Potentially harmful chemicals found in Tokyoites’ blood

The Japan Times | February 1, 2023

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“A Tokyo citizens group said Monday it has detected high concentrations of potentially harmful substances known as PFAS in some western Tokyo residents’ blood…

…Speaking at a news conference, the group said PFAS are found in foam extinguishers used on U.S. military bases but said it was unclear whether the findings had any relation to Yokota Air Base, a U.S. Air Force installation located in the Tama area of western Tokyo.

The group began carrying out tests in November to determine the source of the contamination. The tests involved 87 people, mostly residents of Kokubunji and some from other cities, such as Kodaira, Koganei and Musashino.

According to its interim results, 21 of them were found to have exceeded acceptable levels of PFOS in their bloodstream. Six of the 21 also had unacceptable levels of PFOA.

The highest detected concentration of PFOS was 35.8 nanograms and 18.6 ng for PFOA. The German standard per milliliter for each chemical is 20 ng and 10 ng, respectively.

‘The concentration is evidently high for some residents,’ Harada said. ‘That leads one to think potable water is the main cause of it.’

Harada had also previously detected PFAS in residents’ bloodstreams in the vicinity of a U.S. base in Okinawa Prefecture.”…

This content provided by the PFAS Project.