Grace van Deelen

About Grace van Deelen

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November 7, 2022

New PFAS exposure scoring method could speed research on health effects

Researchers have developed a new statistical tool they say could speed up research on the health effects of exposures to toxic “forever chemicals” that are commonly found in an array of consumer products.

In a study published last week in Environmental Health Perspectives, researchers from the Mount Sinai Medical Center and Johns Hopkins School of Public Health presented a new tool that offers PFAS researchers a way to compare total exposures to PFAS across scientific studies. The tool may provide researchers a more effective method to study these persistent toxins.

PFAS, an acronym for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, are a class of thousands of chemicals commonly used in non-stick cookware, food packaging, and waterproof clothing. The chemicals have been linked to certain cancers and reproductive issues.

Studying chemical mixtures is crucial to public health research, since people are exposed to many chemicals—including many types of PFAS—at once in their daily lives. But most studies that focus on toxic chemical mixtures only study those effects in relation to specific health outcomes; for example, a study might determine a chemical’s effect on blood pressure, or heart disease. Additionally, studies might measure different types of PFAS chemicals. That makes it hard for environmental health researchers to compare data.

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November 2, 2022

Farmer safety net growing more costly as climate changes

As cool weather sets in to the US Midwest, much of the farm state of Iowa is suffering from moderate to severe drought, but for farmer Brent Drey, another worrisome weather trend is also top of mind: Over the past few decades, the Drey family farm has noticed an uptick in rainfall, which often comes down so hard and fast that the moisture actually does more harm than good.

“There are times, especially in the spring, where it can dump three or four inches in a matter of an hour or two,” Drey said. “That really makes a mess for any farmer.”

Drey Farms, which grows 3,000 acres of mostly corn and soybeans near Sac City, Iowa, has sometimes lost production due to excess moisture, according to Drey. Flooding, heavy rains and excess snow melt can complicate planting, and drown out or sicken maturing crops as wet conditions lead to elevated levels of mold, fungus, and toxins.

For Drey and other farmers who suffer production losses due to excess moisture, the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) has long offered a crop insurance program to cover their losses.

October 25, 2022

Across the Midwest, farmers are turning to solar to boost profits

Grace van Deelen

In a corner of southwestern Wisconsin, in a town called Eden, Bob Bishop spends his days farming land that has been in his family since the 1940s. He manages about 2,000 acres— some is pasture for his cattle, some is seeded with corn and soybeans. But 40% of his acreage, as he likes to say, will soon be farming the sun.

Under a 25-year lease to a large solar project called the Badger Hollow Solar Farm, Bishop has agreed to the installation of solar panels across hundreds of acres of land he previously used to grow crops. The project, which is owned by energy companies Invenergy and Madison Gas & Electric, is projected to total 3,500 acres in all and generate enough energy to power more than 77,000 homes. The developers say landowners will collect an estimated $59 million from leasing their property to the project.

In agreeing to set aside some of his land for solar energy production, Bishop is one of an increasing number of farmers in the Midwest looking to solar as a way to add to – or replace – money made growing crops, and potentially help fight climate change at the same time.

The moves are triggering some controversy, as critics say filling large swaths of land with massive installations of solar panels is unsightly and inhibits needed food production.

But advocates say using farmland to harness a clean, renewable energy source is a critical move in the face of harmful climate impacts. The Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE), a part of the US Department of Energy, says that solar energy has an important role in cutting greenhouse gas emissions, improving air quality and reducing the strain on water resources that otherwise are tapped for traditional energy production.

Bishop said he considers the transition of his land to solar production as a welcome move. His land will produce far more usable energy per acre than it would if he was still growing corn for ethanol, Bishop said. And while growing corn requires regular management and costly inputs to control weeds and pests, solar panels require little maintenance.

“It’s all revenue,” said Bishop.

October 19, 2022

PFAS contaminating 83% of tested waterways, study finds

Clean water advocacy groups said this week that they have found toxins linked to cancer and other health problems in more than 80% of tested watersheds around the United States, adding to the growing body of evidence about the pervasiveness of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, better known as PFAS.

Results of the study, which was carried out by the nonprofit organization Waterkeeper Alliance, were released Tuesday. The group said PFAS toxins were detected in 95 of 114 watersheds tested, and some samples were found to contain levels of PFAS thousands of times higher than the levels considered safe for drinking water by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA.)

Maryland, Georgia, South Carolina, and Florida were among the states with the highest number of water samples containing PFAS.

The results “demonstrate that existing laws are inadequate for protecting us,” said Marc Yaggi, CEO of Waterkeeper Alliance.

The study is the first nationwide surface water quality survey to measure PFAS, and probably the most extensive survey of PFAS presence in surface waters that has ever been conducted in the US, according to the group.

One type of PFAS known as PFOA is considered a likely human carcinogen. Another type, PFOS, is known to accumulate in humans and cause liver damage and birth defects in lab animals. Both were detected in 69% of samples.

The report noted that PFOA was detected above the EPA Interim Health Advisory Level of 0.004 ppt in samples taken in waterways located in 26 states and D.C. The highest level detected was 847 ppt in a sample from Kreutz Creek, Pennsylvania. PFOS was detected above the EPA advisory levels in 28 states and D.C. The highest level detected was 1,364.7 ppt in a sample from Piscataway Creek, Maryland.

October 12, 2022

New study says more than 57,400 US sites have PFAS contamination

Scientists have identified more than 57,400 sites in the United States that can be presumed to be contaminated with toxins linked to cancer and other health problems, according to a study published on Wednesday.

The sites identified by the analysis include 49,145 industrial facilities, 4,255 wastewater treatment plants, 3,493 military sites, and 519 airports. A map of the sites is publicly available on a PFAS Project Lab website.

PFAS, an acronym for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, are a class of thousands of chemicals commonly used to make such things as food packaging, cookware, fabrics, paints, and fire-fighting foams. Exposures to some types of PFAS have been linked to a range of adverse human health issues, including certain types of cancer, birth defects, and reproductive issues.

September 30, 2022

New study sees link between pesticide and arthritis

By Grace van Deelen

Exposure to a commonly used pesticide could put people at higher risk of developing rheumatoid arthritis, according to a new study.

The findings, published last week in the journal Environmental Science and Pollution Research, looked at potential links between the disease and a class of chemicals known as pyrethroids, which are found in many commercial products used to control insects, including household bug killers, pet sprays and shampoos.

Using data collected as part of a long-term study of US residents called the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, the research team said they looked at levels of pyrethroids found in urine samples of the more than 4,000 study participants and analyzed how the exposure correlated with incidences of the disease.

The research team, which was led by scientists from Anhui Medical University in Hefei, China, concluded that levels of pyrethroid indicators in the urine of those who had self-reported a rheumatoid arthritis diagnosis were “significantly higher” than those who had not reported the diagnosis.