tag:theconversation.com,2011:/global/topics/contamination-4839/articlesContamination – The Conversation2024-03-27T16:02:40Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2257002024-03-27T16:02:40Z2024-03-27T16:02:40ZHazardous mould contaminates many food staples – what you should know about mycotoxins<p><em>Mycotoxins are substances produced by mould that poison food. They are <a href="https://academic.oup.com/carcin/article/31/1/71/2392129">harmful</a> to humans and animals when consumed. According to the Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO), about 25% of the world’s agricultural harvests are <a href="https://pureadmin.qub.ac.uk/ws/files/185127566/Worldwide_contamination_of_food_crops_with_mycotoxins_Validity_of_the_widely_cited_FAO_estimate_of_25.pdf">contaminated</a> by mycotoxins. Though reliable data is lacking, mycotoxin contamination is <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4108760/">widespread in Africa</a>. It often takes the form of aflatoxin in cereal crops and has led to <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6354945/#:%7E:text=They%20have%20the%20ability%20to,of%20humans%20annually%20(15).">health issues</a> such as chronic gastritis, diarrhoea, kidney problems and <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3699030/">liver cancer</a>. Biologist Oluwadara Pelumi Omotayo <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2214750018307315">studied</a> how mycotoxins contaminate ginger in South Africa. We asked her to explain what they are and how to avoid the danger.</em></p>
<hr>
<h2>What are mycotoxins?</h2>
<p>Mycotoxins are hazardous substances produced by certain microorganisms called toxigenic fungi (<a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4108760/">moulds</a>). </p>
<p>One mould species may produce more than one type of mycotoxin, and a single mycotoxin may be produced by several mould species. Mycotoxins are ubiquitous. They can be found indoors and outdoors, thriving in warm and highly humid areas. They are usually toxic to living things. </p>
<p>Contamination can lead to variety of illnesses, and even death. They can cause <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4108760/">cancer</a>, <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/B9780323870313000305">hepatic diseases</a>, deterioration of the <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1191/0960327103ht328oa">kidneys</a>, <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1191/0960327103ht328oa">nephropathy</a>, and <a href="https://core.ac.uk/download/481757543.pdf">alimentary toxic aleukia</a>, a potentially fatal illness marked by nausea, vomiting, diarrhoea and skin inflammation. They can also impair an animal’s immune system, decrease milk production, cause stunted growth and weight loss, and induce gastroenteritis. </p>
<p>Mycotoxins have been reported to be responsible for numerous human deaths. For example, in 2004, Kenya <a href="https://www.devex.com/news/kenyans-love-maize-but-aflatoxins-are-making-it-dangerous-96279">recorded</a> an outbreak of aflatoxin poisoning which led to the death of about 125 people.</p>
<p>Mycotoxins drastically suppress the immune system. And a single mycotoxin, even in minute quantities, can result in acute poisoning in humans and animals.</p>
<p>Over 300 types of mycotoxins have been identified so far, including the notable aflatoxin and other types like ochratoxin and fumonisin, which often contaminate grains like maize. </p>
<h2>How do humans come in contact with mycotoxin?</h2>
<p>People can be exposed to mycotoxins through eating contaminated food and through contact and absorption through the skin. Exposure can also happen through inhalation of polluted air, as they can be present in airborne particles such as fungal spores.</p>
<p>Human exposure to mycotoxins can come from plant-based food and from the carry-over of mycotoxins and their metabolites in animal products such as meats.</p>
<p>Food items that can be tainted include spices, grains (such as maize, rice and sorghum), nuts, fruits (dry or fresh), coffee beans, cocoa seeds, vegetables and rhizomes like ginger.</p>
<h2>Why should we be concerned about mycotoxins?</h2>
<p>Mycotoxin contamination is widespread, especially in African countries. The toxins exist even in medicinal plants and herbs. This was confirmed by our <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2214750018307315">study</a>, which investigated the presence of mycotoxin in ginger. </p>
<p>Ginger has been used since antiquity for the treatment of various ailments such as colds, migraines and gastrointestinal tract disorders. However, like other spices and herbs, it has been reported to contain mycotoxins. Ginger has been found to contain aflatoxin and ochratoxin A (which is known to be teratogenic: capable of causing developmental abnormalities in unborn foetuses). </p>
<p>From our study, aflatoxins B1, B2, G1 and G2 and ochratoxin A were found in ginger collected from the North-West province of South Africa in summer and winter. Though at varying concentrations, the highest concentration was observed in summer. This indicates that there’s no period when crops and plants, including ginger, would necessarily be completely free from mycotoxins.</p>
<h2>How do farmers and consumers know that a crop has been contaminated?</h2>
<p>Mycotoxins are not visible to the naked eye. The invasion of crops and foods by moulds is an indication that they are potentially contaminated with mycotoxins. </p>
<p>Farmers and consumers should inspect food crops for evidence of moulds, and discard crops and food that have mould growth. </p>
<h2>What can be done to prevent mycotoxin contamination?</h2>
<p>To minimise the risk of mycotoxin exposure and contamination, we recommend action before and after harvest and storage.</p>
<ul>
<li><p>Prevent mycotoxin/fungi invasion while the crops are still in the field. This can be achieved by cultivating and harvesting at the appropriate time. Adopt techniques that reduce stress in plants, such as ensuring they get enough water and are well spaced. They also need adequate sunlight and should be cultivated on suitable soil. It is also important to avoid using agricultural residues as compost as they can produce toxigenic fungi and mycotoxins when decaying.</p></li>
<li><p>After harvest, reduce fungal contamination and mycotoxin production in foods during storage, handling, processing and transport. Facilities should be monitored and kept at temperatures that discourage mould growth. Crops with moulds should be sorted and removed before storage. Storage facilities must be aerated and dry. Reducing moisture content in crops before storage is important to prevent mould.</p></li>
<li><p>Avoid damage to grains before storing as damaged grain is more susceptible to mould growth and mycotoxin contamination.</p></li>
<li><p>Don’t store food too long before consumption. It is important to follow recommended guidelines for safely storing <a href="https://www.foodsafety.gov/food-safety-charts/cold-food-storage-charts">cooked and raw food</a> in the <a href="https://www.foodsafety.gov/food-safety-charts/food-safety-during-power-outage">refrigerator</a>, <a href="https://www.agric.wa.gov.au/fruit/storage-fresh-fruit-and-vegetables?nopaging=1">fruits and vegetables</a>, <a href="https://wholegrainscouncil.org/recipes/cooking-whole-grains/storing-whole-grains">grains</a>, <a href="https://wildlyorganic.com/blogs/recipes/how-long-do-nuts-last-tips-for-storing-nuts-and-seeds">nuts and seeds</a>, and spices such as <a href="https://eatbydate.com/other/spice-menu/how-long-does-ginger-last-shelf-life/">ginger</a>. </p></li>
<li><p>Inspect and discard foods contaminated by moulds. </p></li>
<li><p>Ensure contaminated foods are not sold to consumers.</p></li>
<li><p>Improve awareness about mycotoxin contamination.</p></li>
</ul><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/225700/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Oluwadara Pelumi Omotayo does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Mycotoxins contamination causes health issues. Paying attention to storage of agricultural produce can save many lives.Oluwadara Pelumi Omotayo, Postdoctoral Research Fellow, North-West UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2248152024-03-22T12:32:08Z2024-03-22T12:32:08ZWhat’s in tattoo ink? My team’s chemical analysis found ingredients that aren’t on the label and could cause allergies<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/581794/original/file-20240313-30-tf41i8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C17%2C5751%2C3811&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Tattoo ink ingredients don't always match what's labeled on the bottle. </span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://newsroom.ap.org/detail/CubaTattoos/b36471bdd2ff4e6e8a19a9b9644768d0/photo?Query=tattoo%20ink&mediaType=photo&sortBy=&dateRange=Anytime&totalCount=406&digitizationType=Digitized&currentItemNo=0&vs=true&vs=true">AP Photo/Desmond Boylan</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Tattoos are an incredibly common form of permanent self-expression that date back <a href="https://theconversation.com/tattoos-have-a-long-history-going-back-to-the-ancient-world-and-also-to-colonialism-165584">thousands of years</a>. Most tattoo artists follow strict health and sanitation regulations, so you might assume that tattoo inks are carefully regulated, too. </p>
<p>But as work done by <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=F2mp97YAAAAJ&hl=en">my team of chemistry researchers</a> suggests, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.analchem.3c05687">up to 90%</a> of tattoo inks in the U.S. might be mislabeled. This isn’t just a case of a missing pigment or a minor discrepancy. These inks contained potentially concerning additives that weren’t listed on the packaging. </p>
<h2>What’s in an ink?</h2>
<p>All inks are made up of one or more pigments, which are molecules that give tattoos their color, and some kind of carrier for that pigment. Before the 20th century, <a href="https://www.trinitybj.com/blog/articles/tattoo-ink-throughout-time">pigments used in tattooing</a> included ash, charcoal, minerals or other natural materials. Around the middle of the 20th century, though, tattoo artists started making their own inks using synthetic pigments and dyes. </p>
<p>Today, nearly all pigments used in tattoos are made of <a href="https://f1000research.com/articles/6-2034/v2">synthetic molecules</a> that allow for bright colors – with the exception of white and black pigments.</p>
<p>In the past few decades, tattoo ink manufacturing has shifted from individual artists making their own to large companies manufacturing inks and selling them to artists. My team wanted to figure out whether these inks contained the ingredients advertised, so we <a href="https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.analchem.3c05687">analyzed 54 tattoo inks</a> from the U.S. market. </p>
<h2>Unlisted ingredients</h2>
<p>More than half the inks my research team analyzed contained unlisted polyethylene glycol, also known as PEG. A variety of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polyethylene_glycol">medical products</a> contain PEG, including laxatives. It can cause <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/all.14711">allergic reactions</a>, however, and in the case of tattooing, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s00204-016-1739-2">research has suggested</a> that repeated exposure to PEG could lead to kidney failure.</p>
<figure class="align-left zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/582031/original/file-20240314-26-uzfyep.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Two carbon atoms, with OH groups at each end." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/582031/original/file-20240314-26-uzfyep.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/582031/original/file-20240314-26-uzfyep.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=256&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/582031/original/file-20240314-26-uzfyep.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=256&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/582031/original/file-20240314-26-uzfyep.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=256&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/582031/original/file-20240314-26-uzfyep.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=322&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/582031/original/file-20240314-26-uzfyep.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=322&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/582031/original/file-20240314-26-uzfyep.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=322&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Polyethylene glycol’s chemical structure.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:PEG_Structural_Formula_V1.svg">Jü/Wikimedia Commons</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>We also found <a href="https://pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/compound/Propylene-Glycol">propylene glycol</a> in 15 inks, though it wasn’t listed as an ingredient in any of them. Propylene glycol is generally nontoxic and structurally similar to glycerin, which is used to thicken the ink. Even though propylene glycol is safe for most people, some people are highly allergic to it. In fact, it was the American Contact Dermatitis Society’s <a href="https://dermnetnz.org/topics/contact-allergy-to-propylene-glycol">2018 Allergen of the Year</a>. </p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/582037/original/file-20240314-24-hhn63o.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Three carbon atoms, with OH groups connected to the first and 2nd carbons." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/582037/original/file-20240314-24-hhn63o.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/582037/original/file-20240314-24-hhn63o.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=364&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/582037/original/file-20240314-24-hhn63o.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=364&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/582037/original/file-20240314-24-hhn63o.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=364&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/582037/original/file-20240314-24-hhn63o.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=457&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/582037/original/file-20240314-24-hhn63o.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=457&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/582037/original/file-20240314-24-hhn63o.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=457&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Propylene glycol’s chemical structure.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Propylene_glycol_chemical_structure.png">Edgar181/Wikimedia Commons</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>An <a href="https://www.contactdermatitisinstitute.com/pdfs/allergens/Propylene%20glycol.pdf">allergic reaction</a> to propylene glycol can cause a skin rash, itching and blistering. </p>
<p>In several inks, my research team found unlisted ingredients that are common in cosmetics but have not been tested in tattoo inks. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/10915810290096513">These include BHT</a>, <a href="https://www.paulaschoice.com/ingredient-dictionary/ingredient-dodecane.html">dodecane</a> and <a href="https://www.webmd.com/beauty/what-to-know-about-phenoxyethanol">2-phenoxyethanol</a>. In low concentrations, 2-phenoxyethanol can be a preservative. But the <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-020-58170-9">Food and Drug Administration has warned</a> that it could get passed to infants through breastfeeding and lead to vomiting and dehydration in babies.</p>
<p>Of the 54 inks we analyzed, 29 reported the correct pigments, while the rest either did not report or reported the wrong pigments. <a href="https://www.kantonslabor.bs.ch/dam/jcr:ba246390-48da-406f-aa4e-9e1b24726a31/JB_Tattoo_PMU_2011_EN.pdf">This is a known</a> <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/cod.13913">problem in tattoo inks</a> that ink manufacturers have not yet addressed. </p>
<h2>Pigment concerns</h2>
<p><a href="https://doi.org/10.3390/cosmetics10050141">Studies have found</a> that carbon black, the primary black pigment used in tattooing, can be contaminated with some of the same <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polycyclic_aromatic_hydrocarbon">cancer-causing molecules</a> found in car exhaust and cigarette smoke.</p>
<p>Many red, yellow and orange pigments are azo pigments, which contain two connected nitrogen atoms. These pigments give ink bright, vivid colors, but over time they may <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s00204-016-1739-2">break down into carcinogens</a>. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/582029/original/file-20240314-30-w4pn6t.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A tattoo artist wearing latex gloves holding a tattooing needle inks a geometric design on an arm." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/582029/original/file-20240314-30-w4pn6t.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/582029/original/file-20240314-30-w4pn6t.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/582029/original/file-20240314-30-w4pn6t.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/582029/original/file-20240314-30-w4pn6t.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/582029/original/file-20240314-30-w4pn6t.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/582029/original/file-20240314-30-w4pn6t.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/582029/original/file-20240314-30-w4pn6t.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The pigments in many tattoo inks are made up of synthetic molecules.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://newsroom.ap.org/detail/InkcarcerationMusicandTattooFestival-Day1/7d0d0d2e40d64d4bbe7a0985aa992734/photo?Query=tattooing&mediaType=photo&sortBy=&dateRange=Anytime&totalCount=382&digitizationType=Digitized&currentItemNo=7&vs=true&vs=true">Amy Harris/Invision/AP</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p><a href="https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX:32020R2081#document1">Regulations in Europe</a> prohibit the use of copper-containing pigment blue 15 and pigment green 7, which my work observed to be the only blue and green pigments in the inks we tested. The EU banned these pigments over concern that their use in hair dyes <a href="https://mobil.bfr.bund.de/cm/349/tattoo-inks-risk-assessment-for-pigment-blue-15-3-and-pigment-green-7.pdf">may cause bladder cancer</a>, though researchers haven’t studied that connection in tattoos yet. </p>
<h2>A new focus on regulation</h2>
<p>The FDA is beginning to pay more attention to what is in tattoo inks. In 2022, Congress passed the <a href="https://www.fda.gov/cosmetics/cosmetics-laws-regulations/modernization-cosmetics-regulation-act-2022-mocra">Modernization of Cosmetics Regulation Act, or MoCRA</a>, which gave the FDA expanded authority to regulate tattoo inks. </p>
<p>The FDA is still deciding how to implement MoCRA, but the act will require accurate ingredient labeling and expand the FDA’s authority to recall ink. In the past, tattoo inks have very rarely, and only voluntarily, been recalled because of <a href="https://doi.org/10.3389/fpubh.2023.1279884">bacterial contamination</a>.</p>
<p>So what does this mean for tattoo clients and artists? Right now, there’s no clear research consensus on whether tattoos are safe or not, as they can cause infection and allergic reactions. Plus, tattoos vary widely in size, color and physical location on the body.</p>
<p>Studies like the one from my lab are an important piece in establishing what is actually in a tattoo, so that researchers can better understand any adverse events, such as long-term allergic reactions, that they might cause.</p>
<p>Understanding what is in ink also helps physicians identify what particular health concerns they should look for in tattooed individuals.</p>
<p>The tattoo-related health issues that researchers <a href="https://www.aerzteblatt.de/int/archive/article/182859">do know about</a> come from unskilled artists following poor sanitation protocols. To prevent potential health concerns, those considering a tattoo can work with an experienced and trained artist who follows best practices for hygiene and tattoo aftercare.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/224815/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>John Swierk receives funding from National Institute of Health, National Science Foundation, and American Chemical Society Petroleum Research Fund. </span></em></p>Some tattoo inks contain unlabeled materials that can cause allergic reactions.John Swierk, Assistant Professor, Chemistry, Binghamton University, State University of New YorkLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2238622024-02-20T05:05:54Z2024-02-20T05:05:54ZDid your dog dig in asbestos-laden mulch? Here are the risks – and what to do next<p>This week, disturbing news emerged about <a href="https://theconversation.com/asbestos-in-mulch-heres-the-risk-if-youve-been-exposed-223729">mulch containing asbestos</a> in parks, schools and homes across New South Wales (<a href="https://www.canberratimes.com.au/story/8527611/test-samples-collected-to-check-act-mulch-asbestos-contamination/">and possibly Canberra</a>). So far, the discussion has focused on the risks to human health. </p>
<p>But the incidents have prompted me to worry about the effects on dogs. Dogs love to sniff, dig, lick and roll on the ground. That means dogs in the vicinity of the mulch may have been exposed to asbestos.</p>
<p>I research the environmental causes of cancer in animals. Animal exposure to asbestos is deeply worrying. Long-term exposure, even to low doses, can cause a type of cancer called mesothelioma. The disease also affects humans.</p>
<p>Here, I outline the risks of asbestos exposure in dogs, and what to do if you’re concerned.</p>
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<figcaption><span class="caption">The experts trained to identify asbestos in mulch | 7.30, ABC, 19 February 2024.</span></figcaption>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/asbestos-in-mulch-heres-the-risk-if-youve-been-exposed-223729">Asbestos in mulch? Here's the risk if you've been exposed</a>
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<h2>What do we know about mesothelioma in dogs?</h2>
<p>Mesothelioma is an aggressive cancer that affects both animals and humans. It’s typically concentrated in the respiratory tract, but can affect all cells lining body cavities. </p>
<p>The illness is <a href="https://vsso.org/mesothelioma">rare in dogs</a>, causing less than 1% of all canine tumours. But it takes years to develop, by which time successful treatment is difficult. </p>
<p>Symptoms in dogs include difficulty breathing, enlarged abdomen and muffled heartbeat. A dog may cough, become lethargic, lose its appetite and become depressed. </p>
<p>In dogs, the incubation time – the period when the cancer is developing, is <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK234946/">less than eight years</a>, compared with more than 20 years in humans. So studying cancer in pet dogs can provide important <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/6641667/">information about similar cancers</a> that might also affect humans. </p>
<p>Dogs can be exposed to asbestos in the same way as humans – for example, during home renovation projects. People can wear protective gear, but animals cannot. Dogs also tend to lick things, which means they may ingest asbestos fibres as well as breathe them in. </p>
<p>Asbestos is more dangerous when it is “friable” or easily crumbled and broken up into smaller pieces, releasing fibres into the air. </p>
<p>One study from the 1980s showed <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/6641667/">dogs could be exposed to asbestos</a>, through “secondary contact” or the actions of someone else. This may occur, for example, if a dog inhaled asbestos fibres from the clothes of its owner.</p>
<p>So during house renovations, pets may need to stay mostly outside, or at someone else’s house or a boarding kennel.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/576701/original/file-20240220-24-k79how.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A small dog looking up from digging a hole in the garden" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/576701/original/file-20240220-24-k79how.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/576701/original/file-20240220-24-k79how.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/576701/original/file-20240220-24-k79how.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/576701/original/file-20240220-24-k79how.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/576701/original/file-20240220-24-k79how.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/576701/original/file-20240220-24-k79how.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/576701/original/file-20240220-24-k79how.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">Dogs love to dig but this may can expose them to contaminants.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/dog-garden-digging-hole-2167039171">jarizPJ, Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>What about the mulch issue?</h2>
<p>At latest count, <a href="https://www.epa.nsw.gov.au/news/media-releases/2024/epamedia240220-asbestos-investigation-updates-20-february">47 sites in NSW</a> have tested positive for asbestos in mulch. In the Australian Capital Territory, environment officials are investigating <a href="https://www.accesscanberra.act.gov.au/city-services/potential-mulch-asbestos-contamination">potentially contaminated “cottage mulch”</a> sold to 24 companies and 27 addresses in and around Canberra.</p>
<p>In <a href="https://www.epa.nsw.gov.au/news/media-releases/2024/epamedia240220-asbestos-investigation-updates-20-february">all but one Sydney case</a>, the asbestos was considered lower-risk as it was mixed with cement or other hard bonding materials. However, “non-friable” or “bonded” asbestos <a href="https://www.asbestos.nsw.gov.au/identify-asbestos/what-is-asbestos/friable-and-non-friable-asbestos">can become friable if damaged or old</a>. Then, asbestos can be released into the air. </p>
<p>The more dangerous friable asbestos was found at a popular <a href="https://www.epa.nsw.gov.au/news/media-releases/2024/epamedia240220-asbestos-investigation-updates-20-february">public park in Glebe</a>. This is concerning.</p>
<p>The risk of an animal developing cancer is influenced by duration of exposure and the extent of contamination. We don’t know what level of exposure is required to develop mesothelioma in dogs. But in humans, there is <a href="https://www.health.wa.gov.au/%7E/media/Files/Corporate/general-documents/Asbestos/PDF/AsbestosinandaroundyourhomeOctober2014.pdf">no known safe asbestos exposure level</a>. </p>
<h2>What to do if you’re concerned</h2>
<p>Mesothelioma can progress rapidly in both dogs and humans. Early diagnosis increases the chance of survival. </p>
<p>If you think your dog has been exposed to asbestos, take it to see a vet. The vet may perform an x-ray to check the dog’s lungs and/or abdomen and windpipe. If damage is present, a vet would take samples of tissue and fluids from the thorax or abdomen, for further examination.</p>
<p>So what happens if a dog is diagnosed with mesothelioma?</p>
<p>In some cases, the cancer will be so far progressed that treatment is not an option. In that case, all effort should be made to ensure the dog is as comfortable as possible. </p>
<p>If it’s not too late to start treatment, dogs can undergo chemotherapy, usually in the form of injections. One study suggests chemotherapy <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9796774/">increases</a> a dog’s chance of survival.</p>
<p>The duration of treatment and side effects of chemotherapy vary depending on the severity of the dog’s case. <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6681408/">Deciding whether or not to proceed</a> with chemotherapy can be difficult and requires weighing up the costs and likely benefits. It is expensive, but many dogs cope remarkably well and <a href="https://adelaidevet.com.au/pet-library/chemotherapy-and-your-pet/">rarely lose their hair</a>. </p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1759405718225244189"}"></div></p>
<h2>A wake-up call</h2>
<p>Cancer in pets doesn’t always develop by chance. It can be caused by the air they breathe, the soil they dig in and the <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9969847/">water</a> they drink.</p>
<p>The case of asbestos-contaminated mulch should be a wake-up call for regulators and industry. But it should also remind pet owners to carefully consider the substances their animals might be exposed to, both inside and outside the home. </p>
<p>Gathering data on canine exposure to environmental hazards is crucial to understanding the origin of spontaneous cancers. We have just launched a national survey on the topic. You can <a href="https://uniofqueensland.syd1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_9YqjgniJezB8dym">find it here</a>.</p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/why-does-my-dog-eat-grass-and-when-is-it-not-safe-for-them-205658">Why does my dog eat grass? And when is it not safe for them?</a>
