@Johncdvorak @adam
#TravisAirForceBase is a superfund site, it's incredibly polluted with a myriad of chemicals. Look @ this list https://archive.ph/ET63A

Declared a #superfund site in '89 but delayed cleanup till '18, & is on going.

The groundwater is polluted for miles around the base.

FOTM #pollutant is #PFAS #foreverchemicals is present.

My take is that these billionaires want the govt to clean up the land on the tax payers dime. They've been buying the land around #Travis for a while.

#PSA: #PFAS/ #foreverchemicals are bad and we should eliminate them as much as possible. But remember that #PFTE or #Teflon is also a forever chemical. But for some reason pans with teflon coating and sprays containing PFTE particles are still legal to sell... 🤔

Buy cast iron/stainless steel or enameled cookware and learn to maintain it. It really isn't that hard.

New European study found that 90% of so-called #ecofriendly #paperstraws contain #foreverchemicals compounds that don’t or barely break down & can accumulate in our bodies, leading to health problems. Findings R consistent w results from recent US study. “Forever chemicals” is colloquial name given to class of more than 12,000 chemicals formally known as poly- & perfluoroalkyl substances #PFAS that barely break down in environment or in our bodies. Hence, "forever" https://newatlas.com/health-wellbeing/90-percent-of-paper-straws-contain-pfas-compounds/

#ForeverChemicals found in 76% of #Pennsylvania #streams sampled. Scientists with the #USGS first set out in 2019 to sample 161 #waterways as a way of finding potential sources of #PFAS #contamination from 33 different compounds of the “forever chemicals." https://www.inquirer.com/science/pennsylvania-forever-chemicals-pfas-usgs-streams-20230824.html #plastics in the #water #environmental #law

Danger in the wrap
Period products could be bad
"Forever chemicals"

#periodproducts #foreverchemicals #cancerrisk #haiku #poetry

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/pfas-forever-chemicals-period-products

‘Forever Chemicals’ Are Everywhere. What Are They Doing to Us? https://www.nytimes.com/2023/08/16/magazine/pfas-toxic-chemicals.html?smid=nytcore-android-share
#PFAS
#foreverchemicals

‘#ForeverChemicals’ Are Everywhere. What Are They Doing to Us?
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/08/16/magazine/pfas-toxic-chemicals.html
#pollution #health #toxicwaste

And I recently bought period underwear, though not Thinx. I've been using tampons for decades. OB/GYNs should start checking the impact of forever chemicals are having on menstruators.

#menstruation #reproductivehealth #foreverchemicals

https://www.washingtonpost.com/wellness/2023/08/10/forever-chemicals-pfas-period-underwear-tampons/

This February, the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) in Helsinki published a proposal that could lead to the world’s largest-ever clampdown on chemicals production. The plan, put forward by environmental agencies in five countries — Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands, Norway and Sweden — would heavily restrict the manufacture of more than 12,000 substances, collectively known as forever chemicals. #ECHA #PFAS #ForeverChemicals https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-023-02444-5?utm_source=flipboard&utm_content=HariTulsidas%2Fmagazine%2FArchetypes

#PFAS are forever?

How the #ChemicalIndustry is fighting back against regulation

13.07.2023

"Corporate Europe Observatory uncovers the story of how the toxics industry is fighting back against the upcoming regulation of PFAS or 'forever chemicals', which are found in everything from frying pans to food packaging. Using access to documents requests and LobbyFacts data we show how chemical companies paint themselves as reasonable, concerned actors, whilst at the same time privately pushing hard for exemptions for their own PFAS products, and warning in dramatic terms of the economic fallout of banning them. Meanwhile the real catastrophe – the impacts on human health and the environment – as well as the costs of clean up, continue apace.

"The companies producing PFAS knew for decades about the toxicity of these chemicals, but they chose to do nothing about it. Recent academic analysis of previously secret documents from DuPont and 3M shows that companies knew PFAS were 'highly toxic when inhaled and moderately toxic when ingested' by 1970, 40 years before the public health community. The analysis further notes that the industry used several strategies also common to #tobacco, #pharma, and other industries to influence science and regulation, including 'suppressing unfavorable research and distorting public discourse'.

