UK: New Study Finds Banned and New PFAS Chemicals in UK Otters

[pfpcnews]

New Study Finds Banned and New PFAS Chemicals in UK Otters

CHEM Trust - June 27, 2024

A recent study by Cardiff University’s Otter Project tested 20 Eurasian otters in the north of England and found levels of 33 different PFAS. This includes both globally banned PFAS, and more recently introduced PFAS “replacements”.

PFAS are a family of over 10,000 highly persistent chemicals. They are often called ‘forever chemicals’ because they will last a long time in the environment.

Due to their grease—and water-resistant properties, PFAS are used in a variety of applications, including industrial uses such as firefighting foams and everyday consumer products such as clothes, cosmetics, and food packaging.

PFAS are ubiquitous in our modern environment and can build up in the bodies of people and wildlife. Certain PFAS have been linked to detrimental health impacts such as the promotion of certain cancers, immune system harm, and reproductive issues.

Cardiff University’s Otter Project studied 20 otters between 2015 and 2019. The otters tested were from waterways around the AGC Chemicals factory in Thornton-Cleveleys, in the northwest of England.

Before 2012, the factory used the PFAS chemical PFOA to manufacture Teflon. Despite stopping the use of PFOA over 10 years ago, concentrations of the now banned chemical were still detected in otters within a 20 km radius of the factory.

Some PFAS, such as PFOA, that are no longer used have been replaced by other chemicals of the same family. For the first time, some of these ‘replacement PFASs’ were also detected in the otters, raising concerns over their potential to be just as problematic.

Cardiff University’s research associate Emily O’Rourke said:

“This finding adds to growing evidence that many [PFAS] replacements are, or have the potential to become global contaminants. This is especially concerning due to their possible toxicity,”

Eurasian otters are top predators in British freshwaters, exposed to PFAS through their diets. Therefore, they are good indicators of river health and pollution levels.

The Otter Project conducted a study in 2022 which also detected PFAS in otter organs.

UK regulations on these harmful chemicals are falling far behind that of the EU, which has proposed a universal PFAS restriction and a ban on PFAS in certain products such as plastic packaging.

CHEM Trust, along with other NGOs, are calling for all PFAS to be banned in consumer products as soon as possible and for there to be a complete ban in place by 2030 – both in the UK and EU.

SOURCE:
https://chemtrust.org/news/pfas-forever ... in-otters/