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</em>
</p>
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<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/223862/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Chiara Palmieri receives funding from philanthropic donations, the Australian Research Data Commons, Perpetual trust, canine research foundation, University of Queensland internal grant schemes, Meat & Livestock Australia, and Agrifutures.</span></em></p>Exposure to asbestos can cause the same cancer in dogs as it does in humans. Recent cases of asbestos-contaminated mulch highlight the need to better protect our pets.Chiara Palmieri, Professor, The University of QueenslandLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2237292024-02-19T02:50:03Z2024-02-19T02:50:03ZAsbestos in mulch? Here’s the risk if you’ve been exposed<p>Mulch containing asbestos has now been found at <a href="https://www.epa.nsw.gov.au/news/media-releases/2024/epamedia240219-asbestos-investigation-updates">41 locations</a> in New South Wales, including Sydney parks, <a href="https://www.epa.nsw.gov.au/news/media-releases/2024/epamedia240211-asbestos-mulch-found-at-liverpool-west-public-school">schools</a>, <a href="https://www.epa.nsw.gov.au/news/media-releases/2024/epamedia240216-epa-to-conduct-priority-testing-at-sydney-schools">hospitals</a>, a <a href="https://www.epa.nsw.gov.au/news/media-releases/2024/epamedia240219-asbestos-investigation-updates">supermarket</a> and at least <a href="https://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/testing-for-asbestos-tainted-mulch-across-sydney-set-to-begin/0d6wo7hx6">one regional site</a>. Tests are under way at <a href="https://www.epa.nsw.gov.au/news/media-releases/2024/epamedia240219-asbestos-investigation-updates">other sites</a>. </p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1759189770964721946"}"></div></p>
<p>As a precautionary measure, some parks have been <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/sydney-parks-cordoned-off-mardi-gras-event-cancelled-after-asbestos-concerns-2024-02-15/#:%7E:text=SYDNEY%2C%20Feb%2016%20(Reuters),toxic%20material%20from%20public%20spaces.">cordoned off</a> and some schools have <a href="https://www.epa.nsw.gov.au/news/media-releases/2024/epamedia240219-asbestos-investigation-updates">closed</a> temporarily. Fair Day – a large public event that traditionally marks the start of Mardi Gras – <a href="https://whatson.cityofsydney.nsw.gov.au/events/fair-day">was cancelled</a> after contaminated mulch was found at the site.</p>
<p>The New South Wales government has announced a new <a href="https://www.epa.nsw.gov.au/news/media-releases/2024/epamedia240215-new-asbestos-taskforce-to-support-investigation-into-mulch">taskforce</a> to help investigate how the asbestos ended up in the mulch.</p>
<p>Here’s what we know about the risk to public health of mulch contaminated with asbestos, including “friable” asbestos, which <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2024/feb/14/nsw-opposition-calls-for-central-register-of-sites-under-investigation-amid-asbestos-crisis#:%7E:text=The%20City%20of%20Sydney%20announced%20on%20Tuesday%20that%20friable%20asbestos,been%20found%20at%20Regatta%20Park.">has been found</a> in one <a href="https://www.epa.nsw.gov.au/news/media-releases/2024/epamedia240216-epa-to-conduct-priority-testing-at-sydney-schools">site</a> (<a href="https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/asbestos-found-in-multiple-sydney-parks-20240213-p5f4ep.html">Harmony Park</a> in Surry Hills). </p>
<h2>What are the health risks of asbestos?</h2>
<p>Asbestos is a naturally occurring, heat-resistant fibre that was widely used in building materials from the <a href="https://www.cancer.org.au/cancer-information/causes-and-prevention/workplace-cancer/asbestos">1940s to the 1980s</a>. It can be found in either a <a href="https://www.safeworkaustralia.gov.au/safety-topic/hazards/asbestos/overview">bonded or friable</a> form. </p>
<p>Bonded asbestos means the fibres are bound in a cement matrix. Asbestos sheeting that was used for walls, fences, roofs and eaves are examples of bonded asbestos. The fibres don’t escape this matrix unless the product is severely damaged or worn. </p>
<p>A lot of asbestos fragments from broken asbestos products are still considered bonded as the fibres are not released as they lay on the ground.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Bonded asbestos" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/576359/original/file-20240219-16-54tww8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/576359/original/file-20240219-16-54tww8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=322&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/576359/original/file-20240219-16-54tww8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=322&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/576359/original/file-20240219-16-54tww8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=322&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/576359/original/file-20240219-16-54tww8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=404&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/576359/original/file-20240219-16-54tww8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=404&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/576359/original/file-20240219-16-54tww8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=404&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Asbestos sheeting was used for walls and roofs.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://theconversation.com/diy-renovators-now-most-at-risk-of-asbestos-cancers-3206">Tomas Regina/Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Friable asbestos, in contrast, can be easily crumbled by touch. It will include raw asbestos fibres and previously bonded products that have worn to the point that they crumble easily.</p>
<p>The risk of disease from asbestos exposure is due to the <a href="https://www.asbestossafety.gov.au/asbestos-health-risks-and-exposure/asbestos-health-risks">inhalation of fibres</a>. It doesn’t matter if those fibres are from friable or bonded sources. </p>
<p>However, fibres can more easily become airborne, and therefore inhalable, if the asbestos is friable. This means there is more of a risk of exposure if you are disturbing friable asbestos than if you disturb fragments of bonded asbestos.</p>
<h2>Who is most at risk from asbestos exposure?</h2>
<p>The most important factor for disease risk is exposure – you actually have to inhale fibres to be at risk of disease. </p>
<p>Just being in the vicinity of asbestos, or material containing asbestos, does not put you at risk of asbestos-related disease. </p>
<p>For those who accessed the contaminated areas, the level of exposure will depend on disturbing the asbestos and how many fibres become airborne due to that disturbance. </p>
<p>However, if you have been exposed to, and inhaled, asbestos fibres it does not mean you will get an asbestos-related disease. Exposure levels from the sites across Sydney will be low and the chance of disease is highly unlikely.</p>
<p>The evidence for disease risk from ingestion remains <a href="https://iris.who.int/bitstream/handle/10665/350932/WHO-HEP-ECH-WSH-2021.4-eng.pdf">highly uncertain</a>, although you are not likely to ingest sufficient fibres from the air, or even the hand to mouth activities that may occur with playing in contaminated mulch, for this to be a concern.</p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1759390095805706324"}"></div></p>
<p>The risk of disease from exposure depends on the <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/j.1445-5994.2011.02451.x">intensity, frequency and duration of that exposure</a>. That is, the more you are exposed to asbestos, the greater the risk of disease. </p>
<p>Most asbestos-related disease has occurred in people who work with raw asbestos (for example, asbestos miners) or asbestos-containing products (such as building tradespeople). This has been a tragedy and fortunately asbestos is now banned. </p>
<p>There have been cases of asbestos-related disease, most notably mesothelioma – a cancer of the lining of the lung (mostly) or peritoneum – from non-occupational exposures. This has included people who have undertaken DIY home renovations and may have only had <a href="https://www.mja.com.au/journal/2011/195/5/increasing-incidence-malignant-mesothelioma-after-exposure-asbestos-during-home">short-term exposures</a>. The level of exposure in these cases is not known and it is also impossible to determine if those activities have been the only exposure. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/diy-renovators-now-most-at-risk-of-asbestos-cancers-3206">DIY renovators now most at risk of asbestos cancers</a>
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</em>
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<p>There is no <em>known</em> safe level of exposure – but this <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/j.1445-5994.2011.02451.x">does not mean that one fibre will kill</a>. Asbestos needs to be treated with caution.</p>
<p>As far as we are aware, there have been no cases of mesothelioma, or other asbestos-related disease, that have been caused by <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/resp.14648">exposure from contaminated soils or mulch</a>.</p>
<h2>Has asbestos been found in mulch before?</h2>
<p>Asbestos contamination of mulch is, unfortunately, <a href="https://www.perthnow.com.au/news/wa/asbestos-mulch-fears-in-perth-southern-suburb-aubin-grove-ng-1b39c602956a6588f35f42b90be75e40">not new</a>. Environmental and health agencies have dealt with these situations in the past. All jurisdictions have strict regulations about removing asbestos products from the green waste stream but, as is happening in Sydney now, this does not always happen. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Mulch" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/576363/original/file-20240219-30-nbwq6k.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/576363/original/file-20240219-30-nbwq6k.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=377&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/576363/original/file-20240219-30-nbwq6k.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=377&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/576363/original/file-20240219-30-nbwq6k.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=377&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/576363/original/file-20240219-30-nbwq6k.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=473&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/576363/original/file-20240219-30-nbwq6k.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=473&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/576363/original/file-20240219-30-nbwq6k.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=473&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Mulch contamination is not new.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/barking-mulch-617198870">gibleho/Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>What if I’ve been near contaminated mulch?</h2>
<p>Exposure from mulch contamination is generally much lower than from current renovation or construction activities and will be many orders of magnitude lower than past occupational exposures. </p>
<p>Unlike activities such as demolition, construction and mining, the generation of airborne fibres from asbestos fragments in mulch will be very low. The asbestos contamination will be sparsely spread throughout the mulch and it is unlikely there will be sufficient disturbance to generate large quantities of airborne fibres. </p>
<p>Despite the low chance of exposure, if you’re near contaminated mulch, do not disturb it. </p>
<p>If, by chance, you have had an exposure, or think you have had an exposure, it’s highly unlikely you will develop an asbestos-related disease in the future. If you’re worried, the <a href="https://www.asbestossafety.gov.au/asbestos-home">Asbestos Safety and Eradication Agency</a> is a good source of information.</p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/asbestos-still-haunts-those-exposed-as-kids-in-mining-towns-9487">Asbestos still haunts those exposed as kids in mining towns</a>
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<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/223729/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Peter Franklin is on the board of Reflections, a not-for-profit organisation for the asbestos awareness and support of people with asbestos-related disease. </span></em></p>The most important factor for disease risk is exposure – you actually have to inhale asbestos fibres to be at risk of disease. But asbestos needs to be treated with caution.Peter Franklin, Associate Professor and Director, Occupational Respiratory Epidemiology, The University of Western AustraliaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2116572023-09-14T12:30:25Z2023-09-14T12:30:25ZThe importance of shining a light on hidden toxic histories<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/548169/original/file-20230913-23-64mqmc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C4%2C2927%2C1970&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Activists in Newark, N.J., offer tours that teach visitors about the city's legacy of industrial pollution and environmental racism.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/an-aerial-view-of-newark-new-jersey-shows-smoke-news-photo/635229321?adppopup=true">Charles Rotkin/Corbis via Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Indianapolis proudly claims <a href="https://www.wthr.com/article/entertainment/hoosiers-remember-elvis-presley-indianapolis-concert-amid-new-movie-buzz/531-503bd6a9-c645-4704-bfad-7577126aaad6">Elvis’ last concert</a>, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A2kWIa8wSC0">Robert Kennedy’s speech</a> in response to Martin Luther King Jr.’s assassination, and the Indianapolis 500. There’s a 9/11 memorial, a <a href="https://www.indianawarmemorials.org/explore/medal-of-honor-memorial/">Medal of Honor Memorial</a> and a statue of former NFL quarterback Peyton Manning.</p>
<p>What few locals know, let alone tourists, is that the city also houses one of the largest dry cleaning <a href="https://www.epa.gov/superfund/what-superfund">Superfund sites</a> in the U.S.</p>
<p>From 1952 to 2008, Tuchman Cleaners laundered clothes <a href="https://www.doi.org/10.3389/fpubh.2021.638082">using perchloroethylene</a>, or PERC, a neurotoxin and possible carcinogen. Tuchman operated a chain of cleaners throughout the city, which sent clothes to a facility on Keystone Avenue for cleaning. It was also the location where used solution was stored in underground tanks.</p>
<p>Inspectors noted the presence of volatile organic compounds from leaking tanks and possible spills as early as 1989. By 1994, an underground plume had spread to a nearby aquifer. By the time the EPA became involved in 2011, the <a href="https://response.epa.gov/site/site_profile.aspx?site_id=7130">underground chemical plume</a> had seeped more than a mile underneath a residential area, reaching a well that supplies drinking water to the city.</p>
<p>When geographer <a href="https://liberalarts.iupui.edu/departments/geography/directory/owen-dwyer/">Owen Dwyer</a>, earth scientist <a href="https://science.iupui.edu/people-directory/people/filippelli-gabriel.html">Gabe Filippelli</a> and I investigated and wrote about the social and environmental <a href="https://www.taylorfrancis.com/chapters/oa-edit/10.4324/9781003365259-24/dirty-laundry-toxic-heritage-dry-cleaning-indianapolis-indiana-elizabeth-kryder-reid-owen-dwyer-gabriel-filippelli?context=ubx&refId=242e9f98-2f2d-4587-9449-99734e77a875">history of dry cleaning in Indianapolis</a>, we were struck by how few people outside of the dry cleaning and environmental management fields were aware of this environmental damage. </p>
<p>There are no markers or memorials. There is no mention of it – or any other accounts of contamination – in Indianapolis’ many museums. This kind of silence has been called “<a href="https://www.orionmagazine.org/article/environmental-amnesia/">environmental amnesia</a>” or “<a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/24906248">collective forgetting</a>.”</p>
<p>Societies celebrate heroes and commemorate tragedies. But where in public memory is environmental harm? What if people thought about it not only as a science or policy problem, but also as a part of history? Would it make a difference if pollution, along with biodiversity loss and climate change, was seen as part of our shared heritage? </p>
<h2>The slow violence of contamination</h2>
<p>Environmental harm often takes place gradually and out of sight, and this could be one reason why there’s so little public conversation and commemoration. In 2011, Princeton English professor <a href="https://www.hup.harvard.edu/catalog.php?isbn=9780674072343">Rob Nixon</a> came up with a term for this kind of environmental degradation: slow violence. </p>
<p>As underground storage tanks leak, <a href="https://www.taylorfrancis.com/chapters/oa-edit/10.4324/9781003365259-10/ghost-wrecks-anthropocene-enduring-toxic-legacy-pacific-war-matthew-carter-ashley-meredith-augustine-kohler-ranger-walter-bill-jeffrey-paul-heersink?context=ubx&refId=9df11100-ce32-4e00-b590-5b9769b00df2">shipwrecks corrode</a>, coal ash ponds seep and <a href="https://www.taylorfrancis.com/chapters/oa-edit/10.4324/9781003365259-6/toxic-heritage-forever-confronting-pfas-contamination-toxicity-lived-experience-thomas-pearson-daniel-renfrew?context=ubx&refId=ef6c0e6a-b9da-4008-9689-9a43a2dc3055">forever chemicals spread</a>, the creeping pace of poisoned soil and water fails to garner the attention that more dramatic environmental disasters attract.</p>
<p>Certain interests benefit from hiding the costs of pollution and its remediation. Sociologists <a href="https://www.russellsage.org/publications/sites-unseen">Scott Frickel and James R. Elliott</a> have studied urban pollution, and they highlight three reasons for its pervasiveness and persistence. </p>
<p>First, in cities, small factories, auto repair shops, dry cleaners and other light industries sometimes only stay open for a decade or two, making it challenging to regulate them and track their environmental impacts over time. By the time contamination is discovered, many facilities have long been shuttered or purchased by new owners. And the polluters have a direct financial interest in not being connected with it, since they could be held liable and forced to pay for cleanup.</p>
<p>Similarly, urban neighborhoods tend to have shifting demographics, and local residents are often not aware of historical pollution. </p>
<p>Finally, it can simply be politically expedient to look the other way and ignore the consequences of pollution. Cities may be concerned that publicizing toxic histories discourage investment and depress property values, and politicians are hesitant to fund projects that may have a long-term benefit but short-term costs. Indianapolis, for example, tried for decades to avoid mitigating the raw sewage flowing into the White River and Fall Creek, arguing it was too expensive to deal with. Only when required by a <a href="https://www.epa.gov/sites/default/files/2013-09/documents/indy0610-cd.pdf">consent decree</a> did the city start to address the problem.</p>
<p>Toxic legacies are also difficult to track because their effects may be hidden by distance and time. Anthropologist Peter Little <a href="https://global.oup.com/academic/product/burning-matters-9780190934552?cc=us&lang=en&">traced the outsourcing of electronics waste recycling</a>, which is shipped from the places where electronics are bought and used, to countries such as Ghana, where labor is cheap and environmental regulations lax. </p>
<p>Then there are the toxic traces of military conflicts, which linger long after the fighting has stopped and troops have returned home. Historian and geologist Daniel Hubé has documented <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/19475020.2017.1393347">the long-term environmental impact of World War I munitions</a>. </p>
<p>At the end of the war, unused and unexploded bombs and chemical weapons had to be disposed of. In France, at a site known as <a href="https://www.taylorfrancis.com/chapters/oa-edit/10.4324/9781003365259-25/cleaning-battlefields-times-war-polluted-soils-times-peace-case-study-silent-visible-toxic-legacy-great-war-daniel-hub%C3%A9-tobias-bausinger?context=ubx&refId=630129c7-e447-48fd-a959-24bf0bae1d83">Place à Gaz</a>, hundreds of thousands of chemical weapons were burned. Today, the soils have been found to have extraordinarily high levels of arsenic and other heavy metals. </p>
<p>More than a century after the end of the war, little grows on the contaminated, barren land.</p>
<h2>Toxic tours and teaching moments</h2>
<p>There’s a growing movement to make toxic histories more visible.</p>
<p>In Providence, Rhode Island, artist Holly Ewald founded the <a href="http://www.upparts.org/">Urban Pond Procession</a> to call attention to Mashapaug Pond, which was contaminated by <a href="https://medallicartcollector.com/gorham.shtml">a Gorham Silver factory</a>. She worked with community partners to create wearable sculptures, puppets and giant fish, all of which were carried and worn in an annual parade that took place from 2008 to 2017.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="People march along a sidewalk playing instruments and holding signs featuring fish." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/548175/original/file-20230913-3869-qv2hbs.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/548175/original/file-20230913-3869-qv2hbs.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=415&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/548175/original/file-20230913-3869-qv2hbs.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=415&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/548175/original/file-20230913-3869-qv2hbs.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=415&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/548175/original/file-20230913-3869-qv2hbs.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=522&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/548175/original/file-20230913-3869-qv2hbs.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=522&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/548175/original/file-20230913-3869-qv2hbs.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=522&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The Urban Pond Procession took place each summer for 10 years in Providence, R.I.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Photo by Mary Beth Meehan, UPP Collection, Providence Public Library</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Cultural anthropologist Amelia Fiske collaborated with artist Jonas Fischer to create the graphic novel “<a href="https://utorontopress.com/9781487509538/toxic/">Tóxico</a>,” which will be published in 2024. It depicts petroleum pollution in the Ecuadorian Amazon, as well as the struggles of those fighting for environmental justice. </p>
<p>Toxic tours can educate the public about the histories, causes and consequences of environmental harm. For example, <a href="https://www.taylorfrancis.com/chapters/oa-edit/10.4324/9781003365259-31/environmental-justice-tours-transformative-narratives-struggle-solidarity-activism-ana-isabel-baptista?context=ubx&refId=7e43d2ce-0c5c-41a4-a9b6-40ce10c0848c">Ironbound Community Corporation</a> in Newark, New Jersey, offers a tour of severely contaminated sites, such as the location of the former <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/1998/11/08/nyregion/newark-s-toxic-tomb-six-acres-fouled-dioxin-agent-orange-s-deadly-byproduct.html">Agent Orange factory</a>, where the sediment in the sludge is laced with the carcinogen dioxin. The tour also goes by a detention center <a href="https://www.epa.gov/brownfields/overview-epas-brownfields-program">that’s built on a brownfield</a>, which has only undergone industrial-level remediation because that’s the standard all prisons are held to.</p>
<p>In 2017, the <a href="https://www.humanitiesactionlab.org/">Humanities Action Lab</a> organized “<a href="https://climatesofinequality.org/">Climates of Inequality</a>,” a traveling exhibit co-curated by more than 20 universities and local partners exploring environmental issues affecting communities around the world. The <a href="https://www.taylorfrancis.com/chapters/oa-edit/10.4324/9781003365259-34/toxic-heritage-reparations-activating-memory-environmental-climate-justice-liz-%C5%A1ev%C4%8Denko?context=ubx&refId=e2e664c7-b4d9-4497-b4a4-6d4f5dd1b009">exhibit</a> brings attention to polluted waterways, the impacts of climate change, ecological damage on Indigenous lands and the ways in which immigrant agricultural workers experience heat stress and chronic pesticide exposure. The exhibits also explore the affected communities’ resilience and advocacy.</p>
<p>These stories of pollution and contamination, and their effects on people’s health and livelihoods, represent only a sampling of current efforts to curate toxic heritage. As sociologist Alice Mah writes in her foreword to “<a href="https://www.routledge.com/Toxic-Heritage-Legacies-Futures-and-Environmental-Injustice/Kryder-Reid-May/p/book/9781032429977">Toxic Heritage</a>”: “Reckoning with toxic heritage is an urgent collective task. It is also unsettling work. It requires confronting painful truths about the roots of toxic injustice with courage, honesty, and humility.”</p>
<p>I see public commemoration of hidden toxic histories as a way to push back against denial, habituation and amnesia. It creates a space for public conversation, and it opens up possibilities for a more just and sustainable future.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/211657/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Elizabeth Kryder-Reid receives funding from Indiana University and the Fulbright Program.</span></em></p>Societies celebrate heroes and commemorate tragedies. But why is there so little public acknowledgment of environmental disasters?Elizabeth Kryder-Reid, Chancellor's Professor of Anthropology and Museum Studies, Indiana UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2104522023-08-30T12:16:10Z2023-08-30T12:16:10Z50 years after the Bunker Hill mine fire caused one of the largest lead-poisoning cases in US history, Idaho’s Silver Valley is still at risk<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/544335/original/file-20230823-21-itpz3x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C21%2C4885%2C3224&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Waterways and communities for miles around Idaho's Bunker Hill mine were contaminated with lead after the 1973 fire.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/scenic-river-in-cataldo-idaho-royalty-free-image/489436366">gjohnstonphoto/iStock/Getty Images Plus</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>On Sept. 3, 1973, a fire swept through the baghouse of the Bunker Hill mine in Idaho’s Silver Valley. The building was designed to filter pollutants produced by smelting, the melting of rocks that separates metal from its ore. The gases produced in this process carried poisons, including lead.</p>
<p>At the time, the <a href="https://osupress.oregonstate.edu/book/leaded">prices of lead</a> and <a href="https://www.macrotrends.net/1470/historical-silver-prices-100-year-chart">silver were climbing</a> toward all-time highs. Rather than wait for new filters and repairs, company officials kept the mine running. <a href="https://www.oupress.com/9780806138985/idahos-bunker-hill/">They increased production</a>, bypassed the filtration steps and, <a href="https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/11359/superfund-and-mining-megasites-lessons-from-the-coeur-dalene-river">for eleven months</a>, dumped noxious gases directly into the surrounding area.</p>
<p>Then, horses in the area <a href="https://osupress.oregonstate.edu/book/leaded">began dying</a>. </p>
<p>When data on children’s blood lead levels began to arrive in September 1974, one year after the fire, the results were shocking. The fire became one of the largest single lead-poisoning events in U.S. history. </p>
<figure class="align-right ">
<img alt="A large industrial complex lit up against snow." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/544196/original/file-20230823-15-j8fnct.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/544196/original/file-20230823-15-j8fnct.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=550&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/544196/original/file-20230823-15-j8fnct.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=550&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/544196/original/file-20230823-15-j8fnct.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=550&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/544196/original/file-20230823-15-j8fnct.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=691&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/544196/original/file-20230823-15-j8fnct.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=691&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/544196/original/file-20230823-15-j8fnct.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=691&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The Bunker Hill smelter in the 1970s. The mine closed in 1991, but planning is underway in 2023 to restart it.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Bunker_Hill_smelter_operating_in_winter_snow,_1970s.jpg">US EPA</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Without filters, the mine operations deposited an estimated <a href="https://www.restorationpartnership.org/pdf/d-Chapter_2_Hazardous_Substance_Sources.pdf">35 tons of lead per month</a> in the area, four times more than before the fire. Between January and September 1974, it also released more than 2 tons of arsenic and 2.5 tons of mercury, among other metals and toxic chemicals, according to data <a href="https://www.restorationpartnership.org/pdf/d-Chapter_2_Hazardous_Substance_Sources.pdf">collected by Restoration Partnership</a>.</p>
