctane sulfonamide (FOSA)
8 Aug 2022 | Res. J. Environ. Sci.
Microplastics could act as PFAS concentrators, making the PFAS more resistant to degradation.
Neurotransmission Targets of Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substance Neurotoxicity: Mechanisms and Potential Implications for Adverse Neurological Outcomes
3 Aug 2022 | Chem Res Toxicol
PFAS may be neurotoxic and is associated with chronic and age-related psychiatric illnesses and neurodegenerative diseases.
Outside the Safe Operating Space of a New Planetary Boundary for Per-and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS)
2 Aug 2022 | ES&T
PFAS have been detected at unsafe levels in rain globally, leading to the conclusions that the spread of PFOS, PFOA, PFHxS, and PFNA in the atmosphere has exceeded levels of concern for chemical pollution and that PFAS uses and emissions should be rapidly restricted.
The Association of Per-and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances Serum Levels and Allostatic Load by Country of Birth and the Length of Time in the United States
1 Aug 2022 | Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health
Foreign-born individuals tend to have higher levels of serum PFAS the longer they stay in the United States.
Uptake of individual and mixed per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) by soybean and their effects on functional genes related to nitrification, denitrification, and nitrogen fixation
29 Jul 2022 | Sci. Total Environ.
The synergistic effect of a PFAS mixture increased the uptake of individual PFAS in soybeans, which led to changes in genes involved in the nitrogen cycle.
Latest Policy
How Colorado is preventing PFAS contamination from the oil and gas industry
4 Aug 2022
In June, Colorado became the first state to ban the use of PFAS during oil and gas extraction — and now, in light of recent research finding the potential for widespread contamination, some are calling for a similar ban in Pennsylvania.
Sarbanes Introduces Legislation to Better Identify and Mitigate PFAS Health Risks
1 Aug 2022
This legislation would enable the U.S. EPA to accurately identify and track more of the large class of toxic substances commonly known as PFAS.
Rhode Island PFAS Regulations Become Law
1 Aug 2022
On June 27, 2022, Rhode Island passed two new laws into effect that regulate six types of PFAS in food packaging, drinking water, ground water, surface waters, and landfills.
Doctors should test levels of PFAS in people at high risk, report says
28 Jul 2022
On Thursday, the prestigious National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine strode into the fray with a 300-plus-page report providing detailed advice for clinicians on how to test, diagnose and treat the millions of Americans who may have been exposed to PFAS.
Three Lawsuits Aim to Shape EPA’s Use of Chemical Test Orders
22 Jul 2022
Rulings in three lawsuits that challenge the EPA’s use of its burgeoning authority to order chemical manufacturers to generate information on their products are poised to offer insights into the agency’s implementation of power that it’s only begun to use the last few years, attorneys say.
Opportunities
Request for Information: Identifying critical data gaps and needs to inform federal strategic plan for PFAS Research and Development
Posted: 13 Jul 2022
The Office of Science and Technology Policy requests input from all interested parties to identify data gaps in research and development regarding several aspects of PFAS.
Request for information by FDA on fluorinated polyethylene containers
Posted: 20 Jul 2022
FDA is seeking scientific data and information on current food contact uses of fluorinated polyethylene, consumer dietary exposure that may result from those uses, and safety of certain PFAS that may migrate from fluorinated polyethylene food containers.
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