11.08.2024.
According to researchers studying “Forever Chemicals,” seafood has health benefits but can also expose individuals to bioaccumulative environmental contaminants, such as per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), which may have adverse health effects.
In June 2021, researchers conducted a population-based survey of 1,829 New Hampshire (UK) residents to assess the frequency of seafood consumption, portion sizes, and the types and sources of seafood consumed by both adults and children (2–11 years old).
The survey revealed that men in New Hampshire consume slightly more than one ounce of seafood daily, while women eat just under one ounce.
These figures are over 1.5 times the national average for adults. Children in New Hampshire, aged 2 to 11, average around 0.2 ounces per day, which is also above the national norm.
According to organisation CHEMTRUST.ORG, PFAS (Per- and polyfluorinated alkyl substances), also known as the Forever Chemicals, are a large chemical family of over 10,000 highly persistent chemicals that don’t occur in nature.
PFAS are the most persistent synthetic chemicals to date, they hardly degrade in the natural environment and have been found in the blood and breastmilk of people and wildlife all around the world.
What are PFAS used in?
PFAS are used in a wide range of consumer products due to their ability to repel both grease and water, including:
- In paper and cardboard food packaging (e.g. takeaway containers, popcorn bags, pizza boxes, ready-made cakes etc.)
- In non-stick cookware
- In textiles (e.g. waterproof outdoor clothing and equipment, carpets, mattresses etc.)
- In cosmetics (e.g. hair conditioner, foundation cream, sunscreen etc.)
- In electronics (e.g. smartphones)
A 2021 study found PFAS chemicals in disposable food packaging from popular fast-food chains, takeaway restaurants, and supermarkets across Europe.
A 2023 study by IPEN and 18 IPEN member groups found PFAS in single-use food contact materials from 17 countries across Asia, Africa, Europe, North America and Latin America and the Caribbean.
A recent study found PFAS in clothing, including coats, swimsuits and t-shirts, purchased from 13 countries across Asia, Africa, Europe, and North America.
However, of the outdoor wear tested in the UK, only 1 of the 7 coats contained PFAS, demonstrating that PFAS-free alternatives are widely available.
They are also used in non-consumer applications such as in fire-fighting-foams, a special foam use to extinguish liquid fires, such as a petroleum fire.
How are we exposed to PFAS?
We are exposed to hundreds of PFAS simultaneously via some of the products we use every day, as well as via environmental routes such as drinking water and certain food.
Because it is extremely challenging for water treatment plants to remove PFAS from water, contamination of drinking water with PFAS is a rising issue.
How harmful are PFAS?
PFAS can be toxic to both humans and wildlife. Two of the most studied chemicals in this family, PFOA and PFOS, have been shown to:
- Interfere with the hormonal system (so they are called endocrine disruptors)
- Interfere with the reproductive system and the development of the foetus
- Impact the immune system and have been linked to reduced responses to vaccines in children
- Promote the development of certain cancers (e.g. kidney and testicular cancer)
It should be noted that many of the thousands of PFAS currently in use are lacking proper toxicological data.
What is the extent of the contamination?
PFAS don’t easily degrade in the environment and are very mobile in water. This means that once released in the environment, e.g. during manufacturing or after leaching from a consumer product, PFAS tend to migrate in the water and remain intact for very long periods of time.
This allows them to be transported over long distances. PFAS have been found in the environment all around the world, even in the most remote areas such as the Arctic.
They have also been detected in the blood and breast milk of people and wildlife globally.
A major mapping project, using data from samples taken between 2003 and 2023 by scientists and environmental agencies, has revealed the level of PFAS pollution at thousands of sites across Europe, including the UK.
A threat to future generations of people and wildlife
Removing PFAS from the environment is extremely challenging, and impossible when it comes to the vast ocean.
This, alongside PFAS’ extreme persistence, means that humans and wildlife will continue to be exposed to these chemicals via environmental routes for decades, even if we were to stop emissions of PFAS today.
How are PFAS regulated?
Globally
The Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants is an international treaty aiming to eliminate or restrict the production and use of the most toxic chemicals of global concern.
Currently, three sub-group of PFAS are listed in the convention: PFOS and related substances since 2009 for global restriction; PFOA and related substances since 2019 for global elimination and PFHxS and related substances since 2022 for global elimination without exemptions.
At the European level
In addition, several other sub-groups of PFAS are regulated at the European level via the EU chemical regulation REACH.
However, there are over 10,000 chemicals in the PFAS family, and the industry keeps replacing regulated PFAS with other PFAS chemicals.
Therefore, despite the regulations in place, the overall concentration of PFAS in the environment keeps increasing.
Only a restriction of the whole PFAS group would prevent further build-up of PFAS in the environment by preventing regrettable substitution within the PFAS family.
In 2023 the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) published the universal PFAS restriction dossier (uPFAS), paving the way for a broad ban of PFAS under the European Union (EU)’s chemical regulation, REACH.
The uPFAS dossier proposes to ban the intentional manufacture, import and use of PFAS in the EU.
How can you avoid PFAS?
There are some steps you can take to reduce your own and your children’s exposure to PFAS via everyday products:
- Food: Avoid using non-stick cookware and favour home-cooked meals over fast-food and takeaways.
- Textiles: Check for PFAS- or PFC-free labels.
- Cosmetics: Avoid products containing chemicals with “fluoro” or PTFE in their name (check the ingredient list), and avoid dental floss with PTFE coatings.
CHEM Trust proposes the following actions are taken to address these ‘Forever Chemicals’:
Government actions
- Governments must act faster to phase out all PFAS, in collaboration with the EU and through global agreements.
- Governments must ensure that the environment is monitored for a wide range of PFAS chemicals.
- Governments should work towards new, protective regulation of all highly persistent synthetic chemicals.
Industry responsibility
- Companies should immediately work to phase out PFAS chemicals, replacing them with safer, non-PFAS alternatives.
In October 2022, European civil society organisations published the Ban PFAS manifesto calling for EU Member States and the Commission to urgently ban PFAS, the ‘forever chemicals’, in consumer products by 2025 and across all uses by 2030.
In 2023, the European Parliament adopted revamped rules to reduce, reuse and recycle packaging. Besides the overall packaging reduction targets proposed in the regulation (5% by 2030, 10 % by 2035 and 15 % by 2040), MEPs want to set specific targets to reduce plastic packaging (10% by 2030, 15% by 2035 and 20% by 2040).
MEPs want to ban the sale of very lightweight plastic carrier bags (below 15 microns), unless required for hygiene reasons or provided as primary packaging for loose food to help prevent food wastage.
They also propose to heavily restrict the use of certain single use packaging formats, such as hotel miniature packaging for toiletry products and shrink-wrap for suitcases in airports.
To prevent adverse health effects, MEPs ask for a ban on the use of so called “forever chemicals” (per- and polyfluorinated alkyl substances or PFASs) and Bisphenol A in food contact packaging.
Parliament is ready to start talks with national governments on the law’s final form, once the Council has adopted its position.
Source:
Crawford, K.A., Gallagher, L.G., Giffard, N.G. et al. Patterns of Seafood Consumption Among New Hampshire Residents Suggest Potential Exposure to Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances. Expo Health (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12403-024-00640-w