<p>Lead still contaminates the soil across <a href="https://www.deq.idaho.gov/waste-management-and-remediation/mining-in-idaho/bunker-hill-superfund-site/">Silver Valley</a> today, and it continues to wash down tributaries and into the Coeur d’Alene River and Lake Coeur d’Alene. Many people in this fast-growing region are unaware of the risks.</p>
<h2>How lead harms human health</h2>
<p>Our bodies use metals like zinc, iron and calcium. However, we have zero need for lead. Its chemical composition makes it both <a href="https://doi.org/10.1515/intox-2015-0009">highly toxic and able to infiltrate almost every organ in the body</a>.</p>
<p>Lead exposure can cause <a href="https://doi.org/10.1152/ajpheart.00158.2008">high blood pressure and cardiac disease</a>. It can also cause problems with <a href="https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/lead-poisoning-and-health">brain development, kidney function and reproductive health</a>, including <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/nceh/lead/prevention/pregnant.htm">miscarriages, prematurity and low birth weight</a>. Children are especially susceptible to lead’s toxic effect on the central nervous system; they absorb it up to <a href="https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.2015.303003">17 times more</a> readily than adults, and their brains are still developing.</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/76RKSQgduVQ?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">What lead poisoning does to a child’s brain. PBS.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s reference value for levels of lead in blood has changed as knowledge about this potent neurotoxin has evolved. In 1973, a blood lead level of less than 40 <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/nceh/lead/docs/lepac/blrv-recommendation-report-508.pdf">micrograms per deciliter</a> in children was vaguely defined as “undue lead absorption.” In 1991, anything above 10 micrograms per deciliter was considered a “level of concern.”</p>
<p>Today, <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/nceh/lead/data/blood-lead-reference-value.htm">3.5 micrograms per deciliter</a> is the reference value, meant to identify the 2.5% of children with the highest blood lead levels. The CDC no longer uses “level of concern” as a threshold, because there is <a href="https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/lead-poisoning-and-health">no safe blood lead level in children</a>.</p>
<h2>Children’s health after the Baghouse Fire</h2>
<p>The children of the Silver Valley were exposed to extremely high levels of poisons after the Baghouse Fire at the Bunker Hill mine.</p>
<p>Ninety-nine percent of children within a mile of the smelter who were tested after the fire – 173 out of 175 kids – had blood lead levels of 40 micrograms per deciliter or higher. Their <a href="https://osupress.oregonstate.edu/book/leaded">average blood lead level</a> was 67.4 micrograms per deciliter. A 1-year-old tested at 164 micrograms per deciliter, the <a href="https://osupress.oregonstate.edu/book/leaded">highest ever recorded in a child</a>.</p>
<p>Cognitive impairment in children, as measured by loss of IQ points, can occur at levels of <a href="https://doi.org/10.1186/s13643-022-01963-y">less than 5 micrograms per deciliter</a>.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A donut chart with concentric rings for each distance shows almost all children had dangerously high high blood lead levels close to the smelter. Even 6 to 15 miles away (10 to 24 kilometers), one-fifth of children had exceptionally high levels." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/545366/original/file-20230829-15-refhca.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/545366/original/file-20230829-15-refhca.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=582&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/545366/original/file-20230829-15-refhca.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=582&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/545366/original/file-20230829-15-refhca.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=582&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/545366/original/file-20230829-15-refhca.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=731&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/545366/original/file-20230829-15-refhca.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=731&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/545366/original/file-20230829-15-refhca.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=731&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption"></span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://osupress.oregonstate.edu/book/leaded">Adapted from Leaded: The Poisoning of Idaho's Silver Valley</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>To put the Silver Valley numbers into context, the average blood lead level for children in Flint, Michigan, at the height of the lead-pipe water crisis in 2015 was <a href="https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/03/180326090313.htm">1.3 micrograms per deciliter</a>, and 21 children had blood lead levels <a href="https://www.statnews.com/2016/01/22/flint-children-lead-exposure/">over 10 micrograms per deciliter</a>.</p>
<p>It is difficult to assess the extent of the damage from the Baghouse Fire in the children of the Silver Valley. Doctors in the 1970s weren’t able to test for cognitive and neurologic problems in the most vulnerable children, birth to 3 years old. Michael C. Mix describes in “<a href="https://osupress.oregonstate.edu/book/leaded">Leaded: The Poisoning of Idaho’s Silver Valley</a>” how the politically powerful company that owned the mine also suppressed and distorted health findings. Blood lead levels in children in the area remained higher than 40 micrograms per deciliter into 1980.</p>
<h2>Continuing health risk in Silver Valley</h2>
<p>The legacy of the Baghouse Fire continues to haunt Silver Valley, but that incident 50 years ago is only part of the picture. Decades of contamination from other mines in the area poses further risks.</p>
<p>At its height, the Silver Valley area had over 200 active mines. Today, it is the largest contiguous Superfund site in the nation – 1,500 square miles (3,885 square kilometers) across northern Idaho and eastern Washington. Multiple agencies, including the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Idaho Department of Environmental Quality, Panhandle Health District, the Coeur d’Alene Trust and the Coeur d’Alene Tribe (Schitsu’umsh), are active in <a href="https://cumulis.epa.gov/supercpad/SiteProfiles/index.cfm?fuseaction=second.Cleanup&id=1000195#bkground">monitoring and cleanup operations</a>.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/544192/original/file-20230823-25-2hf4yv.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A map is pocked with x's showing mine sites across the region, mostly east of the Bunker Hill fire site." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/544192/original/file-20230823-25-2hf4yv.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/544192/original/file-20230823-25-2hf4yv.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=333&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/544192/original/file-20230823-25-2hf4yv.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=333&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/544192/original/file-20230823-25-2hf4yv.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=333&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/544192/original/file-20230823-25-2hf4yv.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=418&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/544192/original/file-20230823-25-2hf4yv.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=418&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/544192/original/file-20230823-25-2hf4yv.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=418&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Hundreds of old mine sites dot the region east of Lake Coeur d'Alene.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://panhandlehealthdistrict.org/">Panhandle Health District</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Early efforts to clean up contamination from the fire concentrated on residential areas in “The Box,” a 21-square-mile area (54 square kilometers) around the old smelter site and the towns of Kellogg, Smelterville and Pinehurst. Workers dug up contaminated earth and removed it, and officials monitored the environment and human health.</p>
<p>The cleanup today is much more extensive and ongoing, with efforts focused on cleaning up the old mine and mill sites and recreational areas.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/544199/original/file-20230823-29-57d7ij.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A map shows the Superfund site including Cuoer d'Alene Lake" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/544199/original/file-20230823-29-57d7ij.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/544199/original/file-20230823-29-57d7ij.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=418&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/544199/original/file-20230823-29-57d7ij.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=418&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/544199/original/file-20230823-29-57d7ij.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=418&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/544199/original/file-20230823-29-57d7ij.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=525&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/544199/original/file-20230823-29-57d7ij.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=525&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/544199/original/file-20230823-29-57d7ij.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=525&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The Bunker Hill Mining and Metallurgical Complex Superfund Site covers about 1,500 square miles across northern Idaho and eastern Washington. ‘The Box’ is shaded in gray.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://cumulis.epa.gov/supercpad/SiteProfiles/index.cfm?fuseaction=second.cleanup&id=1000195">EPA</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/544393/original/file-20230823-21-bhorjz.PNG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A map shows a boundary around the lake and along the river." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/544393/original/file-20230823-21-bhorjz.PNG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/544393/original/file-20230823-21-bhorjz.PNG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=423&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/544393/original/file-20230823-21-bhorjz.PNG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=423&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/544393/original/file-20230823-21-bhorjz.PNG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=423&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/544393/original/file-20230823-21-bhorjz.PNG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=532&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/544393/original/file-20230823-21-bhorjz.PNG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=532&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/544393/original/file-20230823-21-bhorjz.PNG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=532&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The EPA’s active area within the Superfund site includes long stretches of the Coeur d'Alene River and Lake Coeur d'Alene. The EPA notes that there are also sites with contamination further downstream in the Spokane River, Washington.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">EPA</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Lead does not biodegrade. It’s in the soil, along waterways and even visible in sediment to the naked eye. It is estimated that the Coeur d’Alene River delivers about <a href="https://www.spokanepublicradio.org/regional-news/2022-03-24/coeur-dalene-basin-cleanup-to-expand-to-lower-basin">200 tons of lead</a> to Lake Coeur d’Alene every year.</p>
<h2>Swan deaths show the continuing risk</h2>
<p>Blood lead levels in the area have come down dramatically since 1973, but they are still concerning. In 2022, the average blood lead level for children in “The Box” was estimated at <a href="https://panhandlehealthdistrict.org/">2.3 micrograms per deciliter</a>, above <a href="https://www.epa.gov/americaschildrenenvironment/biomonitoring-lead">the U.S. average</a>. The average for the surrounding area <a href="https://panhandlehealthdistrict.org/">was higher, 3.3 micrograms per deciliter</a>.</p>
<figure class="align-right ">
<img alt="A dead swan along a riverway." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/544200/original/file-20230823-21-wvd9n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/544200/original/file-20230823-21-wvd9n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=800&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/544200/original/file-20230823-21-wvd9n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=800&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/544200/original/file-20230823-21-wvd9n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=800&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/544200/original/file-20230823-21-wvd9n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1005&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/544200/original/file-20230823-21-wvd9n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1005&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/544200/original/file-20230823-21-wvd9n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1005&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Tundra swans, which dig in the soil along streams for food, have been dying in northern Idaho.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://idfg.idaho.gov/press/tundra-swan-deaths-continue-lower-coeur-dalene-river-basin">CC Kajsa Van de Riet/IDEQ</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Lead also affects area wildlife. <a href="https://semspub.epa.gov/work/10/100447187.pdf">Over 95% of wetlands</a> in the Lower Basin contain sediment that is toxic to wildlife. Tundra swans, whose eating habits make them very susceptible to heavy metal poisoning, are a recent casualty. For these migratory birds, the area is a stopover. Since 2008, average swan deaths are estimated at 50 to 60 birds per year. <a href="https://idfg.idaho.gov/press/tundra-swan-deaths-continue-lower-coeur-dalene-river-basin">There were over 300 bird deaths</a> documented in 2022; a <a href="https://semspub.epa.gov/work/10/100447187.pdf">study is underway</a> into the cause.</p>
<p>To complicate matters, many local residents have forgotten or never learned about the Baghouse Fire and the environmental issues associated with the site. Others choose to simply disbelieve the harmfulness of lead.</p>
<h2>As Idaho’s population booms, people aren’t aware</h2>
<p>Today, Idaho is one of the fastest-growing states in the U.S., with an influx of new residents oblivious to the local history and unaware of the threat that lurks below their feet and in the beaches of the beautiful lakes and rivers in the area. With population growth comes development, digging and disturbing contaminated soil.</p>
<p>Even normal weather conditions – from dry windy days that stir up lead dust particles to heavy rainfalls that mobilize contaminated sediments – can have detrimental effects on human health and on the environment.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/544197/original/file-20230823-29-pgg37e.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A photo of a large sign with warnings about soils and sediments containing harmful levels of lead." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/544197/original/file-20230823-29-pgg37e.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/544197/original/file-20230823-29-pgg37e.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/544197/original/file-20230823-29-pgg37e.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/544197/original/file-20230823-29-pgg37e.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/544197/original/file-20230823-29-pgg37e.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/544197/original/file-20230823-29-pgg37e.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/544197/original/file-20230823-29-pgg37e.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A warning reminds visitors on the Trail of the Coeur d'Alenes of the area’s lead risks.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Trail_of_the_Coeur_d%27_Alenes_(10490158534).jpg">Robert Ashworth via Wikimedia Commons</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Health risks remain, particularly along the banks and shores of the South Fork and the main Coeur d’Alene River, which are now popular recreation areas. Advisories about the lead risk in fish are still common, <a href="https://doh.wa.gov/data-and-statistical-reports/washington-tracking-network-wtn/fish-advisories/fish-consumption-advisories-washington-state">even downstream in Spokane</a>, Washington.</p>
<p>Children and pregnant women are the most vulnerable; <a href="https://peht.ucsf.edu/search.php?pane=reference&topic=lead">lead crosses the placenta, and it is present in breast milk</a>. Major outreach efforts are underway to educate those living, working or visiting the area.</p>
<p>Idaho’s <a href="https://panhandlehealthdistrict.org/">Panhandle Health District</a> offers free lead screenings year-round to anyone living or spending time in the area. In-home follow-ups are offered to those found to have elevated lead levels. Meanwhile, the cleanup, which started in 1986, will continue for decades to come. </p>
<p><em>Mary Rehnborg, program manager for the Institutional Controls Program in the Panhandle Health District, contributed to this article.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/210452/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Martin Schiavenato does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>A fire and decades of silver and lead mining created the largest contiguous Superfund site in the nation in what today is one of the fastest-growing states. It includes popular Lake Coeur d’Alene.Martin Schiavenato, Assistant Professor of Nursing, Gonzaga UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2072882023-06-29T21:40:59Z2023-06-29T21:40:59ZCanada takes first step to regulate toxic ‘forever chemicals.’ But is it enough?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/534708/original/file-20230628-23-wm266s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=57%2C231%2C3794%2C2333&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">PFAS or 'forever chemicals' are found in fire-fighting foam, food packaging, waterproof cosmetics, non-stick pans, stain- and water-resistant fabrics and carpeting, cleaning products and paints.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Canada recently took its <a href="https://www.canada.ca/en/environment-climate-change/services/evaluating-existing-substances/draft-state-per-polyfluoroalkyl-substances-report.html">first bold step</a> to regulate the production and use of a large group of chemicals called per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), a family of environmentally persistent and toxic chemical compounds.</p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/534514/original/file-20230628-24-49zwmu.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A picture of the various everyday items PFAS is found in." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/534514/original/file-20230628-24-49zwmu.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/534514/original/file-20230628-24-49zwmu.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=628&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/534514/original/file-20230628-24-49zwmu.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=628&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/534514/original/file-20230628-24-49zwmu.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=628&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/534514/original/file-20230628-24-49zwmu.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=789&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/534514/original/file-20230628-24-49zwmu.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=789&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/534514/original/file-20230628-24-49zwmu.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=789&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Various consumer products and industrial processes contain PFAS for their water and stain-resistant properties.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>These chemicals are found in food packaging, waterproof cosmetics, non-stick pans, stain- and water-resistant fabrics and carpeting, cleaning products, paints and fire-fighting foams. </p>
<p>The Canadian government released a report detailing the risks of PFAS exposure and potential management options. This report, which advocates for the regulation of the thousands of PFAS as a whole, will directly influence future regulations and policies surrounding their production and use. This contrasts to previous policy initiatives that <a href="https://chm.pops.int/TheConvention/ThePOPs/TheNewPOPs/tabid/2511/Default.aspx">targeted PFAS individually</a>. </p>
<p>As environmental health researchers, we believe that the government needs to regulate and, eventually, stop the continued release of persistent toxic PFAS into the environment and also prevent the creation of any toxic replacements. </p>
<h2>How do PFAS affect us?</h2>
<p>PFAS, also known as forever chemicals, are used in various consumer products and industrial processes for their water and stain-resistant properties. Recent reports even show the presence of <a href="https://psr.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/fracking-with-forever-chemicals.pdf">PFAS in the fluids used during hydraulic fracturing</a>, a process used to extract oil and gas from soil beds with low permeability. </p>
<p>The widespread use of these chemicals can be attributed to the strong chemical bond between the carbon and fluorine atoms that make up the backbone of PFAS. The bonds create an <a href="https://doi.org/10.1039/D0EM00291G">impermeable film</a>, preventing grease from seeping through food packaging or water going through clothes.</p>
<p>However, that <a href="https://pubs.rsc.org/en/content/articlelanding/2019/EM/C8EM00515J">strong bond</a> also leads to PFAS taking years, even decades, to break down in the environment. </p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/JKg7Mr9M3CQ?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">The strong bond between PFAS atoms leads to these chemicals taking years, even decades, to break down in the environment.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Once in the environment, they accumulate in water bodies — particularly in marine species. They get <a href="https://epa.figshare.com/articles/presentation/Literature_review_of_PFAS_bioaccumulation_data/13120190">more and more concentrated</a> as they go up the food chain. For example, larger, older fish tend to contain higher concentrations of PFAS compared to smaller, younger fish. </p>
<p>In addition to being extremely persistent, PFAS are toxic to our bodies. They have been implicated in <a href="https://doi.org/10.1002/etc.4890">liver toxicity, immune system dysfunction, increased blood cholesterol, changes to thyroid hormones, cancer and birth defects</a>. </p>
<p>While there are still gaps in our understanding on how PFAS cause disease, the industry has been aware of PFAS’ toxic effects on health and the environment <a href="https://annalsofglobalhealth.org/articles/10.5334/aogh.4013">since the 1970s</a> — almost half a decade before the public health community. Despite this, they continued to produce PFAS and spread their application to more products in the market. </p>
<p>Because of their ubiquitous use, these forever chemicals are now found in every corner of the globe. A <a href="https://doi.org/10.1186/s12940-016-0143-y">Canadian study</a> found that at least 65 per cent of infants were exposed to PFAS in the womb. </p>
<h2>Regulating PFAS</h2>
<p>Some PFAS are strictly regulated. </p>
<p>Three of these “legacy PFAS” — perfluorooctane sulfonic acid (PFOS), perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and perfluorohexanesulfonic acid (PFHxS) — are included in the list of persistent pollutants under the <a href="http://www.pops.int/TheConvention/ThePOPs/TheNewPOPs/tabid/2511/Default.aspx">Stockholm Convention</a>, ratified by Canada.</p>
<p>Only a few exemptions are allowed for their production and use by the 152 member countries (not including the United States which did not ratify the convention). Canada also regulates another subset of PFAS called long-chain perfluorocarboxylic acids. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Equipment used to test for PFAS in drinking water." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/534710/original/file-20230628-21-6tijpa.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/534710/original/file-20230628-21-6tijpa.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=412&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/534710/original/file-20230628-21-6tijpa.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=412&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/534710/original/file-20230628-21-6tijpa.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=412&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/534710/original/file-20230628-21-6tijpa.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=518&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/534710/original/file-20230628-21-6tijpa.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=518&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/534710/original/file-20230628-21-6tijpa.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=518&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Scientists have been calling for the regulation of PFAS as a chemical class rather than wasting time examining each compound individually.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Cory Morse/The Grand Rapids Press via AP)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>However, <a href="https://chemtrust.org/pfas/#:%7E:">there are over 4,700 PFAS</a>, and the Canadian and international regulations in place only cover a tiny fraction of the forever chemicals in the market. </p>
<p>Scientists have been calling for the regulation of <a href="https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.estlett.0c00255">PFAS as a chemical class</a>, rather than wasting time examining each compound individually, as industry continues to produce and use new forever chemicals.</p>
<h2>Populations at highest risk</h2>
<p>As public health scientists try to catch up with the industry’s unrestrained chemical production, some populations are put at heightened risk of PFAS exposure, including firefighters, pregnant women and Arctic Indigenous populations. </p>
<p>As emphasized in our report, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chemosphere.2022.136797">Inuit living in Nunavik have some of the highest PFAS concentrations</a> worldwide. Some compounds measured in their blood were up to seven times higher than the concentrations measured in the rest of the Canadian population. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/534851/original/file-20230629-15-u5utdu.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="PFAS concentrations in Nunavik versus Canada" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/534851/original/file-20230629-15-u5utdu.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/534851/original/file-20230629-15-u5utdu.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=354&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/534851/original/file-20230629-15-u5utdu.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=354&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/534851/original/file-20230629-15-u5utdu.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=354&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/534851/original/file-20230629-15-u5utdu.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=445&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/534851/original/file-20230629-15-u5utdu.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=445&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/534851/original/file-20230629-15-u5utdu.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=445&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Research supported by the Northern Contaminants Program and Sentinel North has found that PFAS concentrations in Nunavik are much higher than the rest of Canada.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Amira Aker)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>This is because PFAS used in southern latitudes get transported north by atmospheric and water currents. Once in the Arctic, they enter the food web, leading to exceptionally high concentrations of PFAS in some wildlife, including species that are part of the Inuit traditional diet. </p>
