Eating fish from a river or lake in the United States is equivalent to drinking water contaminated with chemicals like Teflon for a month.
Eating fish from a river or lake in the United States is equivalent to Drinking chemically contaminated water for a month Like Teflon, it is known for its impermeability, according to a study published this Tuesday.
Perfluoroalkyl and Polyfluoroalkyl Chemicals (PFAS) are a large family of synthetic products, developed in the 1940s to resist moisture and heat. They are used in non-stick coatings, textiles or food packaging.
PFAS resist degradation and remain in the environment for a very long time. At the level of health, they affect the liver, at the level of Cholesterol. Some of those products increase the risk of cancer.
In this study, the scientists observed 500 samples of fish from lakes and rivers Americans between 2013 and 2015.
According to their study published by the journal, the average contamination index was 9.5 micrograms per kg Environmental Research. Three-quarters of those samples showed PFOS-based contamination, a subcategory of substances within PFAS.
That contamination rate is equivalent to drinking water contaminated with 48 parts per billion of PFOS for one month.
According to regulations in force in the United States, a water is considered safe for human consumption if it contains no more than 0.2 parts per billion of PFOS.
the most needy suffer
PFAS-based contamination found in wild-caught freshwater fish is 278 times more compared to samples raised in fish farms.
These findings are “particularly worrying because the effects faced disadvantaged communities who consume fish for protein or for socio-cultural reasons,” explained David Andrews of the organization environmental working groupwho conducted the study.
PFAS are “probably the greatest chemical threat to the human species in the 21st century,” said Patrick Byrne, an environmental pollution researcher at Britain’s John Moores University in Liverpool.
“This study is important because it represents the first evidence of direct transmission of PFAS from fish to humans,” he said.
Posted at the initiative of the study Denmark, Germany, Netherlands, Norway and SwedenWhich last Friday presented a proposal to ban PFAS to the European Chemicals Agency.
The resolution confirms the position of these five countries that the use of PFAS substances is not adequately regulated in Europe.
AFP Agency.
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