Posted on 03/08/2023 11:54:30 AM PST by Red Badger
(WSVN) - Researchers here in Florida are raising new concerns about one of the most common items found in every home. Here’s 7 Investigates Karen Hensel.
It is something we use everyday: toilet paper.
But a new study says there is an issue with the tissue.
Jake Thompson, University of Florida researcher: “The fact that it’s there to begin with is alarming.”
It is a group of toxic man-made chemicals known as PFAS, short for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, which have been linked to cancer and other health issues.
Thompson, a researcher at the University of Florida is studying PFAS.
Jake Thompson: “I saw that it’s used in paper manufacturing, so I got this idea that maybe it’s in toilet paper.“
So how do the rolls get contaminated?
Researchers say PFAS are used at mills during the papermaking process, including toilet paper.
Jake Thompson: “So I grabbed a couple of samples just at my house and in the lab, and I did a quick extraction, and I saw that it was there.”
Thompson then recruited students and professors who collected toilet paper sold all over the world to be tested.
Jake Thompson: “There’s this trace amount that’s present in almost all of the samples that we tested.”
They also tested sewage sludge samples from eight wastewater treatment plants in Florida.
The chemicals were found in all eight.
Important because that sludge is often used on farms as fertilizer, potentially putting PFAS right back into our food supply.
Jake Thompson: “As environmental engineers, we think about the global impact implications of all this PFAS getting flushed down the toilet.”
And a lot is getting flushed…
The average American uses 57 pounds of toilet paper a year.
That adds up to more than 19 billion pounds of toilet paper flushed every year in the United States alone.
Jake Thompson: “I think it’s easy to see something like this and have that response of like, ‘Oh, come on. Like, are we going to all stop using toilet paper?’ And that’s not what I’m saying. I’m saying it stems from a larger issue.”
A larger issue because PFAS chemicals are found everywhere.
They’re used to keep food from sticking to packaging and cookware, make clothes and carpet stain-resistant.
And, as 7 investigates has reported, it is even found in firefighter gear to make it water resistant.
Jake Thompson: “We need to think of as a society how we can limit the use of these compounds in a number of our consumer products.”
Of course, no one is saying to stop using toilet paper, but this new study does show yet another example of these dangerous chemicals seeping into our everyday lives.
American Forest & Paper Association (AF&PA) statement:
“PFAS (including 6:2 diPAP) is not used in the manufacture of toilet paper, or in the production of other tissue products in the United States.
“The University of Florida study examines concentration information in toilet paper for PFAS including PFOA, the most studied PFAS. However, the study fails to acknowledge that PFOA is widespread in the environment. In the study, toilet paper samples tested were close to or below the limit of detection, consistent with PFOA levels found in the environment and not attributable to the manufacturing process.
“Our industry is committed to product and environmental safety, and we continue to lead on product stewardship and innovation in the manufacture of sustainable and essential paper and tissue products.”
I know that my SIL won’t buy double-ply TP for her family because she has heard, and believes, that the adhesive is somehow harmful.
Whether any of this is harmful is pure guesswork and proven by no scientific stuudies.
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I think they cause kidney problems in animals.
The article says nothing about concentrations. There are small concentrations of Arsenic in seawater along with everything else on the periodic chart. Arsenic will kill you in high concentrations. Seawater will not, and it has Arsenic in it. I find the article devoid of rational scientific analysis. It is “scare porn” motivated by politics and not science.
I forgot to add that most of these harmful chemicals are very soluble in di-hydro monoxide. We must ban this dangerous liquid least we all perish.
Grifting comes in many shapes and sizes.
I don’t remember what the chemical was, but back in college a fraternity brother was working on his thesis and had discovered trace amounts of a carcinogen in supermarket milk. He had thought that a certain chemical/plastic manufacturing plant was the source and that nearby dairy farms had been contaminated.
His advisor told him to look into other possibly contaminated foods. Sure enough, trace amounts were in orange juice. He looked at orange juice because groves were also close to the plant.
His advisor then told him to look at apple juice. My friend thought that maybe this was as a control, but surprisingly, the chemical was there as well!
What a discovery! This carcinogen had leeched its way into many of our drinks and juices! Something had to be done!
The advisor then had him collect samples from bottled water, canned soda, V-8 juice, lots of stuff, even eggs. To my friend’s amazement EVERYTHING had this carcinogen in it!
It was at this point the advisor told him to change his thesis. Even if this chemical was a carcinogen - which it may not be at the levels discovered - it was obviously everywhere and would be impossible to remove from the environment.
I wish I could remember what the chemical was...
I inherently just knew this, so I stopped cold, stopped chewing toilet paper.
Been healthy just wiping.
You guys should try it too.
Yet the lifespan of humans continues to rise
What adhesive?Two ply just has two layers there is no adhesive. She’s a loon
Great comments, agree 100%.
These PFAs (tiny plastic particles) are in our water.
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I think the body removes plastic particles more quickly than PFOAs.
How in the world did we ever evolve as a species when most of our present day examples are scared of their own shadows?
It’s a wonder we are not still climbing trees on the savannahs of Africa to get away from lions and hyenas................
Maybe after eating worms and cockroaches we won’t need our toilet paper anymore.
Maybe they will come up with a new butt sweeping app on your cell phone.
When the old Chernobyl Nuclear Exclusion Zone was opened up to scientists to study the flora and fauna there after 30+ years of essentially being sealed off from human contact, they were stunned at what they found.
Animals everywhere! Al all seemingly perfectly healthy! The trees, grasses, soil and the animals themselves were all radioactive, beyond the levels considered ‘safe’. Every animal they captured, from tiny mice and birds to rabbits, deer, bear, fox and moose, were all radioactive, but healthy!
What was the cause of this weird paradox?
Eventually they figured it out.
The animals do not live long enough for the radioactivity to become a health problem. Any animal that does develop cancers or tumors, quickly becomes a meal for a predator and is removed from further deposits in the gene pool.
Only the animals that develop a natural ‘immunity’ to the radiation survive and pass their DNA down to the next generations.
So, if we ever have a nuclear war there is still hope for some life to be left alive on Earth.............
PFAs in large amounts will probably cause problems in animals and humans. The question is what amount is harmful?
Nobody is feeding animals PFAs as part of their regular diet. It’s in submicroscopic amounts in water in various places.
We run into the precautionary principle with these trace chemicals. If they can be shown to cause problems at high doses, let’s ban them down to the traceable levels, which is often parts per trillion.
Anti chemical activists do this all the time.
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