<p>Living off the land and harvesting local species like marine and land mammals, fish and birds are integral to Inuit culture, food security and food preferences. This environmental injustice forces Inuit to think twice about consuming the nutritious foods from their own land and essential to their traditions. </p>
<h2>Towards better regulation</h2>
<p>The Canadian report also shines the spotlight on the need for studying PFAS mixtures. We are all exposed to various PFAS at once, be it through the use of multiple PFAS in a single product or our overall exposure to various PFAS from various sources. </p>
<p>Yet, we know little about the impact of being exposed to multiple PFAS at a time. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envres.2021.112565">Ongoing scientific studies</a> are trying to understand the implications of mixtures on our health and how to regulate these forever chemicals accordingly. </p>
<p>The Canadian report is a necessary step to inform future regulations and stop the continued release of persistent PFAS in the environment. Future measures must expand the monitoring of PFAS substances in human and environmental samples in Canada, and prevent the introduction of new toxic replacements for PFAS. Substitutes for these chemicals must be deemed safe for the environment and human health prior to their release. </p>
<p>The Canadian report is open to the public and scientific community for comments until July 19, 2023, and we urge everyone to comment on this report to strengthen Canada’s new stance towards the adequate regulation of all PFAS — a position that has taken all too long.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/207288/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Amira Aker receives funding from Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada (CIRNAC) - Northern Contaminant Program (NCP), Sentinel North (Canada First Research Excellence Fund), Fonds de recherche du Québec - Santé (FRQS), Department of Indigenous Services Canada and Genome Canada.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Mélanie Lemire receives funding from Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada (CIRNAC) - Northern Contaminant Program (NCP), Sentinel North (Canada First Research Excellence Fund), Fonds de recherche du Québec - Santé (FRQS), Department of Indigenous Services Canada and Genome Canada.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Pierre Ayotte receives funding from Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada (CIRNAC) - Northern Contaminant Program (NCP), Sentinel North (Canada First Research Excellence Fund) and ArcticNet - Networks of Centres of Excellence of Canada.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Pascale Ropars does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>The Canadian government needs to regulate and, eventually, stop the continued release of toxic ‘forever chemicals’ into the environment and also prevent the creation of any toxic replacements.Amira Aker, Postdoctoral fellow, Environmental Epidemiology, Université LavalMélanie Lemire, Associate professor, Department of Social and Preventive Medicine, Université LavalPascale Ropars, Researcher, Sentinel North, Université LavalPierre Ayotte, Professor, Department of Social and Preventive Medicine, Université LavalLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2006892023-06-05T12:09:06Z2023-06-05T12:09:06ZArsenic contamination of food and water is a global public health concern – researchers are studying how it causes cancer<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/529435/original/file-20230531-23-iq2312.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C937%2C768&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">One symptom of arsenic poisoning is the growth of plaques on the skin called arsenical keratosis.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://flic.kr/p/tQzvii">Anita Ghosh/REACH via Flickr</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Arsenic is a naturally occurring element found in the Earth’s crust. Exposure to arsenic, often through contaminated food and water, is associated with various negative health effects, <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK304375/">including cancer</a>. </p>
<p>Arsenic exposure is a global public health issue. A 2020 study estimated that <a href="https://doi.org/10.1126/science.aba1510">up to 200 million people wordwide</a> are exposed to arsenic-contaminated drinking water at levels above the legal limit of <a href="https://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/csem/arsenic/standards.html">10 parts per billion</a> set by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and World Health Organization. <a href="https://publications.iarc.fr/Book-And-Report-Series/Iarc-Monographs-On-The-Identification-Of-Carcinogenic-Hazards-To-Humans/Some-Drinking-Water-Disinfectants-And-Contaminants-Including-Arsenic-2004">More than 70 countries</a> are affected, including the United States, Spain, Mexico, Japan, India, China, Canada, Chile, Bangladesh, Bolivia and Argentina.</p>
<p>Since many countries are still affected by high levels of arsenic, we believe arsenic exposure is a global public health issue that requires urgent action. <a href="https://stempel.fiu.edu/research/labs/cancer-research/">We study</a> how <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Cristina-Andrade-Feraud">exposure to toxic metals</a> like arsenic can <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=v42J5dMAAAAJ&hl=en">lead to cancer</a> through the formation of <a href="https://theconversation.com/triggering-cancer-cells-to-become-normal-cells-how-stem-cell-therapies-can-provide-new-ways-to-stop-tumors-from-spreading-or-growing-back-191559">cancer stem cells</a>. </p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/ftvJr-BycJY?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">Arsenic water contamination predominantly affects communities of color in the U.S.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Arsenic contamination of food and water</h2>
<p>Your body can absorb arsenic <a href="https://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/csem/arsenic/what_routes.html">through several routes</a>, such as inhalation and skin contact. However, the most common source of arsenic exposure is through contaminated drinking water or food.</p>
<p>People who live in areas with <a href="https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/arsenic">naturally high levels of arsenic in the soil and water</a> are at particular risk. In the U.S., for example, that includes regions in the Southwest such as Arizona, Nevada and New Mexico. Additionally, <a href="https://www.wolterskluwer.com/en/solutions/ovid/environmental-and-occupational-medicine-3485">human activities</a> such as mining and agriculture can also increase arsenic in food and water sources.</p>
<p>High levels of arsenic can also be found in <a href="https://theconversation.com/should-we-worry-about-arsenic-in-baby-cereal-and-drinking-water-57948">food and drink products</a>, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fct.2018.01.018">particularly rice</a> and rice-based products like rice cereals and crackers. A 2019 Consumer Reports investigation even found that <a href="https://www.consumerreports.org/water-quality/arsenic-in-some-bottled-water-brands-at-unsafe-levels-a1198655241/">some brands of bottled water</a> sold in the U.S. contained levels of arsenic that exceeded the legal limit. Alarmingly, multiple studies have also found that several <a href="https://www.consumerreports.org/food-safety/most-baby-foods-contain-arsenic-lead-and-other-heavy-metals/">popular baby food brands</a> contained arsenic at concentrations much higher than the legal limit.</p>
<h2>Arsenic and cancer stem cells</h2>
<p>Chronic exposure to arsenic increases the <a href="https://doi.org/10.1093/jnci/djx201">risk</a> <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2019.136071">of</a> <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2019.134128">developing</a> <a href="https://doi.org/10.1158/1055-9965.epi-13-0234-t">multiple</a> <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2015.08.070">types</a> <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/s0041-008x(02)00022-4">of cancer</a>.</p>
<p>The mechanisms by which arsenic causes cancer are complex and not yet fully understood. However, research suggests that <a href="https://doi.org/10.3109%2F10408444.2010.506641">arsenic can</a> <a href="https://doi.org/10.1021%2Facs.chemrestox.9b00464">damage DNA</a>, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s00204-013-1131-4">disrupt cell</a> <a href="https://doi.org/10.1093/toxsci/kfy247">signaling pathways</a> and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1186/1476-069X-12-73">impair the</a> <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cotox.2018.01.003">immune system</a>, all of which can contribute to cancer development.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/529436/original/file-20230531-17-e8zn68.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Microscopy images of ovarian epithelial cells before and after chronic arsenic exposure" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/529436/original/file-20230531-17-e8zn68.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/529436/original/file-20230531-17-e8zn68.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=235&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/529436/original/file-20230531-17-e8zn68.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=235&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/529436/original/file-20230531-17-e8zn68.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=235&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/529436/original/file-20230531-17-e8zn68.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=295&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/529436/original/file-20230531-17-e8zn68.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=295&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/529436/original/file-20230531-17-e8zn68.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=295&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The image on the left shows ovarian epithelial cells under normal conditions. The image on the right shows the cells after three weeks of chronic arsenic exposure at 75 parts per billion.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Cristina M. Andrade-Feraud/Azzam Laboratory at FIU</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/">CC BY-NC-ND</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Scientists <a href="https://doi.org/10.1289%2Fehp.1204987">have also linked</a> <a href="https://doi.org/10.1289%2Fehp.0901059">chronic arsenic exposure</a> to the development of <a href="https://theconversation.com/triggering-cancer-cells-to-become-normal-cells-how-stem-cell-therapies-can-provide-new-ways-to-stop-tumors-from-spreading-or-growing-back-191559">cancer stem cells</a>. These are cells within tumors thought to be responsible for cancer growth and spread. Like normal stem cells in the body, cancer stem cells can develop into many different types of cells. At what stage of cellular development a stem cell acquires the genetic mutation that turns it into a cancer stem cell remains unknown.</p>
<p><a href="https://stempel.fiu.edu/research/labs/cancer-research/">Our research</a> aims to identify what type of cell arsenic targets to form a cancer stem cell. We are currently using cell cultures obtained from the same organ at different stages of cellular development to examine how the origins of cells affect the formation of cancer stem cells.</p>
<p>Preventing chronic arsenic exposure is critical to reducing the burden of arsenic-related health effects. Further research is needed to understand arsenic-induced cancer stem cell formation and develop effective strategies to prevent it. In the meantime, continued monitoring and regulation of this toxic metal in food and water sources could help improve the health of affected communities.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/200689/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Diana Azzam receives funding from the Florida Department of Health and the National Institute of Health.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Cristina Andrade-Feraud does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Millions of people worldwide are exposed via soil and water to arsenic, whether naturally occurring or related to pollution. Chronic exposure is linked to the formation of cancer stem cells.Cristina Andrade-Feraud, Ph.D. Candidate in Environmental Health Sciences, Florida International UniversityDiana Azzam, Assistant Professor of Environmental Health Sciences, Florida International UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1924022023-02-14T19:10:43Z2023-02-14T19:10:43Z‘Forever chemicals’ have made their way to farms. For now, levels in your food are low – but there’s no time to waste<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/496920/original/file-20221123-26-7k8rr1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=109%2C128%2C4172%2C2715&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>They stop your food from sticking to the pan. They prevent stains in clothes and carpets. They help firefighting foam to extinguish fires. But the very thing that makes “forever chemicals” so useful also makes them dangerous. </p>
<p>Forever chemicals – the catchier name for the class of chemicals known as PFAS, <a href="https://crccare.com/pfas-contamination/">per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances</a> – don’t break down in the environment. Since we invented and began using them in the 1940s, these chemicals have stuck around, contaminating water and soil. And when they make it into our bodies, they can bind to proteins and accumulate in organs, which may increase your <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33017053/">cancer risk</a> or damage your health. Major manufacturers are <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/national/58-billion-day-of-reckoning-looms-for-3m-over-toxic-forever-chemicals-20230203-p5chri.html">now facing</a> lawsuits over the potential health impact of the chemicals.</p>
<p>How do they make it into your body? There’s been a lot of concern over their presence in <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31421451/">drinking water</a>. But there’s another risk – food. Like many countries, Australia has long used biosolids as fertiliser. Made from processed stormwater and sewage, this <a href="https://www.biosolids.com.au/info/what-are-biosolids/">soil-like substance</a> adds vital nutrients to our notoriously poor soils. </p>
<p>The problem is, forever chemicals are now in <a href="https://www.biosolids.com.au/wp-content/uploads/Emerging-Contaminants-in-Biosolids-Research-report.pdf">biosolids</a>. Even though the levels are low, authorities are expected to soon make a precautionary <a href="https://ehq-production-australia.s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/4fc02abce34b88f66eae00e1c51e82b7253d7234/original/1663893277/fd0f33fdf96d8a45a0278b5bfa1652b2_consultation-draft-pfas-nemp-3-0.pdf?X-Amz-Algorithm=AWS4-HMAC-SHA256&X-Amz-Credential=AKIA4KKNQAKIOR7VAOP4%2F20221206%2Fap-southeast-2%2Fs3%2Faws4_request&X-Amz-Date=20221206T064831Z&X-Amz-Expires=300&X-Amz-SignedHeaders=host&X-Amz-Signature=758594bea341b9269d69b71a827f662638ac2ce8367e7bd768fcdc685637ba8e">change to regulations</a> which would prevent the use of biosolids, as we now understand crops can accumulate these chemicals and pass them on to us.</p>
<p>Thankfully there are ways of making these chemicals harmless. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/forever-chemicals-are-everywhere-heres-what-you-need-to-know-about-them-190771">'Forever chemicals' are everywhere – here's what you need to know about them</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>How exactly do these chemicals get into our food?</h2>
<p>Most of Australia’s biosolids are used on farms as a type of fertiliser. While it might sound icky, this substance is vital. Similar to compost made with human waste, it’s processed by bacteria and dried for at least three years. So, it’s not that different from using cow or sheep manure on your garden. </p>
<p>Biosolids help maintain soil structure and help sequester carbon from the atmosphere. They’re essential for growing crops in Australia’s nutrient-depleted soils as they provide plants with nutrients and trace metals. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/507523/original/file-20230201-24-vyv5pl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="biosolids" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/507523/original/file-20230201-24-vyv5pl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/507523/original/file-20230201-24-vyv5pl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/507523/original/file-20230201-24-vyv5pl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/507523/original/file-20230201-24-vyv5pl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/507523/original/file-20230201-24-vyv5pl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/507523/original/file-20230201-24-vyv5pl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/507523/original/file-20230201-24-vyv5pl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Biosolids are a form of compost made from treated human waste.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>That’s why it’s so unfortunate forever chemicals have found their way here. PFAS was first discovered in biosolid waste in Australia in the <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0045653520333403">early 2000s</a>. The way it gets there is via domestic and industrial wastewater, which flows through stormwater drains and ends up being turned into biosolids at treatment plants. </p>
<p>Authorities are concerned that PFAS may <a href="https://pubs.acs.org/doi/pdf/10.1021/es403094q">become more concentrated</a> in future as we cycle it through our water and fertilisers, into our food, into our bodies, back through our waste systems and then eventually back to our fertilisers and so on. </p>
<p>If the chemicals are present only at very low levels, you might wonder if it matters. But these chemicals accumulate up the <a href="https://www.sheppnews.com.au/national/chemicals-are-overwhelming-food-chains/">food chain</a>. For example, a corn crop may contain only trace elements of PFAS chemicals. But if the corn is then fed to pigs, the pigs will end up with higher levels of PFAS over time. </p>
<p>We, too, are storing these chemicals in our bodies. The more we eat food with trace levels of PFAS, the more we accumulate – and the greater the health risk. That’s why prospective bans are being looked at – not just here, but <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2022/sep/19/us-states-toxic-sewage-sludge-pfas-farmers">around the world</a>. </p>
<h2>What should we do?</h2>
<p>You might think we should immediately ban biosolids use on farms. Unfortunately, if we did that, there would be major flow-on effects. </p>
<p>Biosolids boost the sustainability of farming. Without them, small to medium crop farmers across Australia would have to buy more expensive fertiliser, which is usually synthetically produced from fossil fuels such as natural gas. What’s more, prices <a href="https://www.axios.com/2022/05/06/fertilizer-prices-food-securtiy">have soared</a>, due to <a href="https://www.ifpri.org/blog/high-fertilizer-prices-contribute-rising-global-food-security-concerns">energy turbulence and war</a>.</p>
<p>So banning biosolids would put food costs up even more. Water authorities providing biosolids would also need to stockpile them until we find new ways of processing this valuable resource. Stockpiling is expensive and not a permanent solution. </p>
<p>We need to be realistic. Rather than labelling all biosolids as contaminated PFAS waste, the government’s new plan should ideally lay out ways to minimise damage done by forever chemicals in biosolids.</p>
<h2>Can we make these chemicals harmless?</h2>
<p>Yes. </p>
<p>One option is to chemically lock PFAS chemicals, which means plants can’t absorb them – and can’t pass them on. Products which chemically lock PFAS are already available, and represent a relatively cheap solution to the problem. </p>
<p>This is precisely how we’ve handled trace levels of cadmium – a toxic heavy metal – in farming soils: we <a href="https://csiropedia.csiro.au/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/Vegenotes.pdf">lock the cadmium away</a> so it’s not available for plants to absorb.</p>
<p>Another option is to turn biosolids into biochar. If you heat up biosolids to very high temperatures without oxygen, the PFAS will <a href="https://www.waterworld.com/wastewater/treatment/press-release/14282846/wef-partners-explore-option-to-destroy-pfas-with-heat?_hsenc=p2ANqtz-8mTwV4fAbKcOWtetGj63kZ05qPJjCFlwhBReikdAxeDP2ahgHCAkAWVhq8-tUBnzgiPVFq">break down</a> and become harmless. All you’re left with is very useful biochar, a nutrient rich charcoal-like substance useful as fertiliser – and as a way to tackle climate change by <a href="https://phys.org/news/2021-08-biochar-product-mitigate-climate.html">storing carbon</a> in the soil. </p>
<p>While water authorities are <a href="https://crccare.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/ScientellCRCCAREPFASWaterauthoritiesfactsheetWEB050919.pdf">researching better ways</a> of tackling the problem, it’s clear we’ll need a national and well coordinated approach. </p>
<h2>What can you do?</h2>
<p>This isn’t a problem created by consumers, but there are ways to protect yourself. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/507524/original/file-20230201-12-xvmqx2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="non-stick pan PFAS" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/507524/original/file-20230201-12-xvmqx2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/507524/original/file-20230201-12-xvmqx2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=429&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/507524/original/file-20230201-12-xvmqx2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=429&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/507524/original/file-20230201-12-xvmqx2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=429&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/507524/original/file-20230201-12-xvmqx2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=539&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/507524/original/file-20230201-12-xvmqx2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=539&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/507524/original/file-20230201-12-xvmqx2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=539&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Non-stick pans can have hidden dangers.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>While many cookware manufacturers no longer use PFAS chemicals, some still do. If it isn’t labelled PFAS-free then consider choosing stone, stainless steel, cast-iron or aluminium cookware instead. </p>
<p>We still don’t have proper labelling of products containing PFAS. Many of us may be eating PFAS or smearing them on our <a href="https://www.fda.gov/cosmetics/cosmetic-ingredients/and-polyfluoroalkyl-substances-pfas-cosmetics">skin</a> without even realising. That’s because, worldwide, these chemicals <a href="https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acs.est.1c05175#:%7E:text=This%20study%20illustrates%20many%20nonessential,indicate%20the%20absence%20of%20PFAS.">aren’t being properly labelled</a>.</p>
<p>Now that we’ve opened this chemical Pandora’s box, we can never fully close it. Forever chemicals will always be in our environment to some degree. </p>
<p>The challenge now is to use science, policy and consumer choices to reduce the levels as much as possible.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/192402/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Ravi Naidu receives funding from the Australian Research Council.</span></em></p>Yes, there are forever chemicals in biosolids we use on farms. Here’s why we don’t need to panic … yetRavi Naidu, Laureate Professor, University of NewcastleLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1970142022-12-22T06:29:34Z2022-12-22T06:29:34ZThe peculiar history of thornapple, the hallucinogenic weed that ended up in supermarket spinach<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/502496/original/file-20221222-17-jd44zw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C1%2C1000%2C664&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/white-flower-poisonous-vespertineflowering-thornapple-plant-2199701639">Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>The agent that contaminated baby spinach, prompting the recent <a href="https://www.foodstandards.gov.au/industry/foodrecalls/recalls/Pages/Baby-spinach-recall.aspx">national recall</a>, has been <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/dec/21/weed-responsible-for-hallucinogenic-spinach-recall-identified-as-applethorn">revealed</a>. It’s a weed, not deliberate misadventure or a chemical contaminant. </p>
<p>The culprit is <a href="https://weeds.dpi.nsw.gov.au/Weeds/Commonthornapple">thornapple</a>, otherwise known as jimsonweed or, to give it its scientific name, <em>Datura stramonium</em>.</p>
<p>Multiple cases of poisoning, now extending <a href="https://www.foodstandards.gov.au/industry/foodrecalls/recalls/Pages/Baby-spinach-recall.aspx">into their hundreds</a>, have been reported across numerous Australian jurisdictions in the past couple of weeks, following the consumption of baby spinach.</p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1605509424260517889"}"></div></p>
<h2>From blurred vision to hallucinations</h2>
<p><a href="https://www.foodstandards.gov.au/industry/foodrecalls/recalls/Pages/Baby-spinach-recall.aspx">Symptoms included</a> blurred vision, dry mouth, abdominal cramps – and quite significant hallucinations. These are all classic symptoms of “<a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK534798/">anticholinergic poisoning</a>”. </p>
<p>“Toxidromes” are patterns of symptoms that give medical responders clues to what agent might be responsible for a poisoning. Not all types of poisoning come with their own toxidrome, but of those that do, anticholinergic poisoning is one of the most colourful and well-characterised.</p>
<p>There would be very few medical students who would not be familiar with some version of the <a href="https://www.rch.org.au/clinicalguide/guideline_index/Anticholinergic_Syndrome/">mnemonic</a></p>
<blockquote>
<p>red as a beet, dry as a bone, blind as a bat, mad as a hatter, hot as a hare, full as a flask. </p>
</blockquote>
<p>This reflects the characteristic flushing, drying up of sweating and saliva, dilation of pupils, “altered mental state”, fever and, in some occasions, urinary retention. Additional features can include stomach cramps. An “altered mental state” can manifest as delirium, hallucinations, agitation, restlessness or confusion, together with possible changes in speech and gait, among other effects.</p>
<p>All of these effects are due to toxins that block the action of an essential neurotransmitter (chemical messenger in the nervous system), <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK11143/">acetylcholine</a> and its receptor.</p>
<p>These are vital cogs in the autonomic nervous system, the maintenance janitor of our nervous system. Fundamental as it is to our survival, it is hardly a surprise that any disturbance of its function results in fairly dramatic effects.</p>
<p>It is also similarly not that surprising that humans have known about plant materials that exert these effects for as long as humans have been interested in using plants for either therapeutic or nefarious purposes.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/i-have-always-wondered-why-are-some-fruits-poisonous-83210">I have always wondered: why are some fruits poisonous?</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>A rich history of using these plants</h2>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/502518/original/file-20221222-26-76w7a3.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Woman with a mirror" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/502518/original/file-20221222-26-76w7a3.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/502518/original/file-20221222-26-76w7a3.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=702&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/502518/original/file-20221222-26-76w7a3.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=702&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/502518/original/file-20221222-26-76w7a3.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=702&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/502518/original/file-20221222-26-76w7a3.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=882&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/502518/original/file-20221222-26-76w7a3.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=882&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/502518/original/file-20221222-26-76w7a3.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=882&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Titian’s Woman with a Mirror is thought to depict use of deadly nightshade to dilate the pupils.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Tiziano,_donna_allo_specchio,_1515_ca._01.JPG">Sailko/Wikimedia</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p><a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6412926/">Tropane alkaloids</a> are both valuable, and potentially dangerous, compounds with a rich history.</p>
