Posted on 01/21/2023 1:20:14 PM PST by ConservativeMind
Eating just one freshwater fish a year can dramatically increase the amount of toxic forever chemicals coursing through a person's blood, according to a new study that reflects more than a half-century of pollution contaminating the Great Lakes and rivers nationwide.
The alarming finding is based on an analysis of hundreds of fish caught by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency since 2013.
Nearly every fish tested by the EPA was tainted with perfluorooctane sulfonate or PFOS, a forever chemical used for decades in Scotchgard stain-resistant fabrics, firefighting foam and food packaging manufactured by Minnesota-based 3M.
PFOS builds up in human blood, doesn't break down in the environment and triggers health problems such as liver damage, impaired fertility, immune system disorders, thyroid disease, increased cholesterol levels and reduced vaccine effectiveness. Long-term exposure also might cause cancer.
A single serving of freshwater fish during a year is equivalent to drinking water laden with 48 parts per trillion of PFOS for a month, Andrews and his colleagues concluded.
To put that number into context, the nationwide median of PFOS in drinking water is estimated to be less than 5 ppt. The highest concentration detected in Chicago drinking water so far is 2.8 ppt.
In June, the EPA announced there is effectively no safe exposure to PFOS and a related chemical, PFOA.
Freshwater fish in the United States appear to be significantly more contaminated than seafood. The median concentration of forever chemicals in the EPA testing was 278 times higher than what the Food and Drug Administration found during the past four years in saltwater fish, shrimp, lobster, clams and oysters.
(Excerpt) Read more at medicalxpress.com ...
So change the name to toxic water. Fresh no longer applies
Less concerned fishing WA, MT, WY, CO.
Do the freshwater fish eat freshwater fish?
I knew that the Great Lakes weren’t salt water, but I didn’t think anyone referred to as “fresh water” for a long time. Too many city storm drains going in there.
“... reduced vaccine effectiveness...”
Well, there you go. More cover for the failed covid vaccine.
Thus may be true, but keep in mind it is from the EPA, so it is not from a trustworthy source. Even they admit they only found 48 parts per trillion. That does not seem to be a lot.
48 parts per trillion. Oooo scary. I like this new word “forever chemicals” too. More scaaaary. Science! Just out of curiosity is or perhaps was MTSB a forever chemical?
Great lakes and rivers near cities, I’m guessing elsewhere is safe.
It is a shame the big Idaho lakes are poisoned.
Washington and Oregon are not remotely safe either in many places.
The EPA lies in order to build their power over our lives.
Our ability to detect extremely tiny amounts of chemicals is at an all time high.
This is scare mongering at its worst.
The dose makes the poison.
This is from the NSW ministry of health, in Australia, for a different point of view:
How do PFASs affect human health?
There is currently no consistent evidence that exposure to PFOS and PFOA causes adverse human health effects. However, based on the evidence from animal studies potential adverse health effects cannot be excluded.
The existing limited studies on PFHxS suggest that this chemical can cause effects in laboratory test animals similar to the effects caused by PFOS. However, based on available studies, PFHxS appears to be less potent in animal studies than PFOS.
Much of the research on humans has been done with people who were exposed to relatively high levels of PFASs through their work. Workers involved in the manufacture or use of PFASs usually have higher blood PFAS levels than the general public. Studies on PFAS workers have looked for effects on cholesterol levels, male hormones, heart disease, liver changes and other effects, including cancer. These studies have not consistently shown that PFAS exposure is linked to health problems.
Does exposure to PFASs cause cancer?
In humans, there is no conclusive evidence that PFASs cause any specific illnesses, including cancer.
Studies in laboratory animals suggest that PFOS and PFOA may promote some cancers in those animals, but it is not clear if these results have any implications for human health.
No existing studies have found a causal link between exposures to PFOS and PFOA and cancer in humans. Occupational studies of workers involved in the manufacture or use of PFOS and PFOA have looked at whether PFOS and PFOA are linked with prostate, bladder, and liver cancer, with no consistent findings. However, additional health studies are ongoing to assess whether evidence for a causal link between PFASs exposure and cancer may exist. Hence the International Agency for Cancer Research (IARC) has classified PFOA as possible carcinogen (Class 2B), but PFOS has not been classified as yet.
Comment from Marktwain:
The point is, we can detect these chemicals at extremely tiny amounts, and there is no direct evidence of harm to humans at those amounts.
If there is a toxic effect, it is so tiny as to be extremely difficult to detect.
Tell that to all the dozens of Burmese and Yemeni immigrants I see daily fishing down at the shoreline on Lake Erie.
It might be scary.
But most of this is pr firms working for law firms who are looking for the next payout.
I personally am concerned because I have followed this for 40 years and read all the transgender frog studies
I get the American Chemical Society’s Chemical and Engineering News and every single issue has at least a small communication about these chemicals.
And the past few years a lot about microplastics.
Companies should really do long-term environmental testing on their products.
One of my professors in Packaging Engineering was into biodegradable packaging polymers for this very reason.
2.8 ppt....
1,000,000,000
Or. .0000000028 of a percent? One would have to wonder how much fish we’d have to eat again?
From the same people who wants us all to eat bugs.
They’re more confined and the Great Lakes have been dumps for people like Kodak and RG&E
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