water pollution

October 26, 2023

PFAS chemicals linked to thyroid cancer, human data suggests

By Shannon Kelleher

Exposure to some per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) may increase thyroid cancer risk, according to a study published Tuesday.

The analysis, which compared blood samples from 88 people who developed thyroid cancer with samples from people who did not, is the first to document an association between PFAS and thyroid cancer, which had been previously hypothesized. Past research has linked these endocrine-disrupting chemicals to thyroid disease, a condition in which the gland produces too many or too few hormones. The new research adds to a growing list of health problems linked to PFAS, including kidney cancer, testicular cancer, ulcerative colitis, high cholesterol, and hypertension during pregnancy.

The study, which looked at eight different types of so-called “forever chemicals,” found that doubly high levels of perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS) in the blood corresponded with a 56% higher risk for thyroid cancer diagnosis. The PFAS chemicals perfluorononanoic acid (PFNA), perfluorooctylphosphonic acid (PFOPA), and perfluorohexanesulfonic acid (PFHxS) were also found to be associated with thyroid cancer.

“Although preliminary, this is an important study highlighting the risk of thyroid cancer derived from PFAS contamination of water and soil,” said Luca Chiavato, a professor of endocrinology at the University of Pavia in Italy who was not involved with the study.

August 30, 2023

Historic 3M PFAS settlement gets preliminary court approval

By Shannon Kelleher

A federal court on Tuesday granted preliminary approval for a “landmark” $12.5 billion payout by chemical conglomerate 3M to resolve claims in a class action lawsuit and help public drinking water providers remove toxic per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) from communities around the United States.

The court approval comes a week after DuPont and related companies received preliminary approval for a $1.185 billion settlement that similarly addresses class action claims over toxic PFAS contamination in US water systems. Together, the deals mark the largest drinking water settlements in history.

Both settlements relate to water system contamination by PFAS in aqueous film-forming foam (AFFF), used as a firefighting agent and widely used by military and civilian airports as well as municipal fire departments.

The AFFF litigation is one aspect of more extensive and ongoing litigation against 3M and DuPont that blame the companies for knowingly contaminating the environment with PFAS for decades despite evidence that the substances pose a risk to human health. Lawyers representing plaintiffs in the litigation have uncovered internal corporate records dating back to the 1960s revealing corporate concerns about PFAS that were not shared with the public or regulators.

“These new proposed settlements for public water providers in the AFFF litigation represent not only historic amounts of potential recoveries for victims of PFAS contamination, but also reflect the decades of work our team has undertaken to make sure the information these companies had – but withheld – as to the threat these ‘forever chemicals’ pose to human health and the environment is finally revealed to the public, and that the proper parties are held financially responsible for the enormous damage caused,” plaintiffs’ attorney Rob Bilott, who has led PFAS litigation for more than 20 years, said in a press release.

July 6, 2023

Poop pathogens threaten US beachgoers nationwide, study finds

By Shannon Kelleher

Beachgoers may be on the lookout for sharks and jellyfish, but one danger lurking beneath the waves this summer originated onshore — pathogens from human and farm animal waste. Over half of US beaches tested in 2022 harbored potentially unsafe levels of contamination, according to an analysis released today by the organizations Environment America Research & Policy Center and Frontier Group.

The study found that 1,761 out of 3,192 coastal and Great Lakes beaches tested across the country last year showed fecal contamination levels above an Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) benchmark on at least one day that year. 363 of the beaches showed potentially unsafe levels on at least a quarter of the days they were tested. Much of the contamination comes from stormwater runoff in developed areas, outdated and deteriorating sewage systems, and factory farming, the authors write.

Swimming in water contaminated with fecal bacteria can cause gastrointestinal and respiratory illness, as well as infections, according to the EPA’s website.

“If it [had] just rained the day before, that might not be the day to go to the beach, particularly if there are local sewage treatment plants that discharge anywhere [nearby],” said John Rumpler, Clean Water Director at Environment America Research & Policy Center and an author of the report.

Rumpler also advised checking real-time water quality data that many communities use to alert beachgoers before traveling to a favorite vacation spot.

March 14, 2023

Common dry-cleaning chemical could be a cause of Parkinson’s disease, scientists say

A chemical commonly used to dry clean clothes could be key contributor to the sharp rise in the spread of Parkinson’s disease in the United States, according to a paper published on Tuesday.

Twelve scientists specializing in medical research said they found important “circumstantial” evidence linking the chemical trichloroethylene (TCE) to the doubling of global instances of Parkinson’s disease over the past 30 years. In their paper, published in the Journal of Parkinson’s Disease, the scientists called for much more research and regulation of TCE, warning that “widespread contamination and increasing industrial, commercial and military use,” pose a dire public health threat.

“TCE may be the most important cause of Parkinson’s disease in urban environments in the US,” said Ray Dorsey, a neurologist at the University of Rochester Medical Center and the lead author on the paper.

TCE is one of multiple environmental pollutants implicated in the rise of Parkinson’s disease. Research has also linked particulate air pollution and certain pesticides, including paraquat herbicide, to the disease. Head trauma and genetic factors also play a role, according to research findings.

December 15, 2022

Climate change brings new urgency to threats posed by abandoned California gold mines

By Leah Campbell

On the western slopes of the Sierra Nevada mountain range in California sits the small town of Nevada City, a historic Gold Rush community where prospectors once mined for riches in the creek that ran alongside town. Today, it’s a popular tourist destination known for its easy access to the picturesque Yuba River and the region’s famed ski resorts.

Belying the welcoming charm of Nevada City, just a few miles to the south lies a different sort of legacy – a 30-acre plot of toxic desolation known as the Lava Cap Mine where arsenic-laden waste from decades of gold and silver mining has contaminated area soils and water. In 1997, a log dam built to contain the debris collapsed in a winter storm and roughly 10,000 cubic yards of mine waste – enough to cover almost five football fields – washed through creeks and into a nearby lake.

For more than two decades now, the site has been on the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Superfund list, one of thousands of locations designated as posing “unacceptable risks to human health and the environment.” Clean-up efforts are still in progress at Lava Cap.

Lava Cap is among many abandoned hardrock mines strewn through what Californians call “Gold Country.” State and federal officials estimate that there are almost 50,000 such mines in California and more than 160,000 overall across the western United States. Not all are contaminated, but those that are continue to leach out toxic substances, experts say.

Cleanup of these sites take years and cost millions of dollars. But now, climate change is creating new urgency amid fears that more frequent and volatile flooding and out-of-control wildfires will further spread the toxins.

“There’s been decades of research about remobilizing of mine waste by floods,” said Sheila Murphy, a hydrologist with the US Geological Survey (USGS) who has studied the impacts of extreme weather on mine-contaminated watersheds. “One of the issues is when these big floods then move the sediment into streams or reservoirs,” she said. “It’s just sitting there vulnerable to being remobilized over time.”

Murphy is just as concerned with fire as she is with floods. Changes to the soil, ash buildup, and the burn-off of vegetation after a fire means that fire-scarred lands are more prone to floods and mudslides, not just for a single season, but potentially for several years after a fire.

When it comes to the remobilization of contaminated mine waste because of flooding, “fire puts that on steroids,” Murphy said.

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.