<p>Ancient Egyptians reportedly burned <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2844275/">henbane</a> and inhaled its smoke as one of the earliest treatments for asthma.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.rcpe.ac.uk/heritage/deadly-nightshade-botanical-biography">Deadly nightshade</a> was used in Renaissance Italy as both a poison and as a cosmetic agent, with drops of extract used to dilate the pupils of wealthy ladies. Titian’s <a href="https://www.fs.usda.gov/wildflowers/ethnobotany/Mind_and_Spirit/belladonna.shtml">Woman with a Mirror</a> is thought to depict this. </p>
<h2>Then there were the naked soldiers</h2>
<p>Thornapple has its own peculiar story, which is impossible to confirm but may give us clues to the origin of its other name, jimsonweed.</p>
<p>There is a <a href="https://wydaily.com/news/local/2021/10/22/oddities-curiosities-the-colonial-case-of-the-mysterious-jimson-weed/">widely reported story</a> from colonial times in Jamestown, Virginia, where British soldiers were sent to quell an uprising in Bacon in the 1600s. </p>
<p>The soldiers prepared a meal from the plant and shortly afterwards, were entirely incapacitated. They were, <a href="https://docsouth.unc.edu/southlit/beverley/beverley.html">apparently</a> “stark naked … sitting up in a corner, like a monkey, grinning and making mows at them”. Another of the affected soldiers would “fondly kiss, and paw his companions”. </p>
<p>This was regarded as a something of a worry in an armed expeditionary force. So the plant earned the additional names “devil’s snare” or “devil’s trumpet”.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/little-shop-of-horrors-the-australian-plants-that-can-kill-you-50842">Little shop of horrors: the Australian plants that can kill you</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Back in Australia</h2>
<p>Plants from the <em>Datura</em> genus and the closely related, woody cousin, angel’s trumpet, are widely grown for their decorative flowers around Australia. Occasionally some people deliberately consume them for their hallucinogenic effects, with misadventure requiring medical intervention not uncommon.</p>
<p>Every year, poisons centres and emergency departments around the country are involved in managing these recreational overdoses. </p>
<p>Accidental overdoses, such as the one affecting the baby spinach crop, are less common but not unheard of. One such outbreak was reported <a href="https://www.napolike.com/pozzuoli-pianta-velenosa-venduta-come-spinaci-8-intossicati-uno-e-grave">in Italy</a> earlier this year. </p>
<p>Unfortunately, thornapple is a hardy plant, with seeds that can reputedly last several decades. Without constant agricultural vigilance, contamination of plants meant for human consumption remains a possibility.</p>
<p>For those not anticipating the effects, poisoning can be quite disturbing, not just from the obvious physical effects, but from the disconcerting hallucinations. Fortunately, the treatment of such exposures, once identified, is usually relatively straightforward. </p>
<p>Given the characteristic toxidrome, and the efficiency of modern poisons information centres, outbreaks and sources can be identified very rapidly, and the public protected from further exposure, as has been the case here.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/197014/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>David Caldicott has previously been the recipient of an NH&MRC partnership grant.</span></em></p>Thornapple or jimsonweed and related plants have an interesting history – from an early asthma treatment to intoxicated British soldiers.David Caldicott, Senior lecturer, Australian National UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1879052022-08-19T12:42:26Z2022-08-19T12:42:26ZWhat is listeria? A microbiologist explains the bacterium behind recent deadly food poisoning outbreaks<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/479719/original/file-20220817-21-a18luh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=132%2C0%2C3875%2C2951&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Investigators in Florida traced a listeria outbreak to ice cream.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/ice-cream-jar-with-4-flavors-strawberry-vanilla-royalty-free-image/1279372828?adppopup=true">Graiki/Moment via Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Bacteria do, and will, end up in food. Everyone eats – intentionally or unintentionally – <a href="https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.659">millions to billions</a> of live microbes every day. </p>
<p>Most are completely harmless, but some can cause serious illnesses in humans. Because of these potential pathogens, there is a long <a href="https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/pregnancy-week-by-week/in-depth/pregnancy-nutrition/art-20043844">list of foods to avoid</a>, including uncooked eggs, raw fish and unwashed fruits and vegetables, particularly for pregnant women. The foods themselves are not bad, but the same cannot be said for certain bacterial passengers, such as <em>Listeria monocytogenes</em>, or listeria for short. </p>
<p>This particular pathogen has found ways to indiscriminately get into our foods. While deli and dairy foods like cold cuts, cheese, milk and eggs are frequently culprits for causing listeriosis – the general name for listeria-caused infections – fresh vegetables and fruits have also been implicated.</p>
<p>The variety of foods responsible for <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/listeria/outbreaks/index.html">U.S. listeria outbreaks in the past decade</a> shows just how easily these bacteria get around. Listeria has turned up in <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/listeria/outbreaks/eggs-12-19/index.html">hard-boiled eggs</a>, <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/listeria/outbreaks/enoki-mushrooms-03-20/index.html">enoki mushrooms</a>, <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/listeria/outbreaks/precooked-chicken-07-21/index.html">cooked chicken</a> and, <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/listeria/outbreaks/packaged-salad-12-21-b/index.html">in 2021, packaged salad</a> – <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/listeria/outbreaks/packaged-salad-mix-12-21/index.html">twice</a>.</p>
<p>Even the frozen aisle is not spared from listeria contamination. Contaminated ice cream in Florida was behind this year’s listeria outbreak, with 25 reported cases spanning 11 states since January 2021, according to <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/listeria/outbreaks/monocytogenes-06-22/details.html">an early August 2022 report</a> from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Those who fell ill ranged in age from less than 1 to 92 years old, and 24 of the cases have involved hospitalizations.</p>
<p>How can such a tiny organism bypass extensive disinfection efforts and wreak such havoc? <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=G_tH2rUAAAAJ&hl=en">As a microbiologist</a> who has been working with listeria and trying to solve these mysteries, I’d like to share some insider secrets about this unique little pathogen and its strategies of survival inside and outside our bodies.</p>
<h2>Farm to table</h2>
<p>To prevent consumer exposure to listeria, the food industries follow <a href="https://www.fda.gov/files/food/published/Draft-Guidance-for-Industry--Control-of-Listeria-monocytogenes-in-Ready-To-Eat-Foods-%28PDF%29.pdf">stringent disinfection and surveillance guidelines</a> from the Food and Drug Administration and the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Any detection of listeria triggers a recall of potentially contaminated food products. </p>
<p>Since 2017, there have been <a href="https://www.fsis.usda.gov/recalls">over 270 listeria-related food recalls</a>. These are incredibly costly and can sometimes lead to fears in consumers <a href="https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2018/01/29/581531318/panera-bread-recalls-cream-cheese-across-u-s-over-listeria-fears">as well as nationwide disruptions in food services</a>. However, the recalls represent one of the few tools that the food industry has to protect consumers from foodborne infections. </p>
<p>Not all listeria strains are created equal. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijmm.2010.05.002">Genetic variations</a> in listeria make a big difference in whether the pathogen ends up being involved in multistate outbreaks or simply hitching a ride harmlessly through our digestive tract. Essentially, based on the <a href="https://doi.org/10.1093/jaoac/85.2.524">different methods used</a>, listeria can be subtyped into different lineages, with some associated with outbreaks more frequently than others.</p>
<p>Researchers are investigating ways to tell these listeria strains apart, distinguishing the less harmful ones from those that are particularly dangerous, or hypervirulent. Being able to accurately identify them can help policymakers assess risks and make economically feasible decisions to improve food safety.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Illustration of red-orange rod-shaped Listeria bacteria." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/477025/original/file-20220801-70681-jygdr6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C6000%2C3979&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/477025/original/file-20220801-70681-jygdr6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/477025/original/file-20220801-70681-jygdr6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/477025/original/file-20220801-70681-jygdr6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/477025/original/file-20220801-70681-jygdr6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/477025/original/file-20220801-70681-jygdr6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/477025/original/file-20220801-70681-jygdr6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Listeria is an intracellular pathogen. Inside the body, it can grow inside a cell and spread to neighboring cells.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/illustration/listeria-monocytogenes-illustration-royalty-free-illustration/685023881">Kateryna Kon/Science Photo Library via Getty Images</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Listeria is tough</h2>
<p>Listeria can live in any place where food is grown, packaged, stored, transported, prepared or served. Our research team has even found listeria in <a href="https://doi.org/10.3390/pathogens7030060">organic lettuce harvested from a backyard garden</a>. </p>
<p>Listeria can survive and grow in temperatures as cold as <a href="https://ask.usda.gov/s/article/Can-Listeria-grow-at-refrigerator-temperatures">24 degrees Fahrenheit</a> (-4.4 Celsius) because it has <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/10408390701856272">adapted to cold temperatures</a> and developed <a href="https://doi.org/10.4315/0362-028X-69.6.1473">tricks for overcoming cold stress</a>. Considering the average refrigerator maintains a temperature range of 35 F to 38 F (1.7 C to 3.3 C), even when the food is stored properly at refrigeration temperatures, a harmless few listeria can grow to dangerous levels of contamination over time.</p>
<p>Listeria is also extremely versatile in adapting to and surviving all kinds of disinfection processes. When it grows on surfaces, listeria protects itself with <a href="https://doi.org/10.3390%2Fpathogens6030041">a biofilm structure</a>, a kind of coating that forms a physical and chemical barrier and prevents disinfectants from reaching the bacteria within.</p>
<p>Surviving the harsh conditions outside our body is only the first part of the story. Before even beginning to cause infections, listeria needs to get to the intestines without getting caught and destroyed by the body’s defenses.</p>
<p>Traveling and surviving passage through a <a href="https://doi.org/10.3389%2Ffcimb.2014.00009">human digestive tract is not easy</a> for bacteria. Saliva enzymes can degrade bacterial cell walls. So can stomach acids and bile salts. Antibodies in our digestive tract can recognize and target bacteria for degradation. Moreover, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1084%2Fjem.20170495">resident gut microbes</a> are strong competitors for the limited amount of space and nutrients in our intestines.</p>
<p>After digestion, the body’s intestinal movement sends traffic one way – out of the body. In order to stick around and cause infections, bacteria have to attach themselves and hang on against the bowel movement while competing for nutrients. Successful pathogens can establish these survival and attachment tasks while undermining our immune defenses. </p>
<p>Listeria that manage to stick around in our intestines can trigger an immune response. In healthy people, that might manifest as <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/listeria/symptoms.html">minor diarrhea or vomiting that goes away without medical attention</a>. </p>
<p>However, those with compromised immune systems or immune systems temporarily weakened as a result of medication or <a href="https://doi.org/10.3389/fimmu.2020.575197">pregnancy</a> can be more susceptible to severe infections. In the absence of an effective immune system, listeria can invade other tissues and organs by creating an efficient niche for growth.</p>
<h2>Listeria in stealth mode</h2>
<p>Listeria is what we microbiologists call an intracellular pathogen. In an infected individual, listeria can grow inside a cell and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1083%2Fjcb.146.6.1333">spread to neighboring cells</a>. Hiding inside our cells this way, listeria avoids detection by antibodies or other immune defenses that are designed to detect and destroy threats that exist outside of our cells.</p>
<p>Once in stealth mode, listeria can move into and infect different organs. Wherever it goes, inflammation follows as the body’s immune system tries to go after the bacteria. The inflammation eventually results in collateral damage in nearby tissues. </p>
<p>In fact, deaths from listeria infections are often associated with the more invasive forms of the disease in which the microbes have breached the intestinal barriers and moved to other body parts. <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/listeria/symptoms.html">Life-threatening illnesses</a> that can result from listeria include meningitis – inflammation around the brain and spinal cord that can occur when these microbes infect the brain – or <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijantimicag.2017.12.032">endocarditis</a>, infection of the heart’s inner lining. And in pregnant individuals, if the pathogen reaches the placenta, it can spread to the fetus and cause stillbirth or miscarriage.</p>
<p>As such, invasive listeria cases often have an alarmingly high <a href="https://www.fda.gov/animal-veterinary/animal-health-literacy/get-facts-about-listeria#">hospitalization rate of more than 90% and a fatality rate that can reach 30%</a>. </p>
<p>The scary statistics argue for a proactive and effective infection control to protect vulnerable populations, such as elderly or pregnant individuals, from listeria exposure. </p>
<h2>Think, cook and eat</h2>
<p>If you have risk factors and want to take extra precautions, maybe turn that unpasteurized cider into a hot, mulled cider to kill the bacteria with boiling and simmering. Eat soft cheeses on foods that get cooked, such as pizzas or grilled sandwiches, instead of eating them cold, straight from the refrigerator. Essentially, use heat to bring out the delicious flavors and eliminate potential listeria contamination in your food. </p>
<p>Ultimately, it’s nearly impossible to live in a completely sterile environment, eating food devoid of all living microorganisms. So enjoy your favorites, but <a href="https://www.fsis.usda.gov/food-safety">stay up to date with ongoing recalls</a> and follow the expiration guidelines, especially for ready-to-eat food.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/187905/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Yvonne Sun does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Listeria causes serious illness and food recalls nearly every year.Yvonne Sun, Assistant Professor of Microbiology, University of DaytonLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1889652022-08-18T18:00:46Z2022-08-18T18:00:46ZHow to destroy a ‘forever chemical’ – scientists are discovering ways to eliminate PFAS, but this growing global health problem isn’t going away soon<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/479758/original/file-20220817-11729-4rn4zo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=854%2C251%2C5853%2C3852&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">How long do we really need chemicals to last?</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://gettyimages.com/detail/photo/close-up-of-glasses-royalty-free-image/1338710777">Sura Nualpradid/EyeEm via Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>PFAS chemicals seemed like a good idea at first. As <a href="https://www.aps.org/publications/apsnews/202104/history.cfm">Teflon</a>, they made pots easier to clean starting in the 1940s. They made jackets waterproof and carpets stain-resistant. Food wrappers, firefighting foam, even makeup seemed better with perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances.</p>
<p>Then tests started detecting <a href="https://static.ewg.org/reports/2020/pfas-epa-timeline/1998_3M-Alerts-EPA.pdf">PFAS in people’s blood</a>.</p>
<p>Today, PFAS are pervasive in soil, dust and drinking water around the world. Studies suggest they’re in <a href="https://doi.org/10.1289/ehp.10598">98% of Americans’ bodies</a>, where they’ve been <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7906952/">associated with health problems</a> including thyroid disease, liver damage and kidney and testicular cancer. There are now <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/niosh/topics/pfas/default.html">over 9,000 types</a> of PFAS. They’re often referred to as “forever chemicals” because the same properties that make them so useful also <a href="https://www.michigan.gov/-/media/Project/Websites/PFAS-Response/Reports/Report-2018-12-07-Science-Advisory-Board.pdf?rev=4a075fe29d794a3a942729557c4e6745">ensure they don’t break down in nature.</a></p>
<p>Scientists are working on methods to capture these synthetic chemicals and destroy them, but it isn’t simple. </p>
<p>The <a href="https://doi.org/10.1126/science.abm8868">latest breakthrough</a>, published Aug. 18, 2022, in the journal Science, shows how one class of PFAS can be broken down into mostly harmless components using sodium hydroxide, or lye, an inexpensive compound used in soap. It isn’t an immediate solution to this vast problem, but it offers new insight.</p>
<p>Biochemist <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=fbJ7DGMAAAAJ&hl=en">A. Daniel Jones</a> and soil scientist <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=K5qNMk4AAAAJ&hl=en">Hui Li</a> work on PFAS solutions at the Michigan State University and explained the promising PFAS destruction techniques being tested today. </p>
<h2>How do PFAS get from everyday products into water, soil and eventually humans?</h2>
<p>There are two main exposure pathways for PFAS to get into humans – drinking water and food consumption.</p>
<p>PFAS can get into soil through land application of biosolids, that is, sludge from wastewater treatment, and can they leach out from landfills. If contaminated biosolids are <a href="https://www.michigan.gov/mdard/environment/rtf/biosolids/gen/frequently-asked-biosolids-questions">applied to farm fields as fertilizer</a>, PFAS can get into water and into crops and vegetables.</p>
<p>For example, livestock can consume PFAS through the crops they eat and water they drink. There have been <a href="https://www.michigan.gov/mdard/about/media/pressreleases/2022/01/28/grostic-cattle-company-of-livingston-county-beef-sold-directly-to-consumers-may-contain-pfos">cases reported in Michigan</a>, <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2022/04/11/pfas-forever-chemicals-maine-farm/">Maine</a> and <a href="https://nmpoliticalreport.com/2021/12/21/dairy-farmers-facing-pfas-contamination-now-eligible-for-payment-for-their-cattle/">New Mexico</a> of elevated levels of PFAS in beef and in dairy cows. How big the potential risk is to humans is still <a href="https://www.ewg.org/news-insights/news/2022/04/ewg-forever-chemicals-may-taint-nearly-20-million-cropland-acres">largely unknown</a>. </p>
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<img alt="Two cows look over a wooden hay trough with a barn in the background." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/479759/original/file-20220817-18153-uivgbk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/479759/original/file-20220817-18153-uivgbk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/479759/original/file-20220817-18153-uivgbk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/479759/original/file-20220817-18153-uivgbk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/479759/original/file-20220817-18153-uivgbk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/479759/original/file-20220817-18153-uivgbk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/479759/original/file-20220817-18153-uivgbk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Cows were found with high levels of PFAS at a farm in Maine.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/cows-with-high-levels-of-pfas-on-a-farm-royalty-free-image/1178310633">Adam Glanzman/Bloomberg via Getty Images</a></span>
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<p>Scientists in our group at Michigan State University are working on materials added to soil that could prevent plants from taking up PFAS, but it would leave PFAS in the soil.</p>
<p>The problem is that these chemicals are everywhere, and there is <a href="https://www.michigan.gov/-/media/Project/Websites/PFAS-Response/Reports/Report-2018-12-07-Science-Advisory-Board.pdf?rev=4a075fe29d794a3a942729557c4e6745">no natural process</a> in water or soil that breaks them down. Many consumer products are loaded with PFAS, including makeup, dental floss, guitar strings and ski wax.</p>
<h2>How are remediation projects removing PFAS contamination now?</h2>
<p>Methods exist for filtering them out of water. The chemicals will stick to activated carbon, for example. But these methods are expensive for large-scale projects, and you still have to get rid of the chemicals.</p>
<p>For example, near a former military base near Sacramento, California, there is a huge activated carbon tank that takes in <a href="https://www.afcec.af.mil/News/Article-Display/Article/2530050/new-water-treatment-systems-address-pfospfoa-issues-at-former-mather-afb/">about 1,500 gallons</a> of contaminated groundwater per minute, filters it and then pumps it underground. That remediation project has cost <a href="https://www.afcec.af.mil/News/Article-Display/Article/2530050/new-water-treatment-systems-address-pfospfoa-issues-at-former-mather-afb/">over $3 million</a>, but it prevents PFAS from moving into drinking water the community uses.</p>
<p>Filtering is just one step. Once PFAS is captured, then you have to dispose of PFAS-loaded activated carbons, and PFAS still moves around. If you bury contaminated materials in a landfill or elsewhere, PFAS will eventually leach out. That’s why finding ways to destroy it are essential.</p>
<h2>What are the most promising methods scientists have found for breaking down PFAS?</h2>
<p>The most common method of destroying PFAS is incineration, but most PFAS are remarkably resistant to being burned. That’s why they’re in firefighting foams.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.niehs.nih.gov/health/topics/agents/pfc/index.cfm">PFAS have multiple</a> fluorine atoms attached to a carbon atom, and the bond between carbon and fluorine is one of the strongest. Normally to burn something, you have to break the bond, but fluorine resists breaking off from carbon. Most PFAS will break down completely at incineration temperatures around <a href="https://www.regulations.gov/document/EPA-HQ-OLEM-2020-0527-0002">1,500 degrees Celsius</a> (2,730 degrees Fahrenheit), but it’s energy intensive and suitable incinerators are scarce.</p>
<p>There are several other experimental techniques that are promising but haven’t been scaled up to treat large amounts of the chemicals.</p>
<p>A group at Battelle has developed <a href="https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)EE.1943-7870.0001957">supercritical water oxidation</a> to destroy PFAS. High temperatures and pressures change the state of water, accelerating chemistry in a way that can destroy hazardous substances. However, scaling up remains a challenge. </p>
<p>Others are <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhazmat.2020.124452">working with</a> <a href="https://www.af.mil/News/Article-Display/Article/2009997/air-force-tests-plasma-reactor-to-degrade-destroy-synthetic-chemical-compounds/">plasma reactors,</a> which use water, electricity and argon gas to break down PFAS. They’re fast, but also not easy to scale up. </p>
<p>The method described in the <a href="https://doi.org/10.1126/science.abm8868">new paper</a>, led by scientists at Northwestern, is promising for what they’ve learned about how to break up PFAS. It won’t scale up to industrial treatment, and it uses <a href="https://www.acs.org/content/acs/en/molecule-of-the-week/archive/d/dimethyl-sulfoxide.html">dimethyl sulfoxide</a>, or DMSO, but these findings will guide future discoveries about what might work.</p>
<h2>What are we likely to see in the future?</h2>
<p>A lot will depend on what we learn about where humans’ PFAS exposure is primarily coming from.</p>
<p>If the exposure is mostly from drinking water, there are more methods with potential. It’s possible it could eventually be destroyed at the household level with electro-chemical methods, but there are also potential risks that remain to be understood, such as converting common substances such as chloride into more toxic byproducts.</p>
<p>The big challenge of remediation is making sure we don’t make the problem worse by releasing other gases or creating harmful chemicals. Humans have a long history of trying to solve problems and making things worse. Refrigerators are a great example. Freon, a chlorofluorocarbon, was the solution to replace toxic and flammable ammonia in refrigerators, but then <a href="https://www.pca.state.mn.us/air/chlorofluorocarbons-cfcs-and-hydrofluorocarbons-hfcs">it caused stratospheric ozone depletion</a>. It was replaced with hydrofluorocarbons, which now <a href="https://www.ccacoalition.org/fr/slcps/hydrofluorocarbons-hfcs">contribute to climate change</a>. </p>
<p>If there’s a lesson to be learned, it’s that we need to think through the full life cycle of products. How long do we really need chemicals to last?</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/what-are-pfas-the-forever-chemicals-showing-up-in-drinking-water-an-environmental-health-scientist-explains-185015">What are PFAS, the 'forever chemicals' showing up in drinking water? An environmental health scientist explains</a>
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<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/188965/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>A. Daniel Jones receives funding from the National Science Foundation, National Institutes of Health, U.S. Department of Agriculture-National Institute of Food and Agriculture, U.S. Forest Service, and the U.S. Department of Defense Strategic Environmental Research and Development Program (SERDP).</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Hui Li receives funding from the Environmental Protection Agency, U.S. Department of Agriculture, and National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences.</span></em></p>PFAS can be filtered, but getting rid of the chemicals is a monumental challenge. A new breakthrough offers some hope.A. Daniel Jones, Professor of Biochemistry, Michigan State UniversityHui Li, Professor of Environmental and Soil Chemistry, Michigan State UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1881122022-08-16T14:41:41Z2022-08-16T14:41:41ZSouth Africa’s proposed fracking regulations should do more to protect groundwater<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/479402/original/file-20220816-9763-z7u5be.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">The Karoo landscape, a water-scarce area near potential shale gas sites.