"According to documents analysed by the news show #Zembla, #DuPont knew 30 years ago that it was seriously contaminating the groundwater under the #Dordrecht plant in the #Netherlands and in the surrounding area with large quantities of toxic and carcinogenic PFAS. Sidenote In 2022 it was recommended not to eat vegetables or fruit coming from gardens within a one kilometre radius of this PFAS factory."

https://www.corporateeurope.org/en/pfas-are-forever

#ChemicalManufacturers #ChemicalIndustries #DowKnew #ZemblaKnew #DuPontKnew #ForeverChemicals

@glynmoody "The companies producing PFAS knew for decades about the toxicity of these chemicals, but they chose to do nothing about it. Recent academic analysis of previously secret documents from DuPont and 3M shows that companies knew PFAS were “highly toxic when inhaled and moderately toxic when ingested” by 1970, 40 years before the public health community. The analysis further notes that the industry used several strategies also common to tobacco, pharma, and other industries to influence science and regulation, including “suppressing unfavorable research and distorting public discourse”.

According to documents analysed by the news show Zembla, DuPont knew 30 years ago that it was seriously contaminating the groundwater under the Dordrecht plant in the Netherlands and in the surrounding area with large quantities of toxic and carcinogenic PFAS. Sidenote In 2022 it was recommended not to eat vegetables or fruit coming from gardens within a one kilometre radius of this PFAS factory."
#PFAS #ForeverChemicals #EU #Europe

@jotbe "Tatiana Santos, the head of chemicals policy at the European Environmental Bureau, said: 'The #EU’s failure to control harmful #chemicals is written in the contaminated blood of almost all Europeans. Every delay brings more suffering, sickness and even early deaths. The EU’s regulatory retreat could be the nail in the coffin of the European green deal, fuelling cynicism about untrustworthy elites doing deals with big #toxic lobbies, unless the commission makes good on its promise to detox products and stand up to polluters.'"
#ForeverChemicals #PFAS #ToxicChemicals #DowKnew #BASFKnew

#Chemical companies’ #PFAS payouts are huge – but the problem is even bigger

#3M, #DuPont, #Chemours and #Corteva have agreed settlement in the billions for #polluting drinking #water with ‘forever chemicals’

by Tom Perkins, Aug 3, 2023

"“When the chemical giant 3M agreed in early June to pay up to $12.5bn to settle a lawsuit over PFAS contamination in water systems across the nation, it was hailed by attorneys as 'the largest drinking water settlement in American history', and viewed as a significant win for the public in the battle against toxic 'forever chemicals'.

“A second June settlement with the PFAS manufacturers DuPont, Chemours and Corteva tallied a hefty $1.1bn. But while the sums are impressive on their face, they represent just a fraction of the estimated $400bn some estimate will be needed to clean and protect the nation’s drinking water. Orange county, California, alone put the cost of cleaning its system at $1bn.

“‘While over a billion dollars is real money, it is a virtual drop in the bucket of potential utility costs to monitor, remove and dispose of these contaminants in accordance with anticipated federal regulations,' the American Municipal Water Association trade group said in a statement.

“Moreover, the two settlements include just over 6,000 water systems nationwide. Utilities that were not part of the suits but have PFAS in their systems can claim some of the settlement money, or they can sue the chemical manufacturers on their own.

“That means the settlements only represent the first wave of utility lawsuits to hit #ChemicalManufacturers, legal observers say. Because PFAS are so widely used and the scale of their harm is so great, chemical makers will get hit from a range of legal angles, and some suspect the industry’s final bill could exceed the $200bn paid by #BigTobacco in the 1990s.

“The number will be 'very large', said Kevin McKie, an attorney with the Environmental Litigation Group who represented a water management company in the 3M case. Though the 3M settlement does not cover all the nation’s costs, it is a strong start, he added.

