Evidence of Dangerous ‘ Forever Chemicals ’ Found in Bandages

Many brands of bandages may contain PFAS chemicals, according to a new report commissioned by Environmental Health News (EHN) and the consumer watchdog site Mamavation. Of the 40 bandages they analyzed in a lab, 65% contained signs of PFAS chemicals. Also known as “forever chemicals,” because that’s approximately how long they linger in the environment, there are at least 12,000 types of PFAS. The health consequences of PFAS exposure are unclear. But this class of chemicals has been linked by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to increased risk of certain cancers, decreased fertility, high blood pressure in pregnant people, developmental delays and low birthweight in children, hormonal disruption, high cholesterol, reduced effectiveness of the immune system, and more. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences,  97% of Americans have PFAS in their blood. The chemicals are found in thousands of common products, including food packaging, adhesives, carpeting, clothing, furniture, varnish, cleaning products, shampoo and cosmetics. They are also widespread in the water supply and food chain, and even in the rain. [time-brightcove not-tgx=”true”] Mamavation and EHN have made it something of a mission to conduct regular checks of various products, sending samples to laboratories to test them for the presence of organic fluorine, which is found in the pr...
Source: TIME: Health - Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Tags: Uncategorized healthscienceclimate Source Type: news