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Photo courtesy Surina Esterhuyse</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>South Africa is extremely water scarce, and water supply will become more challenging in the future. The <a href="https://www.africaportal.org/publications/delicate-balance-water-scarcity-south-africa/">population and economy are growing</a>, increasing demand. Rainfall is variable and more extreme and prolonged droughts are expected because of <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/B9780128183397000059">climate change</a>. More than 80% of South Africa’s available surface water resources are already <a href="https://www.dws.gov.za/Groundwater/Documents/NGS_Draft-Final_04012017.pdf">allocated for use</a>. Groundwater resources will therefore become more important in South Africa.</p>
<p>There is, however, a potential threat to those groundwater resources. South Africa depends heavily on <a href="https://cdn.sei.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/planning-a-just-transition-in-south-africa.pdf">coal for energy</a> but its coal resources are being <a href="https://www.statista.com/statistics/265445/proved-coal-reserves-in-south-africa/">depleted</a>. The country may turn to unconventional oil and gas resources to augment energy supply. And methods to extract oil and gas can <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0301479716307289">contaminate and deplete groundwater</a>. </p>
<p>Hydraulic fracturing, also known as fracking, is used to extract trapped oil and gas from underground geological formations. A mixture of water, chemicals and sand is injected into these formations under high pressure. This opens up micro-fractures in the rock to release the trapped oil and gas, but it can also disturb the deep geological formations and aquifers. Groundwater can be contaminated if deep saline groundwater migrates to potable groundwater resources via hydraulic connections.</p>
<p>In addition to migration of saline groundwater, the chemicals used during fracking can contaminate groundwater. Wastewater may also get into groundwater via spills and leaks. And the hydraulic fracturing process requires large volumes of water. </p>
<p>Regulations that are properly developed and enforced are therefore vital to protect groundwater resources in South Africa when <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41545-021-00145-y">extracting unconventional oil and gas</a>.</p>
<h2>Regulations to protect groundwater</h2>
<p>On 7 May 2021, the Department of Water and Sanitation published <a href="https://www.gov.za/sites/default/files/gcis_document/202105/44545gon406.pdf">regulations on the use of water in oil and gas extraction</a>. And on 11 July 2022, the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment published <a href="https://cer.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/Proposed-Regulations-pertaining-to-the-Exploration-and-Production-of-Onshore-Oil-and-Gas-Requiring-Hydraulic-Fracturing.pdf">proposed regulations for the exploration and production of onshore oil and gas</a> for public comment. These regulations aim to protect the environment during oil and gas development. </p>
<p>The environment department also published a document for comment specifying what <a href="https://cer.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/NEMA-Intention-to-prescribe-minimum-conditions-for-onshore-exploration-of-oil-and-gas-intending-to-frack-8-July-2022.pdf">information must be supplied</a> when applying for a licence to produce oil and gas. The two departments’ regulations should be read together since both protect groundwater resources. </p>
<p>Based on a <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41545-021-00145-y">survey</a> of South African groundwater experts that my colleagues and I conducted, I’ve reviewed the proposed regulations and identified aspects that need attention.</p>
<p>A strength of the regulations is that they list penalties for contraventions, which will help with enforcement. However, there are gaps in the regulations. Some extraction methods and related processes are not regulated. </p>
<h2>Gaps in fracking regulations</h2>
<p>The environment department’s regulations only address unconventional oil and gas development that requires hydraulic fracturing. Other techniques are also used to free those resources. For example, depressurisation can be used to liberate coalbed methane. All the extraction methods should be included in the regulations.</p>
<p>The regulations say that water sources and fracking wells at the extraction site should be at least 2km apart. This is not far enough. Based on what the survey of experts found, fracking wells should be at least 10km away from municipal wellfields, aquifers and water supply boreholes. They should be at least 5km away from seismically active springs. </p>
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/479226/original/file-20220815-16003-8q5rsz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Karoo landscape with windpumps" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/479226/original/file-20220815-16003-8q5rsz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/479226/original/file-20220815-16003-8q5rsz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=337&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/479226/original/file-20220815-16003-8q5rsz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=337&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/479226/original/file-20220815-16003-8q5rsz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=337&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/479226/original/file-20220815-16003-8q5rsz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/479226/original/file-20220815-16003-8q5rsz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/479226/original/file-20220815-16003-8q5rsz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">Putsonderwater, meaning ‘well without water’ in the extremely water-scarce area between Marydale and Groblershoop.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Photo courtesy Danita Hohne</span></span>
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<p>These minimum distances, known as setbacks, are also needed where there are <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41545-021-00145-y">other geological and groundwater features</a> that increase the risk of groundwater contamination. </p>
<p>The regulations do not address specific measures to contain fractures to the production zone, or to prevent fluids from migrating beyond this area. Operators should have to monitor these risks and report to the regulator. If monitoring shows that fluid is moving outside the production zone, operations must stop until the situation is corrected. </p>
<p>The proposed regulations don’t address fracturing fluid management. The water department regulations require that a list of chemicals planned for use in the fracturing fluids be submitted to the department for approval, but this alone is insufficient to protect groundwater. A risk management plan for each well that is to be fractured must be submitted to the regulator. It must identify the chemical ingredients and the volume and concentration of the fluid additives. The plan must assess the potential environmental and health risks of the fracturing fluids and additives – and show how operations will minimise risk. </p>
<p>The regulations require a waste management plan. It should be more comprehensive, by considering both solid waste and wastewater. The plan should include transport, storage and management of wastewater and other substances used, and procedures for preventing and addressing spills. It should monitor and report on the actual volume of recovered fluids, the chemical composition of these fluids, and any radioactive fluids that were identified. </p>
<p>The information disclosure regulations are inadequate. They require that various information sources be uploaded onto the website of the holder. They do not require public access to this information. It would be better to load the data onto a centralised website run by an independent institution, where it is available and in a usable form.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/how-fracking-plans-could-affect-shared-water-resources-in-southern-africa-147684">How fracking plans could affect shared water resources in southern Africa</a>
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<p>The well decommissioning regulations do not specify how long decommissioned wells should be monitored. The risk of well leakage <a href="https://gisera.csiro.au/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/Final-Report-GISERA-W20-Monitoring-of-Decommissioned-Wells.pdf">over the long term</a> means that a monitoring timeframe of <a href="https://seasgd.csir.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/Ch-5_Water_13Nov2016_LR.pdf">50 years or more may be necessary</a>. The regulations should consider who will be responsible and carry the associated costs. </p>
<p>Ancillary activities are not regulated. For example, there’s no mention of pipeline management or monitoring. Pipelines could leak and contaminate groundwater resources, especially if they are buried. </p>
<p>The minimum information requirements document also needs revision. Information about where wells will be located should be publicly available. For the groundwater baseline (the groundwater quality and quantity before fracking), both shallow and deep aquifers should be assessed, and possible fluid migration pathways should be identified.</p>
<p>If these aspects are addressed and the regulations properly enforced, the regulations will do a better job of protecting groundwater resources.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/188112/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Surina Esterhuyse does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>New regulations for protecting water resources during oil exploration are inadequate and should be reviewed.Surina Esterhuyse, Senior Lecturer Centre for Environmental Management, University of the Free StateLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1866202022-08-01T12:28:10Z2022-08-01T12:28:10ZFlood maps show US vastly underestimates contamination risk at old industrial sites<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/476865/original/file-20220801-70473-vod0jt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=226%2C0%2C2166%2C1451&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Maywood Riverfront Park was built on the site of eight former industrial properties in Los Angeles County.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/maywood-riverfront-park-is-closed-to-the-public-because-of-news-photo/564026071">Luis Sinco/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p><a href="https://www.nationalacademies.org/our-work/urban-flooding-in-the-united-states">Floodwaters are a growing risk for many American cities</a>, threatening to displace not only people and housing but also the land-based pollution left behind by earlier industrial activities.</p>
<p>In 2019, researchers at the U.S. Government Accountability Office <a href="https://www.gao.gov/products/gao-20-73">investigated climate-related risks</a> at the 1,571 most polluted properties in the country, also known as <a href="https://www.epa.gov/superfund/superfund-national-priorities-list-npl">Superfund sites</a> on the federal National Priorities List. They found an alarming 60% were in locations at risk of climate-related events, including wildfires and flooding.</p>
<p>As troubling as those numbers sound, our research shows that that’s just the proverbial <a href="https://www.russellsage.org/publications/sites-unseen">tip of the iceberg</a>. </p>
<p><a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/socf.12639">Many times that number</a> of potentially contaminated former industrial sites exist. Most were never documented by government agencies, which began collecting data on industrially contaminated lands only in the 1980s. Today, many of these sites have been redeveloped for other uses such as homes, buildings or parks. </p>
<p>For communities near these sites, the flooding of contaminated land is worrisome because it threatens to compromise common pollution containment methods, such as capping contaminated land with clean soil. It can also transport legacy contaminants into surrounding soils and waterways, putting the health and safety of urban ecosystems and residents at risk.</p>
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<img alt="A boat sits by a dock outside a new building along the waterway." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/474918/original/file-20220719-20-6jl233.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/474918/original/file-20220719-20-6jl233.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/474918/original/file-20220719-20-6jl233.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/474918/original/file-20220719-20-6jl233.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/474918/original/file-20220719-20-6jl233.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/474918/original/file-20220719-20-6jl233.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/474918/original/file-20220719-20-6jl233.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">New York developers are planning thousands of housing units along the Gowanus Canal, a notoriously contaminated industrial area and waterway.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/general-view-of-the-gowanus-canal-and-a-new-residential-news-photo/876795968">Epics/Getty Images</a></span>
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<p>We study urban pollution and environmental change. In a <a href="https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/ac78f7">recent study</a>, we conducted a comprehensive assessment by combining historical manufacturing directories, which locate the majority of former industrial facilities, with flood risk projections from the <a href="https://firststreet.org/">First Street Foundation</a>. The projections use climate models and historic data to assess future risk for each property.</p>
<p>The results show that the GAO’s 2019 report vastly underestimated the scale and scope of the risks many communities will face in the decades ahead.</p>
<h2>Pollution risks in 6 cities</h2>
<p>We started our study by collecting the location and flood risk for former industrial sites in six very different cities facing varying types of flood risk over the coming years: Houston; Minneapolis; New Orleans; Philadelphia; Portland, Oregon; and Providence, Rhode Island. </p>
<p>These former industrial sites have been called <a href="https://www.mcgrawcenter.org/stories/ghosts-of-polluters-past/">ghosts of polluters past</a>. While the smokestacks and factories of these <a href="https://theconversation.com/what-lies-beneath-to-manage-toxic-contamination-in-cities-study-their-industrial-histories-104897">relics</a> may no longer be visible, much of their legacy pollution likely remains. </p>
<p>In just these six cities, we found <a href="https://osf.io/dnjvg/">over 6,000 sites</a> at risk of flooding in the next 30 years – far more than recognized by the EPA. Using census data, we estimate that nearly 200,000 residents live on blocks with at least one flood-prone relic industrial site and its legacy contaminants. </p>
<p><iframe id="zNay3" class="tc-infographic-datawrapper" src="https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/zNay3/1/" height="400px" width="100%" style="border: none" frameborder="0"></iframe></p>
<p>Without detailed records, we can’t assess the extent of contamination at each relic site or how that contamination might spread during flooding. But the sheer number of flood-prone sites suggests the U.S. has a widespread problem it will need to solve.</p>
<p>The highest-risk areas tended to be clustered along waterways where industry and worker housing once thrived, areas that often became home to low-income communities.</p>
<h2>Legacy of the industrial Northeast</h2>
<p>In Providence, an example of an older industrial city, we found thousands of at-risk relic sites scattered along Narragansett Bay and the floodplains of the Providence and Woonasquatucket Rivers. </p>
<p>Over the decades, as these factories manufactured textiles, machine tools, jewelry and other products, they released untold quantities of environmentally persistent contaminants, including heavy metals like lead and cadmium and volatile organic chemicals, into the surrounding soils and water. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Map with dots, primarily along waterways." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/474765/original/file-20220719-20-4osyy5.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/474765/original/file-20220719-20-4osyy5.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/474765/original/file-20220719-20-4osyy5.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/474765/original/file-20220719-20-4osyy5.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/474765/original/file-20220719-20-4osyy5.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=533&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/474765/original/file-20220719-20-4osyy5.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=533&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/474765/original/file-20220719-20-4osyy5.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=533&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Flood-prone relic industrial sites in Providence, R.I.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1748-9326/ac78f7">Marlow, et al. 2022</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/">CC BY-ND</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>For example, the Rhode Island Department of Health recently reported <a href="https://ecori.org/2020-3-4-pfas-found-in-drinking-water-throughout-ri/">widespread drinking water contamination</a> from <a href="https://theconversation.com/what-are-pfas-and-why-is-the-epa-warning-about-them-in-drinking-water-an-environmental-health-scientist-explains-185015">PFAS</a>, often referred to as “<a href="https://www.ewg.org/what-are-pfas-chemicals">forever chemicals</a>,” which are used to create stain- and water-resistant products and can be toxic. </p>
<p>The tendency for older factories to locate close to the water, where they would have easy access to power and transportation, puts these sites at risk today from extreme storms and sea-level rise. Many of these were small factories easily overlooked by regulators.</p>
<h2>Chemicals, oil and gas</h2>
<p>Newer cities, like Houston, are also vulnerable. Houston faces especially high risks given the scale of nearby oil, gas and chemical manufacturing infrastructure and its lack of formal zoning regulations.</p>
<p>In August 2017, historic rains from Hurricane Harvey triggered more than <a href="https://phys.org/news/2018-03-hurricane-harvey-toxic-impact-deeper.html">100 industrial spills</a> in the greater Houston area, releasing more than a half-billion gallons of <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-storm-harvey-spills/oil-and-chemical-spills-from-hurricane-harvey-big-but-dwarfed-by-katrina-idUSKCN1BQ1E8">hazardous chemicals and wastewater</a> into the local environment, including well-known carcinogens such as dioxin, ethylene and PCBs. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Maps with dots widespread in the city." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/474766/original/file-20220719-22-ug93mg.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/474766/original/file-20220719-22-ug93mg.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/474766/original/file-20220719-22-ug93mg.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/474766/original/file-20220719-22-ug93mg.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/474766/original/file-20220719-22-ug93mg.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=533&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/474766/original/file-20220719-22-ug93mg.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=533&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/474766/original/file-20220719-22-ug93mg.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=533&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Flood-prone relic industrial sites in Houston.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1748-9326/ac78f7">Marlow, et al. 2022</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/">CC BY-ND</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Even that event doesn’t reflect the full extent of the industrially polluted lands at growing risk of flooding throughout the city. We found nearly 2,000 relic industrial sites at an elevated risk of flooding in the Houston area; the GAO report raised concerns about only 15.</p>
<p>Many of these properties are concentrated in or near communities of color. In all six cities in our study, we found that the strongest predictor of a neighborhood’s containing a flood-prone site of former hazardous industry is the proportion of nonwhite and non-English-speaking residents.</p>
<h2>Keeping communities safe</h2>
<p>As temperatures rise, <a href="https://theconversation.com/climate-change-is-making-flooding-worse-3-reasons-the-world-is-seeing-more-record-breaking-deluges-and-flash-floods-185364">air can hold more moisture</a>, leading to strong downpours. Those downpours can trigger flooding, particularly in paved urban areas with less open ground for the water to sink in. Climate change also contributes to sea-level rise, as coastal communities like <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/feature/esnt/2020/beating-back-the-tides">Annapolis, Maryland</a>, and <a href="https://theconversation.com/a-20-foot-sea-wall-wont-save-miami-how-living-structures-can-help-protect-the-coast-and-keep-the-paradise-vibe-165076">Miami</a> are discovering with <a href="https://theconversation.com/high-tide-flood-risk-is-accelerating-putting-coastal-economies-at-risk-164481">increasing days of high-tide flooding</a>. </p>
<p>Keeping communities safe in a changing climate will mean cleaning up flood-prone industrial relic sites. In some cases, companies can be held financially responsible for the cleanup, but often, the costs fall to taxpayers.</p>
<p>The <a href="https://www.congress.gov/bill/117th-congress/house-bill/3684/text">infrastructure bill</a> that Congress passed in 2021 includes <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/bipartisan-infrastructure-law/#environmentalremediation">$21 billion for environmental remediation</a>. As a key element of new “green” infrastructure, some of that money could be channeled into flood-prone areas or invested in developing pollution remediation techniques that do not fail when flooded.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A large brick housing complex with people sitting in lawn chairs outside. A sign on the lawn is in Spanish." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/474914/original/file-20220719-24-o50uhs.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/474914/original/file-20220719-24-o50uhs.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=414&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/474914/original/file-20220719-24-o50uhs.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=414&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/474914/original/file-20220719-24-o50uhs.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=414&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/474914/original/file-20220719-24-o50uhs.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=520&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/474914/original/file-20220719-24-o50uhs.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=520&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/474914/original/file-20220719-24-o50uhs.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=520&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The West Calumet Housing Complex in East Chicago, Ind., was built on the site of an old lead refinery. It was closed down after children there were found to have elevated levels of lead in their blood. The sign reads: ‘Do not play in the dirt or next to shredded wood mulch.’</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://newsroom.ap.org/detail/LeadContaminationEastChicago/8d095ee761a64ca09dcb3e4a3baedfb7/photo">AP Photo/Tae-Gyun Kim</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Our findings suggest the entire process for prioritizing and cleaning up relic sites needs to be reconsidered to incorporate future flood risk.</p>
<p>Flood and pollution risks are not separate problems. Dealing with them effectively requires deepening relationships with local residents who bear disproportionate risks. If communities are involved from the beginning, the benefits of green redevelopment and mitigation efforts <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-03-08/hud-says-texas-agency-discriminated-in-flood-relief-funding">can extend to a much larger population</a>. </p>
<p>One approach suggested by our work is to move beyond individual properties as the basis of environmental hazard and risk assessment and concentrate on affected ecosystems.</p>
<p>Focusing on individual sites misses the historical and geographical scale of industrial pollution. Concentrating remediation on meaningful ecological units, such as watersheds, can create healthier environments with fewer risks when the land floods.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/186620/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Thomas Marlow is supported by the NYUAD Center for Interacting Urban Networks (CITIES), funded by Tamkeen under the NYUAD Research Institute Award CG001. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>James R. Elliott has received funding from the National Science Foundation for research related to this piece.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Scott Frickel has received funding from the National Science Foundation and the National Institute of Environmental Health for research related to this article. </span></em></p>Climate change is colliding with old factory sites where soil or water contamination still exist, and the most vulnerable populations are particularly at risk.Thomas Marlow, Postdoctoral Fellow in the Center for Interacting Urban Networks (CITIES) at NYU Abu Dhabi, New York UniversityJames R. Elliott, Professor of Sociology, Rice UniversityScott Frickel, Professor of Sociology and Environment and Society, Brown UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1757732022-01-28T10:32:04Z2022-01-28T10:32:04ZMoon: crashing rocket will create new crater – here’s what we should worry about<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/443136/original/file-20220128-23-pc9vpx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C21%2C2362%2C1771&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">A frame from A Trip to the Moon.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">wikipedia</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>It’s not often that the sudden appearance of a new impact crater on the Moon can be predicted, but it’s going to happen on March 4, when a derelict <a href="https://www.spacex.com/vehicles/falcon-9/">SpaceX Falcon 9</a> rocket will crash into it.</p>
<p>The rocket launched in 2015, carrying Nasa’s Deep Space Climate Observatory (DSCOVR) probe into a position 1.5 million kilometres from the Earth, facing the Sun. But the expended upper stage of the rocket had insufficient speed to escape into an independent orbit around the Sun, and was abandoned without an option to steer back into the Earth’s atmosphere. That would be normal practice, allowing stages to burn up on re-entry, thus reducing the <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/news/orbital_debris.html">clutter in near-Earth space</a> caused by dangerous junk.</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/DMdhQsHbWTs?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">Time lapse movie made from 5 hours of images, recorded by DSCOVR.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Since February 2015, the 14 metres long, derelict upper stage, massing nearly four tonnes, has therefore been in a wide orbit about the Earth. Its precise movements have been hard to predict, because they were influenced by lunar and solar gravity as well as the Earth’s.</p>
<p>But we can now tell that it is going to hit the Moon on March 4 at a speed of about 2.6 kilometres per second. This will make a crater about 19 metres in diameter – a prospect that has provoked outrage in social media circles from people who are appalled that human negligence will disfigure the Moon in this way.</p>
<h2>Misplaced concern</h2>
<p>It is, however, surely more environmentally friendly for a dead rocket to end up on the Moon than being scattered through Earth’s upper atmosphere in the form of metal oxide particles, which is what happens during a re-entry burn up. The Moon also lacks an atmosphere to shield it from space debris, so it is accumulating naturally occurring impact craters all the time.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/442792/original/file-20220126-13-ftj8tj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/442792/original/file-20220126-13-ftj8tj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=341&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/442792/original/file-20220126-13-ftj8tj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=341&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/442792/original/file-20220126-13-ftj8tj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=341&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/442792/original/file-20220126-13-ftj8tj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=428&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/442792/original/file-20220126-13-ftj8tj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=428&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/442792/original/file-20220126-13-ftj8tj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=428&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A 19 metre lunar crater made by a natural impact on 17 March 2013.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center/Arizona State University</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter has already imaged a 19 metre crater formed when a half a tonne lump of asteroid rock travelling about ten times faster than the Falcon 9 struck the surface in March 2013. Over the past decade, hundreds of smaller impacts, by chunks of rock weighing as little as half a kilogram, have been spotted by <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/centers/marshall/news/lunar/overview.html">Nasa’s lunar impact monitoring project</a>.</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/IYloGuUZCFM?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
</figure>
<p>The coming impact will be on the lunar far side, so we wont be able to see it happen. But spacecraft orbiting the Moon will be able to image the impact crater afterwards. Will we learn anything new? There have been several previous deliberate crashes onto the Moon, so we know what to expect.</p>
<p>For example, the considerably larger upper stages of rockets used in the Apollo landing missions were crashed so that vibrations detected by seismometers installed on the surface could be used to investigate the lunar interior. The <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-moon-is-still-geologically-active-study-suggests-116768">Apollo seismometers</a> were turned off long ago, and is not clear whether the seismometer on China’s <a href="https://theconversation.com/china-lands-on-the-far-side-of-moon-here-is-the-science-behind-the-mission-108566">Chang'e 4 far side lunar lander</a> will be able to provide any useful data this time. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/442807/original/file-20220126-21-1dm39ti.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/442807/original/file-20220126-21-1dm39ti.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/442807/original/file-20220126-21-1dm39ti.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/442807/original/file-20220126-21-1dm39ti.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/442807/original/file-20220126-21-1dm39ti.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/442807/original/file-20220126-21-1dm39ti.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/442807/original/file-20220126-21-1dm39ti.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">30 metre wide crater on the Moon from the Apollo 13 Saturn IVB upper stage.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">NASA/GSFC/Arizona State University</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>A precisely targeted, deliberate crash was also achieved in 2009 when <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/LCROSS/main/index.html">Nasa’s LCROSS mission</a> sent a projectile into a permanently shadowed polar crater – making a smaller crater on its icy floor and throwing up a plume that proved to contain the hoped for water vapour.</p>