“‘A good settlement is one where both sides walk away a bit frustrated’ is the old saying,' McKie said. 'Of course I would have liked a bit more money but I do believe they got as much as they could at this time, and there’s a lot more to go.'

“PFAS are a class of about 15,000 compounds used to make products across dozens of industries resistant to water, stains and heat. They are called 'forever chemicals' because they do not naturally break down, and are linked to #cancer, #KidneyDisease, #liver conditions, #immune disorders, #BirthDefects and other health problems.

“The chemicals are thought to be contaminating drinking water for over 200 million Americans. Tens of thousands of contaminated #PrivateWells are not included in the settlement. The chemicals are also widely used in thousands of consumer products from #DentalFloss to #cookware to #clothing, and have been found to #contaminate #food, #soil and #air.

“PFAS constantly cycle and accumulate throughout the environment, and removing them from water is costly. The highly mobile chemicals can slip through most utilities’ filtration systems. Granular activated carbon and reverse osmosis are considered the best options.

“Leaders in Stuart, Florida, which was the bellwether case in the 3M settlement, chose to take what they could get without further litigation. Bellwethers are cases that represent all the other plaintiffs in a multi-district lawsuit. Stuart estimated damages at up to $120m, and the city acknowledged the settlement would fall short.

“‘I don’t think we’ll ever get close to that much net to the city, so I think there is no making us whole,' Stuart’s city manager told the New York Times.

“Among those utilities going at it alone is the Cape Fear Public Utility Authority (CFPUA) near Wilmington, North Carolina, which sits on the #CapeFear River about 75 miles downstream from a Chemours PFAS manufacturing plant. It cost the utility about $46m to develop a granular activated carbon system to remove PFAS, and officials estimate an additional $5m in annual operational costs.

“The utility declined to comment, citing ongoing litigation, but in a late June op-ed, the CFPUA director Kenneth Waldrop explained the motivation for not joining the settlements: 'The information currently available suggests that the proposed settlement, when divided among thousands of other utilities with similar needs, would be insufficient to meet the needs of our community.'

“The utility has a 'strong case' against Chemours which has the reserves to cover the full cost, Waldrop added. There is generally support for that approach among Wilmington-area residents, said Emily Donovan, a public health advocate who lives in the region.

“‘This is not our fault, but it has been made our problem, and the community mostly understands what’s going on,' she said.

“The settlements also drew unlikely opponents in 22 state attorneys general who urged the judge to reject the 3M settlement because it 'does not adequately account for the pernicious damage that 3M has done in so many of our communities', said the California attorney general, Rob Bonta.

“Beyond water utility settlements, chemical makers face personal injury suits. Most US states will also probably sue over #contamination of #lakes, #rivers and other #NaturalResources #Minnesota alone found eliminating PFAS contamination from its wastewater could run to $28bn.

“Local water systems that are not made whole will need help from the federal government, which 'basically abandoned public water infrastructure a long time ago', said Oday Salim, director of the Environmental Law and Sustainability Clinic at the University of Michigan.

“‘Any amount of money that gets shifted to the victims is helpful,' he added.
“The government could implement an excise tax on PFAS to help cover costs, McKie said, and he noted the chemical manufacturers are taking a significant hit. By some estimates, 3M’s PFAS liabilities may soar to as much as $30bn as claims roll in.
“‘That’s a pretty big chunk of the total size of their corporation,' McKie said."

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/aug/03/chemical-companies-pfas-payouts-forever-chemicals

#EPA #EPAFail #PFOS #WaterIsLife #ToxicWaste #ChemicalIndustries #ForeverChemicals

#Farmers Deceived About #Sewage #Sludge Safety

April 2, 2010

"On March 27th [2010] Citizens for Sludge-Free Land sent a letter to the #Virginia Department of Environmental Quality and US #EPA Region 3 that information provided to Virginia landowners about using sewage sludges as #fertilizer is deceptive. Land application permits are being granted in several Virginia counties without informing farmers of the serious risks associated with this practice. The VA code specifies, that to be valid, these permits can only be granted with the #InformedConsent of the landowner.

