Posted on 08/29/2025 5:55:06 AM PDT by Red Badger
Researchers found PFAS in 95% of tested beers, with the highest levels linked to contaminated local water sources.
Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), better known as forever chemicals, are gaining notoriety for their ability to linger in the environment and for possible links to health problems. Now, scientists are finding these chemicals in surprising places, including beer. A study published in ACS Environmental Science & Technology analyzed beers brewed across different regions of the United States. The results showed that the highest PFAS levels appeared in beers made in areas where local water supplies are already known to be contaminated.
“As an occasional beer drinker myself, I wondered whether PFAS in water supplies was making its way into our pints,” says research lead Jennifer Hoponick Redmon. “I hope these findings inspire water treatment strategies and policies that help reduce the likelihood of PFAS in future pours.”
PFAS are synthetic chemicals created for their ability to resist water, oil, and stains. They have been detected in rivers, groundwater, and public water systems across the U.S. and globally. While breweries generally use water treatment and filtration processes, those systems are not equipped to filter out PFAS.
To explore the extent of contamination, Hoponick Redmon and her team adapted a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) method normally used to test PFAS levels in drinking water. They applied this approach to 23 beers, including those from American breweries located in areas with documented water contamination as well as well-known domestic and international brands that source their water from less transparent locations.
Beer and Water Contamination Links
The researchers found a strong correlation between PFAS concentrations in municipal drinking water and levels in locally brewed beer — a phenomenon that Hoponick Redmon and colleagues say has not yet been studied in U.S. retail beer. They found PFAS in 95% of the beers they tested. These include perfluorooctanesulfonate (PFOS) and perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), two forever chemicals with recently established EPA limits in drinking water. Notably, the team found that beers brewed near the Cape Fear River Basin in North Carolina, an area with known PFAS pollution, had the highest levels and most diverse mix of forever chemicals, including PFOS and PFOA.
This work shows that PFAS contamination at one source can spread into other products, and the researchers call for greater awareness among brewers, consumers, and regulators to limit overall PFAS exposure. These results also highlight the possible need for water treatment upgrades at brewing facilities as PFAS regulations in drinking water change or updates to municipal water system treatment are implemented.
Reference:
“Hold My Beer: The Linkage between Municipal Water and Brewing Location on PFAS in Popular Beverages”
by Jennifer Hoponick Redmon, Nicole M. DeLuca, Evan Thorp, Chamindu Liyanapatirana, Laura Allen and Andrew J. Kondash, 24 April 2025, Environmental Science & Technology.
DOI: 10.1021/acs.est.4c11265
The authors acknowledge funding from an internal research grant from RTI International.
Good reason to stick with scotch.
Tepottius tempesteous
Glad I don’t drink any more........................
Glad I don’t drink any more........................
The people who pee in the beer vats must have a lot of PFOS and PFOA in them from drinking the local water.
But no research that PFAs are linked to any health issues?
Especially near Cape Fear, North Carolina!...................
BRAVE AI:
PFAS Health Links
Research has linked exposure to perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) to a range of adverse health effects. Strong evidence supports associations between PFAS exposure and increased cholesterol levels, particularly with PFOA, PFOS, PFNA, and PFDA.
There is sufficient evidence for a link between PFAS exposure and decreased antibody response to vaccines, with studies showing associations for PFOA, PFOS, PFHxS, and PFDA.
PFAS exposure is also associated with changes in liver enzymes, such as alanine aminotransferase (ALT), and small decreases in birth weight.
Furthermore, there is sufficient causal evidence for an association between PFAS and kidney cancer, with suggestive evidence for testicular and breast cancer.
Other potential health effects include pregnancy-induced hypertension and preeclampsia, thyroid disease, and altered immune function.
The National Toxicology Program has concluded that PFOA and PFOS are hazards to human immune system function.
Me too, don’t drink any less either, but that’s beside the point.
Did the ACS or whatever the f they call themselves, have anything to say about the Covid jab? I’ll bet “safe and effective”.
Exactly, nothing solid. We went through this in upstate NY. With millions of people affected, no tangible connections and no deaths attributed to pfoa. They have managed to extract BILLIONS from companies to manage it supposedly.
IPAs with PFAs for my PTSD is a PITA.
“Forever chemicals” are the newest scare phrase to get people to click on health articles. I read one where it said most people have enough plastic particles in their heads (due to drinking from plastic bottles) to create a plastic spoon.
Never did.
Alcohol has a very bitter taste to me.
But think of the "tell" in this prose.
---- "The authors acknowledge funding from an internal research grant from RTI International."
Research Triangle Institute, operating as RTI International, is a nonprofit organization headquartered in the Research Triangle Park in North Carolina, USA.It is "a global publisher of peer-reviewed, open-access books, reports, and briefs." And it seems quite the "globalist," in orientation.
It's a billion-dollar "charitable" organization --
President Tim J. Gabel -- $ 1,238,271 plus $168,915 "additional"Peeling away layers about this entity, one finds from an older source, circa 2013:
Read through the officers' salaries and perks in Part VII
$14+ million for "current officers, directors, trustees, and key employees " and $420,112,914 for "other salaries and wages."Source: Research Triangle Institute Form 990 from a couple of years ago In Durham, North Carolina
"RTI International is a large, North Carolina-based, non-profit research corporation. According to its 2004 annual report, RTI's largest source of income is U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) contracts. More than one-third of its $509.5 million in 2004 income came from USAID."Messaging. "Study finds...." "Mulitple studies find...."Source: RTI International
What does one find about RTI today?
"RTI International is a large, North Carolina-based, non-profit research corporation. According to its 2004 annual report, RTI's largest source of income is U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) contracts. More than one-third of its $509.5 million in 2004 income came from USAID."Yes, it does."USAID’s website is completely blank and the agency’s funding frozen despite a court order. Last week, RTI International announced 'temporary layoffs' due to an absence of U.S. foreign assistance. A nonprofit research organization, RTI stands to lose millions more if a significant cut to National Institutes of Health grants withstands court challenges.
"The federal government is RTI’s main client overall, accounting for 84% of its total revenue in 2022 and 2023."
Source: Open Source: RTI International CEO makes seven figures. Does that justify USAID cuts? News & Observer, 21 February 2025.
And as to this thread and the SciTechDaily -- "The authors acknowledge funding from an internal research grant from RTI International."
Its mail address is:
SciTechDaily.comIt is the identical address to their "owner" -- Daily E-Deals, or dailyedeals.com. "Hot Online Coupons & Promo Codes"
1042 N. El Camino Real Ste B-395
Encinitas, CA 92024
Messaging from RTI and biz op's from ScTechDaily's other half. Probably not the best source, after all?
I also don’t drink any more. But I also don’t drink any less
Glad I hate the stuff. I don’t like drinking what tastes like bitter yeast.
Husband, however, loved it - we were forever visiting local craft breweries when we traveled - he got to drink my tasting samples as well
Thank God for iced tea.
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