<h2>Biological contamination</h2>
<p>So I’m not bothered by one more crater being made on the Moon. It already has something like half a billion craters that are ten metres or more in diameter. What we should worry about is contaminating the Moon with living microbes, or molecules that could in the future be mistaken as evidence of former life on the Moon. </p>
<p>Most nations have signed up to <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Planetary_protection">planetary protection</a> protocols that seek to minimise the risk of biological contamination from Earth to another body (and also from another body back to Earth). The protocols are in place for reasons both ethical and scientific. The ethical argument is that it would not be right to put at risk any ecosystem that may exist on another body by introducing organisms from Earth that might thrive there. The scientific argument is that we want to study and understand the natural conditions on each other body, so we should not risk compromising or destroying them by wanton contamination.</p>
<p>The biggest recent breach of the COSPAR protocols was in 2019 when the privately funded Israeli lunar lander Beresheet crashed on the Moon, carrying DNA samples and thousands of <a href="https://theconversation.com/tardigrades-were-now-polluting-the-moon-with-near-indestructible-little-creatures-121602">tardigrades</a>. Those are half millimetre long organisms that can tolerate, though not be active in, the vacuum of space. These, and presumably also the microbes that lived in their guts, are now scattered across the Beresheet crash site. </p>
<p>Most likely none of these will end up in a niche where there is enough water for them to revive and become active, but that is not a risk we should be taking. The DSCOVR Falcon 9 was not sterile upon launch, but nor did it carry a biological cargo. It’s also been seven years in space, so by now the risk of biocontamination is vanishingly small – but the more things we send to the Moon, the more careful we must be and the harder it will be to enforce any rules.</p>
<p>Read more:
<a href="https://www.nasa.gov/content/goddard/nasas-lro-spacecraft-finds-march-17-2013-impact-crater-and-more">Swipe left-right to see before and after images of natural lunar crater</a></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/175773/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>David Rothery is Professor of Planetary Geosciences at the Open University. He is co-leader of the European Space Agency's Mercury Surface and Composition Working Group, and a Co-Investigator on MIXS (Mercury Imaging X-ray Spectrometer) that is now on its way to Mercury on board the European Space Agency's Mercury orbiter BepiColombo. He has received funding from the UK Space Agency and the Science & Technology Facilities Council for work related to Mercury and BepiColombo, and from the European Commission under its Horizon 2020 programme for work on planetary geological mapping (776276 Planmap). He is author of Planet Mercury - from Pale Pink Dot to Dynamic World (Springer, 2015), Moons: A Very Short Introduction (Oxford University Press, 2015) and Planets: A Very Short Introduction (Oxford University Press, 2010). He is Educator on the Open University's free learning Badged Open Course (BOC) on Moons and its equivalent FutureLearn Moons MOOC, and chair of the Open University's level 2 course on Planetary Science and the Search for Life.</span></em></p>Some people are outraged that human negligence will disfigure the Moon. But that’s not the main issue.David Rothery, Professor of Planetary Geosciences, The Open UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1679822021-10-07T12:22:51Z2021-10-07T12:22:51ZAncient groundwater: Why the water you’re drinking may be thousands of years old<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/425134/original/file-20211006-19-hm7er4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=871%2C578%2C3009%2C2087&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Some of North America’s groundwater is so old, it fell as rain before humans arrived here thousands of years ago.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/senior-woman-holding-glass-of-water-close-up-royalty-free-image/961181838">Maria Fuchs via Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Communities that rely on the Colorado River are facing a water crisis. Lake Mead, the river’s largest reservoir, has fallen to levels not seen since it was created by the construction of the Hoover Dam roughly a century ago. Arizona and Nevada are <a href="https://theconversation.com/as-colorado-river-basin-states-confront-water-shortages-its-time-to-focus-on-reducing-demand-165646">facing their first-ever mandated water cuts</a>, while water is being <a href="https://coloradosun.com/2021/07/19/lake-powell-drought-blue-mesa-reservoir-drained/">released from other reservoirs</a> to keep the Colorado River’s hydropower plants running.</p>
<p>If even the mighty Colorado and its reservoirs are not immune to the heat and drought worsened by climate change, where will the West get its water?</p>
<p>There’s one hidden answer: underground.</p>
<p>As rising temperatures and drought dry up rivers and melt mountain glaciers, people are increasingly dependent on the water under their feet. Groundwater resources currently supply <a href="http://nora.nerc.ac.uk/id/eprint/19395/">drinking water to nearly half the world’s population</a> and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jog.2011.05.001">roughly 40% of water used for irrigation globally</a>.</p>
<p>What many people don’t realize is how old – and how vulnerable – much of that water is.</p>
<p>Most water stored underground has been there for decades, and much of it has sat for hundreds, thousands or even millions of years. Older groundwater tends to reside deep underground, where it is <a href="https://theconversation.com/water-underground-source-for-billions-could-take-more-than-a-century-to-respond-fully-to-climate-change-110551">less easily affected by surface conditions</a> such as drought and pollution.</p>
<p>As shallower wells dry out under the pressure of urban development, population growth and climate change, old groundwater is becoming increasingly important.</p>
<h2>Drinking ancient groundwater</h2>
<p>If you bit into a piece of bread that was 1,000 years old, you’d probably notice.</p>
<p>Water that has been underground for a thousand years can taste different, too. It leaches natural chemicals from the surrounding rock, changing its mineral content. Some natural contaminants <a href="https://www.usgs.gov/center-news/lithium-us-groundwater">linked to groundwater age</a> – <a href="https://doi.org/10.1192/bjp.2020.128">like mood-boosting lithium</a> – can have positive effects. Other contaminants, like iron and manganese, can be troublesome. </p>
<p>Older groundwater is also sometimes <a href="https://doi.org/10.1029/2021GL093549">too salty to drink</a> without expensive treatment. This problem can be worse near the coasts: Overpumping creates space that can draw seawater into aquifers and contaminate drinking supplies.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/423398/original/file-20210927-25-wpt4qy.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Illustration of layers of groundwater below the surface" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/423398/original/file-20210927-25-wpt4qy.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/423398/original/file-20210927-25-wpt4qy.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=386&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/423398/original/file-20210927-25-wpt4qy.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=386&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/423398/original/file-20210927-25-wpt4qy.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=386&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/423398/original/file-20210927-25-wpt4qy.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=485&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/423398/original/file-20210927-25-wpt4qy.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=485&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/423398/original/file-20210927-25-wpt4qy.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=485&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Flow timescales of groundwater through different layers.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.wtamu.edu/~cbaird/sq/2013/07/16/how-do-wells-get-their-water-from-underground-rivers">USGS</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Ancient groundwater can take thousands of years to replenish naturally. And, as California saw during its 2011-2017 drought, natural underground storage spaces compress as they empty, so they <a href="https://doi.org/10.1002/2016WR019861">can’t refill to their previous capacity</a>. This compaction in turn causes the land above to crack, buckle and sink.</p>
<p>Yet people today are <a href="https://www.wpr.org/without-enough-water-go-around-farmers-california-are-exhausting-aquifers">drilling deeper wells in the West</a> as droughts deplete surface water and farms rely more heavily on groundwater.</p>
<h2>What does it mean for water to be ‘old’?</h2>
<p>Let’s imagine a rainstorm over central California 15,000 years ago. As the storm rolls over what’s now San Francisco, most of the rain falls into the Pacific Ocean, where it will eventually evaporate back into the atmosphere. However, some rain also falls into rivers and lakes and over dry land. As that rain seeps through layers of soil, it enters slowly trickling “flowpaths” of underground water.</p>
<p>Some of these paths lead deeper and deeper, where water collects in crevices within the bedrock hundreds of meters underground. The water gathered in these underground reserves is in a sense cut off from the active water cycle – at least on timescales relevant to human life.</p>
<p>In California’s arid Central Valley, <a href="https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S0022169416302773">much of the accessible ancient water</a> has been <a href="https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/sciadv.abf3503">pumped out</a> of the earth, mostly for agriculture. Where the natural replenishment timescale would be on the order of millennia, agricultural seepage <a href="https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/sciadv.abf3503">has partially refilled some aquifers with newer</a> – too often polluted – water. In fact, places like Fresno now actively refill aquifers with clean water (such as treated wastewater or stormwater) in a process known as “<a href="https://www.americangeosciences.org/geoscience-currents/managed-aquifer-recharge">managed aquifer recharge</a>.”</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Map showing longest turnover times are in the West and Great Plains" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/424251/original/file-20211001-23-taw2of.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/424251/original/file-20211001-23-taw2of.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=534&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/424251/original/file-20211001-23-taw2of.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=534&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/424251/original/file-20211001-23-taw2of.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=534&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/424251/original/file-20211001-23-taw2of.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=671&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/424251/original/file-20211001-23-taw2of.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=671&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/424251/original/file-20211001-23-taw2of.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=671&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Average turnover times for groundwater in the U.S.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Alan Seltzer, based on data from Befus et al 2017</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/">CC BY-ND</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>In 2014, midway through their worst drought in modern memory, California became the last western state <a href="https://water.ca.gov/programs/groundwater-management/sgma-groundwater-management">to pass a law</a> requiring local groundwater sustainability plans. Groundwater may be resilient to heat waves and climate change, but if you use it all, you’re in trouble.</p>
<p>One response to water demand? Drill deeper. Yet that answer <a href="https://theconversation.com/drilling-deeper-wells-is-a-band-aid-solution-to-us-groundwater-woes-121219">isn’t sustainable</a>.</p>
<p>First, it’s expensive: Large agricultural companies and lithium mining firms tend to be the sort of investors who can afford to drill deep enough, while <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/08/14/us/drought-california-water-shortage.html">small rural communities can’t</a>. </p>
<p>Second, once you pump ancient groundwater, aquifers need time to refill. Flowpaths may be disrupted, choking off a natural water supply to springs, wetlands and rivers. Meanwhile, the change in pressure underground can destabilize the earth, <a href="https://ca.water.usgs.gov/land_subsidence/california-subsidence-areas.html">causing land to sink</a> and even <a href="https://doi.org/10.1029/2019GL083491">leading to earthquakes</a>.</p>
<figure class="align-right ">
<img alt="Chart showing how nitrates enter water as more groundwater is pumped out" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/422559/original/file-20210922-21-blruso.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/422559/original/file-20210922-21-blruso.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=684&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/422559/original/file-20210922-21-blruso.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=684&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/422559/original/file-20210922-21-blruso.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=684&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/422559/original/file-20210922-21-blruso.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=860&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/422559/original/file-20210922-21-blruso.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=860&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/422559/original/file-20210922-21-blruso.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=860&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Pumping accelerates groundwater flow to a well, delivering dissolved chemicals.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.usgs.gov/media/images/nitrate-groundwater-pumping">USGS</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Third is contamination: While deep, mineral-rich ancient groundwater is often cleaner and safer to drink than younger, shallower groundwater, overpumping can change that. As water-strapped regions rely more heavily on deep groundwater, overpumping lowers the water table and draws down polluted modern water that can mix with the older water. This mixing <a href="https://www.usgs.gov/news/increased-pumping-california-s-central-valley-during-drought-worsens-groundwater-quality">causes the water quality to deteriorate</a>, leading to demand for ever-deeper wells.</p>
<h2>Reading climate history in ancient groundwater</h2>
<p>There are other reasons to care about ancient groundwater. Like actual fossils, extremely old “fossil groundwater” can teach us about the past. </p>
<p>Envision our prehistoric rainstorm again: 15,000 years ago, the climate was quite different from today. Chemicals that dissolved in ancient groundwater are detectable today, opening windows into a past world. Certain dissolved chemicals act as clocks, telling scientists the groundwater’s age. For example, we know how fast dissolved carbon-14 and krypton-18 decay, so we can measure them to calculate when the water last interacted with air. </p>
<p>Younger groundwater that disappeared underground after the 1950s has a unique, man-made chemical signature: high levels of tritium from atomic bomb testing.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Illustration of water flowing among rocks, close up and at a distance." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/422556/original/file-20210922-26-tcnb2j.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/422556/original/file-20210922-26-tcnb2j.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=369&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/422556/original/file-20210922-26-tcnb2j.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=369&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/422556/original/file-20210922-26-tcnb2j.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=369&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/422556/original/file-20210922-26-tcnb2j.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=464&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/422556/original/file-20210922-26-tcnb2j.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=464&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/422556/original/file-20210922-26-tcnb2j.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=464&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The various components and properties of an unconfined aquifer.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://pubs.usgs.gov/gip/gw/how_a.html">USGS</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Other dissolved chemicals behave like tiny thermometers. Noble gases like argon and xenon, for instance, dissolve more in cold water than in warm water, along a precisely known temperature curve. Once groundwater is isolated from air, dissolved noble gases don’t do much. As a result, they preserve information about environmental conditions at the time the water first seeped into the subsurface.</p>
<p>The concentrations of noble gases in fossil groundwater have provided some of our most reliable estimates of <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-021-03467-6">temperature on land during the last ice age</a>. Such findings provide insight into modern climates, including how sensitive Earth’s average temperature is to carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. These methods support a <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-020-2617-x">recent study</a> that found 3.4 degrees Celsius of warming with each doubling of carbon dioxide.</p>
<h2>Groundwater’s past and future</h2>
<p>People in some regions, like New England, have been drinking ancient groundwater for years with little danger of exhausting usable supplies. Regular rainfall and varied water sources – including surface water in lakes, rivers and snowpack – provide alternatives to groundwater and also refill aquifers with new water. If aquifers can keep up with the demand, the water <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/s41561-020-0629-7">can be used sustainably</a>. </p>
<p>Out West, though, over a century of unmanaged and exorbitant water use means that some of the places most dependent on groundwater – arid regions vulnerable to drought – have squandered the ancient water resources that once existed underground.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/424254/original/file-20211001-27-1f9d7aq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Cross section of California showing rivers, groundwater and wells, including recharge wells" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/424254/original/file-20211001-27-1f9d7aq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/424254/original/file-20211001-27-1f9d7aq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=355&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/424254/original/file-20211001-27-1f9d7aq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=355&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/424254/original/file-20211001-27-1f9d7aq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=355&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/424254/original/file-20211001-27-1f9d7aq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=446&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/424254/original/file-20211001-27-1f9d7aq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=446&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/424254/original/file-20211001-27-1f9d7aq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=446&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">How water use and recharge fit into the hydrological cycle.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.waterboards.ca.gov/rwqcb2/water_issues/programs/groundwater_protection.html">State of California</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>A famous precedent for this problem is in the Great Plains. There, the ancient water of the Ogallala Aquifer supplies drinking water and irrigation for millions of people and farms from South Dakota to Texas. If people were to pump this aquifer dry, <a href="https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/observations/farmers-deplete-fossil-water-in-worlds-breadbaskets/">it would take thousands of years to refill naturally</a>. It is a vital buffer against drought, yet irrigation and water-intensive farming <a href="https://theconversation.com/farmers-are-depleting-the-ogallala-aquifer-because-the-government-pays-them-to-do-it-145501">are lowering its water levels at unsustainable rates</a>. </p>
<p>As the planet warms, ancient groundwater is becoming increasingly important – whether flowing from your kitchen tap, irrigating food crops, or offering warnings about Earth’s past that can help us prepare for an uncertain future.</p>
<p>[<em>Understand new developments in science, health and technology, each week.</em> <a href="https://theconversation.com/us/newsletters/science-editors-picks-71/?utm_source=TCUS&utm_medium=inline-link&utm_campaign=newsletter-text&utm_content=science-understand">Subscribe to The Conversation’s science newsletter</a>.]</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/167982/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>As surface water diminishes in the Western US, people are drilling deeper wells – and tapping into older groundwater that can take thousands of years to replenish naturally.Marissa Grunes, Environmental Fellow, Harvard UniversityAlan Seltzer, Assistant Scientist in Marine Chemistry and Geochemistry, Woods Hole Oceanographic InstitutionKevin M. Befus, Assistant Professor of Hydrogeology, University of ArkansasLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1595272021-05-06T18:12:35Z2021-05-06T18:12:35ZWildfires are contaminating drinking water systems, and it’s more widespread than people realize<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/399022/original/file-20210505-21-d89nh3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C2995%2C1994&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Fire in one part of a community can contaminate the water system used by other residents, as Santa Rosa, California, discovered after the Tubbs Fire.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/an-aerial-view-of-homes-that-were-destroyed-by-the-tubbs-news-photo/860298200">Justin Sullivan/Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>More than <a href="https://www.predictiveservices.nifc.gov/intelligence/2020_statssumm/annual_report_2020.pdf">58,000</a> fires scorched the United States last year, and 2021 is on track to be even <a href="https://droughtmonitor.unl.edu/">drier</a>. What many people don’t realize is that these wildfires can do lasting damage beyond the reach of the flames – they can contaminate entire drinking water systems with carcinogens that last for months after the blaze. That water flows to homes, contaminating the plumbing, too.</p>
<p>Over the past four years, wildfires have contaminated drinking water distribution networks and building plumbing for more than 240,000 people. </p>
<p>Small water systems serving housing developments, mobile home parks, businesses and small towns have been particularly hard-hit. Most didn’t realize their water was unsafe until weeks to months after the fire.</p>
<p>The problem starts when wildfire smoke gets into the system or <a href="https://doi.org/10.1039/D0EW00836B">plastic in water systems heats up</a>. Heating can cause plastics to release harmful chemicals, like benzene, which can contaminate drinking water and permeate the system. </p>
<p>As an <a href="https://engineering.purdue.edu/CE/People/ptProfile?resource_id=110359">environmental engineer</a>, I and my colleagues work with communities recovering from wildfires and other natural disasters. Last year, at least seven water systems were found to be contaminated, suggesting drinking water contamination may be a more widespread problem than people realize. </p>
<p>Our <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s11069-021-04714-9">new study</a> identifies critical issues that households and businesses should consider after a wildfire. Failing to address them can harm people’s health – mental, physical and financial.</p>
<h2>Wildfires make drinking water unsafe</h2>
<p>When wildfires <a href="https://doi.org/10.1002/aws2.1183">damage</a> water distribution pipes, wells and the plumbing in homes and other buildings, they can create immediate health risks. A building’s plumbing can become contaminated by smoke getting sucked into water systems, by heat damaging <a href="https://doi.org/10.1039/D0EW00836B">plastic pipes</a> – or contamination penetrating into the plumbing and leaching out slowly over time.</p>
<p>Since 2017, multiple fires have rendered drinking water systems unsafe, including <a href="https://yourwater.oregon.gov/wildfire-pws.php?pwsno=00603">the</a> <a href="https://yourwater.oregon.gov/wildfire-pws.php?pwsno=01468">Echo</a> <a href="https://yourwater.oregon.gov/wildfire-pws.php?pwsno=00605">Mountain</a>, <a href="https://yourwater.oregon.gov/inventory.php?pwsno=00257">Lionshead</a> and <a href="https://yourwater.oregon.gov/wildfire-pws.php?pwsno=00857">Almeda</a> fires in Oregon, and the <a href="https://www.slvwd.com/water-quality/pages/czu-fire-water-quality-info">CZU</a> <a href="http://www.bigbasinwater.com/">Lightning</a> <a href="https://www.countyofnapa.org/CivicAlerts.aspx?AID=191">Complex</a>, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1002/aws2.1183">Camp</a> and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1002/aws2.1183">Tubbs</a> fires in California. Thousands of private <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s11069-021-04714-9">wells</a> have been affected too.</p>
<p>Being exposed to contaminated water can cause immediate harm, such as headaches, nausea, dizziness and vomiting. Short-term exposure to 26 parts per billion or more of <a href="https://engineering.purdue.edu/PlumbingSafety/resources/Benzene-Levels-in-Water.pdf">benzene</a>, a carcinogen, may cause a decrease in white blood cells that protect the body from infectious disease. Multiple fires have caused drinking water to exceed this level. A <a href="https://doi.org/10.1002/aws2.1183">variety</a> of other chemicals can exceed safe drinking water exposure limits too in the absence of benzene.</p>
<p><iframe id="HfF2M" class="tc-infographic-datawrapper" src="https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/HfF2M/3/" height="400px" width="100%" style="border: none" frameborder="0"></iframe></p>
<h2>Households are not being adequately warned</h2>
<p>In a <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s11069-021-04714-9">survey of 233 households</a> affected by water contamination, we found people reported high levels of anxiety and stress linked to the water problems. Nearly half had installed in-home water treatment because of uncertainty about the water. Eighty-five percent had looked for other water sources, such as bottled water.</p>
<p>In some cases, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s11069-021-04714-9">we found</a> that advice from government agencies placed households at greater risk of harm. It has sometimes left people exposed to chemicals, caused them to needlessly spend money and given them a false sense of security. Certified in-home water treatment devices, for example, are tested only to bring down 15 parts per billion of benzene to less than 5 parts per billion, the federal standard. These devices are not tested to treat <a href="https://19january2017snapshot.epa.gov/sites/production/files/2015-06/documents/tclp.pdf">hazardous waste-scale</a> contaminated water that’s been found after wildfires.</p>
<p>Following the 2020 CZU Lightning Complex Fire near Santa Cruz, California, a local health department correctly <a href="https://www.santacruzcounty.us/Portals/6/Env_Health/CZU_Fire/WaterWellFireReturn.pdf">warned private well</a> owners not to use their water and to test it, but a nearby damaged water system and the state did not warn 17,000 people against <a href="https://www.slvwd.com/sites/g/files/vyhlif1176/f/uploads/slvwd_dnd-dnb_notice_approved_completed_8.29.2020_0.pdf">bathing</a> in the contaminated water. It was only after test results proved the water had been unsafe all along that the system owner and state advised against <a href="https://www.slvwd.com/sites/g/files/vyhlif1176/f/uploads/slvwd_faq_dnd-dnb_notice_swrcb_approved_9.6.2020.pdf?fbclid=IwAR0OaoX5YThw7chVdfDV8zOrUpun8hDCoStfjyJHJ3OdRFDifSPPHPC45Hk">bathing</a> in it.</p>
<p>In Oregon, some damaged systems encouraged people to <a href="http://www.cityoftalent.org/News.asp?NewsID=280">boil</a> their drinking water, later finding that the water had benzene in it.</p>
<p>After the 2018 Camp Fire that devastated Paradise, California, the local health department correctly warned the entire county not to use or try to <a href="https://buttecountyrecovers.org/butte-county-health-officer-issues-water-quality-advisory-for-residents-in-burn-affected-areas/">treat the drinking water</a>, which had contamination above EPA’s hazardous waste limit. But one water system and the state encouraged 13,000 people to try to <a href="https://www.waterboards.ca.gov/drinking_water/programs/documents/benzenecustomeradvisoryfinal.pdf">treat it themselves</a>.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/398673/original/file-20210504-13-9qjbaj.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Photos showing examples of fire damage to water systems" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/398673/original/file-20210504-13-9qjbaj.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/398673/original/file-20210504-13-9qjbaj.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=855&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/398673/original/file-20210504-13-9qjbaj.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=855&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/398673/original/file-20210504-13-9qjbaj.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=855&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/398673/original/file-20210504-13-9qjbaj.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1075&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/398673/original/file-20210504-13-9qjbaj.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1075&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/398673/original/file-20210504-13-9qjbaj.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1075&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Pipes, water meters and meter covers after wildfires destroyed them.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://awwa.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/aws2.1183">Caitlin Proctor, Amisha Shah, David Yu, and Andrew Whelton/Purdue University</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/">CC BY-ND</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>In all of these cases, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency chose not to compel water utilities to explicitly <a href="https://nepis.epa.gov/Exe/ZyPDF.cgi?Dockey=P100529C.txt#_ga=1.47005794.472891366.1423060476%22%22">notify</a> customers about the water contamination and its risk.</p>
<p>Communities have received other bad information:</p>
<ul>