"The Federal #CleanWater Act defines sewage sludge as a #pollutant. Most of the pollutants that sewage treatment plants remove from wastewater concentrate in the resulting sludge. Exempt from #hazardous and solid waste laws, sludge is being spread on #agricultural land, despite mounting scientific evidence and field reports that using this contaminated waste as a cheap fertilizer is neither safe, beneficial, nor sustainable.

"The Virginia Cooperative Extension Service as well as Nutri-Blend Inc., the company that needs permits to spread sludge, are failing to provide landowners with the necessary facts, so they can make an informed decision whether or not to treat their land with sludge. The widely distributed Extension Service biosolids fact sheets-- although deceptively dated May 9, 2009-- provide out-dated, inaccurate, incomplete, and in some cases, misleading information. They overstate the alleged benefits and totally ignore the known risks and recent documented evidence of adverse health and #environmental impacts linked to sludge use. The fact sheets and brochures give the illusion that land applying sewage sludge, a complex and variable mixture of #HumanWaste and thousands of industrial #chemicals, many of which are #toxic and persistent, is a safe and normal agricultural practice.

"The information provided to landowners deceptively downplays the health risks of exposure to odors, odorant compounds, endotoxins, bacteria-laden dusts, and toxic gases at land application sites that can cause severe and permanent #lung damage. Nor are farmers told that typical sludges generated in industrialized urban areas contain not only pathogens, but also #PCBs, #dioxins, #carcinogens, #pharmaceuticals, flame retardants [#PFAS], and hormone disrupting chemicals that can damage developing organisms in parts per trillion. Many of these pollutants do not break down once they are applied to land. Worse, partial breakdown products are often more toxic than the parent material. Yet federal regulations require testing and standards for only nine toxic metals. Perhaps most important, the information provided to farmers fails to disclose that the National Academies of Science has indicated that while there are serious health concerns associated with many of the constituents of sewage sludge, there is too much uncertainty to scientifically predict the true health and environmental risks, when this complex waste mixture is applied to land.

"Finally, farmers are not told that sludge-exposure has been linked to illnesses, human deaths, livestock mortalities, groundwater pollution, and permanently degraded land. Unless there is a true and accurate disclosure of all the risks associated with this practice, there can be no true consent.

"Without informed consent, the state should not be issuing permits."

Link to archived web page (TY @internetarchive!):
https://web.archive.org/web/20221227022631/https://organicconsumers.org/press/farmers-deceived-about-sewage-sludge-safety

#PFOS #ChemicalIndustries #ToxicWaste #WaterIsLife #ForeverChemicals

Could the world go PFAS-free? Proposal to ban ‘forever chemicals’ fuels debate
https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-023-02444-5

#PFAS #ChemicalPollution #HumanHealth #foreverchemicals #Environment #riskmanagement

@ZeroPM

#Cities Are Grappling With “#ForeverChemicals” in #DrinkingWater
https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2023/07/pfas-forever-chemicals-city-drinking-water-vancouver-epa-limits/

#USGS study: At least 45% of #tapwater nationwide #contaminated with #foreverchemicals

https://www.naturalnews.com/2023-07-26-usgs-45percent-tap-water-us-contaminated-pfas.html

Study finds #PFAS in many #cosmeticproducts

https://www.naturalnews.com/2023-07-25-study-forever-chemicals-found-in-many-cosmetics.html

#ForeverChemicals

Study finds #PFAS in many #cosmeticproducts #ForeverChemicals

https://newstarget.com/2023-07-25-study-forever-chemicals-found-in-many-cosmetics.html

Beware the dangers of PFAS.
“The reaction from our community has been overwhelming and unanimous: we do not want PFAS in North Bay and area”
#ForeverChemicals #PFAS #Pollution #Environment #Health #Canada #cdnpoli
https://thenarwhal.ca/north-bay-pfas-mayor-response/?utm_source=The+Narwhal&utm_campaign=8adb6bf29c-July+20%2C+2023+%E2%80%94+Newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_f6a05fddb8-8adb6bf29c-108926241