I have previously authored many articles about per- and polyfluroalkyl substances (PFAS), also known as “forever chemicals,” and the misinformation and lack of scientific credibility surrounding them. However, Europe has outdone the U.S. on the absurdity of their proposed regulations on these chemicals. On February 7, 2023, the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) proposed to ban all PFAS, which would affect more than 12,000 chemicals. To do this, they used a definition of PFAS so broad that it includes almost any chemical that contains fluorine [1]. What is going on?
PFAS
On February 11, Health Canada proposed guidelines for PFAS in drinking water that are 50,000 – 300,000 times higher than our EPA’s Health Advisories. This article will look at this and another significant issue, the EPA’s classification of PFAS as hazardous substances.
As a relative newbie to the world of science writing to the public, I want to thank ACSH for letting me write about my favorite subject – science and health. Two articles from the last year have special meaning to me.
Recent news reports alleged that new research has found a link between "forever chemicals" and liver cancer. This was an exaggeration of the results, to say the very least.
A paper in the journal Science describes a new method for breaking down forever chemicals (PFAS), which, as their name implies are not so easy to destroy. Can this method be used to remove traces of these chemicals from our water? Or for anything else?
The Environmental Working Group (EWG) is once again warning consumers that their food may be tainted by "forever chemicals." Let's take a look at all the important details the activist group left out.
PFAS, the “forever chemicals,” provides a perfect example of how faulty risk assessment can lead to real-world consequences that destroy people’s lives. This happens when federal agencies do not consider relative risk in their analyses and are blinded to the real-world implications of their actions.
Environmental Working Group claims that "obesogenic" chemicals are helping to make everybody fat. Is EWG correct? Next, do we need a COVID booster shot that specifically targets Omicron sub-variants?
Seemingly everywhere you look there are articles on the dangers of PFAS. Federal and state governments, environmental groups, and the media have declared that dangerous PFAS chemicals are everywhere and present a widespread problem across the U.S. The condemnation and fearmongering are so widespread that you’d be forgiven if you question why we would even bother to write about such a black-and-white subject in the first place. But we must.
The actor, who played the Hulk in The Avengers movie series, spoke on Capitol Hill on an incredibly important public health topic. What expertise does he have in that area? Well, none. But he is a 9/11 truther who rejects the scientific consensus on GMOs while spreading conspiracy theories about the Zika virus.
There is wide divergence on the safety assessment of these chemicals, thus making communication with the public extremely difficult.
A story making headlines claims that this fast-food chain is using chemicals that could give you cancer. Ignore them. If you need something to worry about, then focus on possibly getting food poisoning from one of its burritos.