<li>Commercial <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s11069-021-04714-9">labs</a> and government officials recommended flushing faucets for 5 to 15 minutes before collecting a water sample, thereby dumping out the contaminated plumbing water meant for testing.</li>
<li>Homeowners were <a href="https://www.waterboards.ca.gov/drinking_water/programs/documents/benzenecustomeradvisoryfinal.pdf">led</a> to believe a single cold water sample at the kitchen sink would determine if the hot water system and property service line was contaminated. It cannot.</li>
<li>People were <a href="https://www.oregon.gov/oha/PH/HEALTHYENVIRONMENTS/DRINKINGWATER/PREPAREDNESS/Documents/customer-guidance-wildfire.pdf">led</a> to believe that benzene water testing would determine if any other chemicals were present above safe limits. This is not possible.</li>
</ul>
<h2>What to look for after a nearby fire</h2>
<p>Signs of potential contamination after a nearby wildfire could be loss of water pressure, discolored water, heat damage to water systems inside and outside buildings, and broken and leaking pipes, valves and hydrants.</p>
<p>Drinking water should be assumed to be chemically unsafe until proven otherwise.</p>
<p>Once a system is contaminated, cleanup can take months. The water system will have to be flushed and tested regularly to track down <a href="https://www.fema.gov/sites/default/files/2020-07/fema_DRRA-1205-implementation-job-aid.pdf">contamination</a>. Health departments should also issue guidance on how to test private wells and plumbing.</p>
<p>When testing plumbing, include the property service line as well as the hot and cold water lines. Before collecting a water sample, the water must sit long enough in the plumbing so contamination can be found – 72 hours was the Tubbs Fire and Camp Fire standard. Tests should look for more than benzene.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Illustration of pipes in a community" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/398719/original/file-20210504-18-3s947b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/398719/original/file-20210504-18-3s947b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/398719/original/file-20210504-18-3s947b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/398719/original/file-20210504-18-3s947b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/398719/original/file-20210504-18-3s947b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/398719/original/file-20210504-18-3s947b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/398719/original/file-20210504-18-3s947b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Building water systems can receive contaminated drinking water from public water systems and private wells.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Andrew Whelton/Purdue University</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/">CC BY-ND</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Who can help?</h2>
<p>Many of the <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s11069-021-04714-9">critical public health risks</a> identified in our new study can be addressed by public health departments with financial support from state and local agencies.</p>
<p>Public health departments often have experience responding to water problems, such as legionella outbreaks, and can provide technical advice about both chemical exposures, building plumbing and private drinking water wells.</p>
<p>[<em>Deep knowledge, daily.</em> <a href="https://theconversation.com/us/newsletters/the-daily-3?utm_source=TCUS&utm_medium=inline-link&utm_campaign=newsletter-text&utm_content=deepknowledge">Sign up for The Conversation’s newsletter</a>.]</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/159527/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Andrew J. Whelton received funding from the U.S. National Science Foundation, Paradise Irrigation District, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Paradise Rotary Foundation, and Water Research Foundation.</span></em></p>An increasing number of communities are discovering dangerous contamination in their water systems weeks or months after fires.Andrew J. Whelton, Associate Professor of Civil, Environmental & Ecological Engineering, Director of the Healthy Plumbing Consortium and Center for Plumbing Safety, Purdue UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1554432021-02-22T13:26:06Z2021-02-22T13:26:06ZHow safe is your baby food?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/385363/original/file-20210219-19-p33c1o.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=92%2C423%2C4552%2C2996&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">One study found that 95% of baby foods tested contained at least one heavy metal.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/baby-being-fed-royalty-free-image/522813035">Plume Creative via Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Heavy metals including lead, arsenic and mercury can be found in commercial baby foods at levels well above what the federal government considers safe for children, a new <a href="https://oversight.house.gov/sites/democrats.oversight.house.gov/files/2021-02-04%20ECP%20Baby%20Food%20Staff%20Report.pdf">congressional report</a> warns.</p>
<p>Members of Congress asked seven major baby food makers to hand over test results and other internal documents after a <a href="https://www.healthybabyfood.org/sites/healthybabyfoods.org/files/2019-10/BabyFoodReport_FULLREPORT_ENGLISH_R5b.pdf">2019 report</a> found that, out of 168 baby food products, 95% contained at least one heavy metal. Foods with rice or root vegetables, like carrots and sweet potatoes, had some of the highest levels, but they weren’t the only ones. </p>
<p>How concerned should parents be and what can they do to reduce their child’s exposure?</p>
<p>As a professor and pharmacist, I have investigated health safety concerns for several years <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/1060028019881692">in drugs</a> and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/1060028019900504">dietary supplements</a>, including contamination with heavy metals and the chemical <a href="http://doi.org/10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2020.35158">NDMA</a>, a likely carcinogen. Here are answers to four questions parents are asking about the risks in baby food.</p>
<h2>How do heavy metals get into baby food?</h2>
<p>Heavy metals come from the natural erosion of the <a href="http://doi.org/10.1155/2011/870125">Earth’s crust</a>, but humans have dramatically accelerated environmental exposure to heavy metals, as well. </p>
<p>As <a href="https://www.eia.gov/energyexplained/coal/coal-and-the-environment.php">coal</a> is burned, it releases heavy metals into the air. Lead was commonly found in gasoline, paint, pipes and pottery glazes for decades. A pesticide with both <a href="http://doi.org/10.1289/ehp.114-a470">lead and arsenic</a> was widely used on crops and in orchards until it was banned in 1988, and phosphate-containing fertilizers, including organic varieties, still contain small amounts of <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00747683">cadmium, arsenic, mercury and lead.</a> </p>
<p>These heavy metals still contaminate soil, and irrigation can expose more soil to heavy metals in water.</p>
<p>When food is grown in contaminated soil and irrigated with water containing heavy metals, the food becomes contaminated. Additional heavy metals can be introduced during manufacturing processes.</p>
<p>The United States has made major strides to reduce the use of fossil fuels, filter pollutants and remove lead from many products such as gasoline and paint. This reduced exposure to <a href="https://www.epa.gov/air-trends/lead-trends">lead in the air</a> by 98% from 1980 to 2019. Processes can now also remove a proportion of the heavy metals from <a href="http://doi.org/10.1016/j.chemosphere.2019.04.198">drinking water</a>. However, the heavy metals that accumulated in the soil over the decades is an ongoing problem, especially in <a href="http://doi.org/10.1021/es400521h">developing countries</a>. </p>
<h2>How much heavy metal is too much?</h2>
<p>The <a href="https://apps.who.int/food-additives-contaminants-jecfa-database/search.aspx">World Health Organization</a> and the <a href="https://www.fda.gov/food/metals-and-your-food/survey-data-lead-womens-and-childrens-vitamins">Food and Drug Administration</a> have defined tolerable daily intakes of heavy metals. However, it’s important to recognize that for many heavy metals, including lead and arsenic, there is no daily intake that is completely devoid of long-term health risk.</p>
<p>For lead, the FDA considers 3 micrograms per day or more to be cause for concern <a href="https://www.fda.gov/food/metals-and-your-food/lead-food-foodwares-and-dietary-supplements">in children</a>, well below the level for adults (12.5 micrograms per day).</p>
<p>Young children’s bodies are smaller than adults, and lead can’t be <a href="http://doi.org/10.1515/intox-2015-0009">stored as readily in the bone</a>, so the same dose of heavy metals causes much greater blood concentrations in young children where it can do more damage. In addition, young brains are more rapidly developing and are therefore at greater risk of neurological damage.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Baby food jars" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/385364/original/file-20210219-23-8bp35z.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/385364/original/file-20210219-23-8bp35z.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=404&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/385364/original/file-20210219-23-8bp35z.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=404&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/385364/original/file-20210219-23-8bp35z.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=404&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/385364/original/file-20210219-23-8bp35z.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=507&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/385364/original/file-20210219-23-8bp35z.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=507&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/385364/original/file-20210219-23-8bp35z.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=507&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Root vegetables, such as sweet potatoes and carrots, have some of the highest levels of heavy metals.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/hand-spooning-baby-food-royalty-free-image/95468925">Tetra Images via Getty Images</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>These lead levels are <a href="https://www.fda.gov/food/metals-and-your-food/lead-food-foodwares-and-dietary-supplements">about one-tenth</a> of the dose needed to achieve a blood lead concentration associated with major neurological problems, including the development of behavioral issues like aggression and attention deficit disorder. That doesn’t mean lower doses are safe, though. Recent research shows that <a href="http://doi.org/10.1515/intox-2015-0009">lower blood lead levels</a> still impact neurological function, just not as dramatically.</p>
<p>For other heavy metals, the daily intake considered tolerable is based on <a href="https://apps.who.int/food-additives-contaminants-jecfa-database/search.aspx">body weight</a>: mercury is 4 micrograms per kilogram of body weight; arsenic is not currently defined but before 2011 it was 2.1 micrograms per kilogram of body weight. </p>
<p>Like with lead, there is a considerable safety margin between the tolerable dose and the dose that poses high risk of causing neurological harm, <a href="http://doi.org/10.1515/intox-2015-0009">anemia</a>, <a href="http://doi.org/10.1155/2011/870125">liver and kidney damage and an increased risk of cancer</a>. But even smaller amounts still carry risks.</p>
<p>One example of the exposure infants can face is a <a href="https://www.healthybabyfood.org/sites/healthybabyfoods.org/files/2019-10/BabyFoodReport_FULLREPORT_ENGLISH_R5b.pdf">brand of carrot baby food</a> found to have 23.5 parts of lead per billion, <a href="http://www.endmemo.com/sconvert/ppbug_g.php">equivalent</a> to 0.67 micrograms of lead per ounce. Since the average 6-month-old eats 4 ounces of vegetables a day, that would be 2.7 micrograms of lead a day – almost the maximum tolerable daily dose.</p>
<h2>What can parents do to reduce a child’s exposure?</h2>
<p>Since the amount of heavy metals varies so dramatically, food choices can make a difference. Here are a few ways to reduce a young child’s exposure.</p>
<p>1) Minimize the use of <a href="https://www.fda.gov/regulatory-information/search-fda-guidance-documents/guidance-industry-action-level-inorganic-arsenic-rice-cereals-infants?">rice-based products</a>, including rice cereal, puffed rice and rice-based teething biscuits. Switching from rice-based products to those made with oats, corn, barley or quinoa could reduce the ingestion of arsenic by 84% and total heavy metal content <a href="https://www.healthybabyfood.org/sites/healthybabyfoods.org/files/2019-10/BabyFoodReport_FULLREPORT_ENGLISH_R5b.pdf">by about 64%</a>, according to the study of 168 baby food products by the group Healthy Babies Bright Futures.</p>
<p>Using frozen banana pieces or a clean washcloth instead of a rice cereal based teething biscuit was found to reduce the total heavy metal exposure <a href="https://www.healthybabyfood.org/sites/healthybabyfoods.org/files/2019-10/BabyFoodReport_FULLREPORT_ENGLISH_R5b.pdf">by about 91%</a>.</p>
<p>2) Switch from fruit juices to water. Fruit juice is not recommended for small children because it is laden with sugar, but it also is a source of heavy metals. Switching to water could reduce the intake of heavy metals <a href="https://www.healthybabyfood.org/sites/healthybabyfoods.org/files/2019-10/BabyFoodReport_FULLREPORT_ENGLISH_R5b.pdf">by about 68%</a>, according to the report.</p>
<p>3) Alternate between root vegetables, such as carrots and sweet potatoes, and other vegetables. The roots of plants are in closest contact with the soil and have higher concentrations of heavy metals than other vegetables. Switching from carrots or sweet potatoes to other vegetables could decrease the total heavy metal content on that day <a href="https://www.healthybabyfood.org/sites/healthybabyfoods.org/files/2019-10/BabyFoodReport_FULLREPORT_ENGLISH_R5b.pdf">by about 73%</a>. Root vegetables have vitamins and other nutrients, so you don’t have to abandon them altogether, but use them sparingly.</p>
<p>Making your own baby food may not reduce your child’s exposure to heavy metals. It depends on the heavy metal dosage in each of the ingredients that you are using. Organic may not automatically mean the heavy metal content is lower because soil could have been contaminated for generations before its conversion, and neighboring farm water runoff could contaminate common water sources.</p>
<h2>Is anyone doing anything about it?</h2>
<p>The <a href="https://oversight.house.gov/sites/democrats.oversight.house.gov/files/2021-02-04%20ECP%20Baby%20Food%20Staff%20Report.pdf">congressional report</a> calls for the FDA to <a href="https://www.fda.gov/food/cfsan-constituent-updates/fda-response-questions-about-levels-toxic-elements-baby-food-following-congressional-report">better define acceptable limits</a> for heavy metals in baby food. It points out that the heavy metal levels found in some baby foods far exceed the maximum levels allowed in bottled water. It also recommends standards for testing in the industry, and suggests requiring baby food makers to report heavy metals amounts on their product labels so parents can make informed choices.</p>
<p>Baby food manufacturers are also discussing the issue. The <a href="https://www.edf.org/media/baby-food-council-taking-challenge-reducing-heavy-metals-young-kids-food">Baby Food Council</a> was created in 2019 to bring together major infant and toddler food companies and advocacy and research groups with the goal of reducing heavy metals in baby food products. They created a <a href="https://foodscience.cals.cornell.edu/industry-partnership-program/cifs-ipp-councils/">Baby Food Standard and Certification Program</a> to work collaboratively on testing and certification of raw ingredients. Ultimately, baby food makers will need to consider changing farm sources of raw ingredients, using fewer seasonings and altering processing practices.</p>
<p>The U.S. has made important inroads in reducing heavy metals in air and water since the 1980s, dramatically lowering exposure. With additional focus, it can further reduce heavy metal exposure in baby food, too.</p>
<p>[<em>Understand new developments in science, health and technology, each week.</em> <a href="https://theconversation.com/us/newsletters/science-editors-picks-71/?utm_source=TCUS&utm_medium=inline-link&utm_campaign=newsletter-text&utm_content=science-understand">Subscribe to The Conversation’s science newsletter</a>.]</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/155443/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>C. Michael White does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Reports from baby food companies show questionable levels of arsenic, lead and other heavy metals. Here’s what parents need to know.C. Michael White, Distinguished Professor and Head of the Department of Pharmacy Practice, University of ConnecticutLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1546522021-02-04T12:05:06Z2021-02-04T12:05:06ZMars: how scientists prevent Earth’s microbes from contaminating other planets<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/382430/original/file-20210204-18-1bp601m.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=131%2C56%2C1775%2C982&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Nasa's Perseverance.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.nasa.gov/image-feature/jpl/perseverance-touches-down-on-mars/">NASA/JPL-Caltech</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>There are two planned Mars landings in 2021. First, Nasa’s <a href="https://theconversation.com/mars-2020-the-hunt-for-life-on-the-red-planet-is-about-to-get-serious-143698">Perseverance rover</a> is due to land on the planet later this month. Then China’s Tianwen rover will follow in May. Both missions intend to search the planet for signs of life. </p>
<p>But how do we make sure when our landers touch down on the red planet’s surface, nothing unwanted is landing with them? If we aren’t careful, we could be spreading all sorts of life – like in 2019, when a spacecraft <a href="https://theconversation.com/tardigrades-were-now-polluting-the-moon-with-near-indestructible-little-creatures-121602">crashed onto the moon’s surface</a> with a cargo of tiny, almost indestructible lifeforms called tardigrades.</p>
<p>The good thing is, we have policies and laws to prevent this from happening. In fact, there’s an entire section of space law, called planetary protection, designed to prevent planets, moons, comets and asteroids from being contaminated. </p>
<p>For 50 years, governmental organisations have stuck to the generally accepted rules and laws. But they are no longer the only players in the game. An increasing number of commercial space missions are taking off.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A microscopic image showing dozens of individual bacterial cells." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/382427/original/file-20210204-14-m44gdp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/382427/original/file-20210204-14-m44gdp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=473&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/382427/original/file-20210204-14-m44gdp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=473&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/382427/original/file-20210204-14-m44gdp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=473&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/382427/original/file-20210204-14-m44gdp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=594&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/382427/original/file-20210204-14-m44gdp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=594&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/382427/original/file-20210204-14-m44gdp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=594&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">This bacteria was only found in two clean rooms.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/images/novel-bacterial-genus-found-only-in-spacecraft-assembly-clean-rooms">NASA/JPL-Caltech</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Planetary protection</h2>
<p>There are two variants of planetary protection, called forwards and backwards. The former concerns the contamination of other planets by material taken from Earth. This protects any life that may be on those planets, of course. But it also means scientists can be reasonably certain any signs of life they discover are actually signs of “extraterrestrial” life and not transplanted from Earth. </p>
<p>To achieve this, the rooms in which spacecraft are made and put together are some of the cleanest places on Earth. The facilities are regularly tested for any biological contamination, and often throw up surprising results. In 2013 a completely <a href="https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/images/novel-bacterial-genus-found-only-in-spacecraft-assembly-clean-rooms">new type of bacteria</a> was found in two clean rooms around 4,000km (2,500 miles) apart. The life form, which survives on eating very little, was found nowhere else on Earth.</p>
<p>Backwards contamination is preventing Earth being contaminated by extraterrestrial material that has hitched a ride back. In 1969, when the Apollo 11 astronauts landed back on Earth, they spent three weeks in quarantine to make sure they didn’t bring anything dangerous back from the moon. Neil Armstrong even celebrated <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/feature/50-years-ago-armstrong-celebrates-birthday-in-quarantine/">his 39th birthday</a> in there.</p>
<p>We have since learnt much more about the moon, and it’s generally considered to be microbe free. The chances of bringing anything back to Earth would be much greater if missions were to bring samples, or humans, back from Mars.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Apollo 11 astronauts in a small metal quarantine facility, with President Richard M. Nixon speaking to them from outside." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/382428/original/file-20210204-16-1lx9lp1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/382428/original/file-20210204-16-1lx9lp1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/382428/original/file-20210204-16-1lx9lp1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/382428/original/file-20210204-16-1lx9lp1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/382428/original/file-20210204-16-1lx9lp1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/382428/original/file-20210204-16-1lx9lp1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/382428/original/file-20210204-16-1lx9lp1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Nixon welcomed the quarantining astronauts.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.nasa.gov/topics/people/galleries/armstrong_july1969_3.html">NASA</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>The laws</h2>
<p>Planetary protection has a long history. The committee on space research (COSPAR), an international non-governmental organisation, began discussing it as early as the 1950s, when planned missions to the moon raised concerns about the potential for contamination to effect later scientific investigations.</p>
<p>Since then COSPAR’s <a href="https://theconversation.com/drafts/154285/edit">planetary protection policy,</a> with its scientific guidelines and recommendations, has become the internationally recognised “gold standard”. It categorises planets and moons based on their potential for life or signs of life, past or present. The greater the potential for life, the greater the protective measures. By this categorisation, Mars is better protected than the moon. </p>
<p>This means missions to higher category bodies require more sterilisation to ensure fewer potential contaminates travel. It can also affect end-of-life-plans for missions. <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-first-results-from-the-juno-mission-are-in-and-they-already-challenge-our-understanding-of-jupiter-78203">Nasa’s Juno probe </a> will be crashed into Jupiter this July in order to avoid potential contamination of Europa or any of the other moons.</p>
<p>But as the product of a non-governmental organisation, the COSPAR policy is not legally binding. It’s what lawyers <a href="https://www.vr-elibrary.de/doi/book/10.7767/boehlau.9783205791850">refer to as “soft law”</a>. This means it doesn’t have the force of a legally binding agreement but is still recognised as an important guideline that should be followed.</p>
<p>That said, we do have an obligation under international law to avoid the harmful contamination of outer space, the moon and other celestial bodies, as well as the Earth. This is due to the <a href="https://www.unoosa.org/oosa/en/ourwork/spacelaw/treaties/introouterspacetreaty.html">Outer Space Treaty of 1967.</a></p>
<p>While the treaty states “harmful contamination” should be avoided, it does not define what this means. However, the past 50 years establishes a fairly strong expectation that future missions will also comply with these principles.</p>
<p>On top of this, there’s a social and moral aspect to the obligation. Space scientists expect missions to comply with the planetary protection principles. To not do so risks condemnation from the scientific community.</p>
<h2>Non-governmental spaceflight</h2>
<p>The days of space beyond Earth orbit only being explored by government scientific operations are coming to a close. Private companies are increasingly venturing further away from our planet. The lunar landing attempt in 2019 that potentially contaminated the moon was by a private company, called SpaceIL. Elon Musk’s SpaceX is aiming to launch missions to Mars. </p>
<p>This doesn’t mean space will become a lawless wild west, because states are responsible for the activities of their nationals in outer space. They’re required to authorise and continually supervise these activities. If damage is done, it’s the state that is liable, not the private company. But many states include insurance policies as part of granting a licence.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A SpaceX rocket being fired." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/382432/original/file-20210204-18-1t8jtj1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/382432/original/file-20210204-18-1t8jtj1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/382432/original/file-20210204-18-1t8jtj1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/382432/original/file-20210204-18-1t8jtj1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/382432/original/file-20210204-18-1t8jtj1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/382432/original/file-20210204-18-1t8jtj1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/382432/original/file-20210204-18-1t8jtj1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">SpaceX is aiming for Mars.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/spacex/50870343763/">SpaceX</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/">CC BY-NC</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>The future</h2>
<p>It’s difficult to predict how this will play out, particularly given the limited directly relevant precedent. However, the general approach taken so far by the US government is encouraging. Recently, Nasa updated its <a href="https://nodis3.gsfc.nasa.gov/OPD_docs/NID_8715_129_.pdf">planetary protection policy </a>to explicitly stipulate it is the implementation of the US’ obligations under the Outer Space Treaty.</p>
<p>Based on this, it’s reasonable to assume any licence granted by the US would require they adhere to the Nasa planetary protection policy, which broadly aligns with the COPSAR policy. </p>
<p>This isn’t guaranteed to be maintained forever. Attempts in the US Congress to potentially exempt private actors from planetary protection requirements <a href="https://www.commerce.senate.gov/services/files/23f40c25-8e23-40ca-9054-ea2431c92f52">have already happened</a>, as part of a bill in 2018 to reduce the “regulatory burden” on the commercial space industry. The efforts failed, but those who supported it may try again.</p>
<p>Planetary protection is important for maintaining the scientific value of outer space. But scientific interest is not the only reason for exploring outer space – there are many others. Where the balance lies will need to be considered, but it’s a debate that needs wide participation.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/154652/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Thomas Cheney is affiliated with the Centre for a Spacefaring Civilization.
AstrobiologyOU has received funding from Research England (Expanding Excellence in England).</span></em></p>The space laws designed to protect planets and moons from contamination.Thomas Cheney, Lecturer of Space Governance, The Open UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1411172020-08-07T01:20:30Z2020-08-07T01:20:30ZHow to keep your contact lenses clean (and what can go wrong if you don’t)<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/350537/original/file-20200731-21-1q06g7d.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=4%2C5%2C994%2C660&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/contact-lens-on-female-finger-close-526301095">Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>You’re rushing and accidentally drop a contact lens on the bathroom floor. Should you:</p>
<p>a) run it under the tap and pop it in?</p>
<p>b) spit on it and do the same?</p>
<p>c) use the cleaning solution your optometrist insists you use?</p>
<p>d) replace it with a new lens?</p>
<p>e) do any of the above. It doesn’t really matter.</p>
<p>Don’t do what champion boxer and rugby league legend Anthony Mundine did in 2007 and go for (b) <a href="https://jcm.asm.org/content/38/12/4420">spit on your lens</a>. He ended up in hospital with a <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2007-08-07/eye-infection-threatens-mundines-career/2524674">severe eye infection</a>.</p>
<p>If you chose c), it’s true that rubbing your lens with the cleaning solution for 20 seconds will remove some microbes. But you would need to soak the lenses in the solution for a minimum four to six hours to disinfect the lens effectively.</p>
<p>The best answer is d) replace with a new lens.</p>
<p>Running the lens under the tap, option a), risks your lens and eye becoming infected with a <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/cxo.13065">microorganism</a> found in tapwater that could lead you to losing your sight. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/curious-kids-will-i-go-blind-if-i-shut-my-eyes-and-face-the-sun-109070">Curious Kids: will I go blind if I shut my eyes and face the Sun?</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Not all eye infections are harmless</h2>
<p>Aren’t all eye infections <a href="https://www.rch.org.au/kidsinfo/fact_sheets/Conjunctivitis/">conjunctivitis</a>? Like the kids get, bit of redness, icky discharge, drops from chemist, all good after a week?</p>
<p>No. If your contact lens mixes with water, you could get a rare but severe infection called <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/opo.12271">acanthamoeba keratitis</a>. </p>
<p>Of the <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/cxo.12078">680,000 contact lens wearers</a> in Australia, we estimate <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41433-019-0589-6">10-20</a> <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/j.1442-9071.2004.00911.x">a year</a> are affected by the condition. </p>
<p>Of these, we estimate about two to four people a year will need a transplant at the front of their eye to regain vision; about two to five people will need treatment for more than a year.</p>
<p>The condition mostly affects people who wear soft contact lenses, the main type worn in Australia.</p>
<figure>
<iframe src="https://player.vimeo.com/video/209396655" width="500" height="281" frameborder="0" webkitallowfullscreen="" mozallowfullscreen="" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">Here’s how the condition affects people and their partners (NIHR Moorfields BRC).</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>We found <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/cxo.13065">about one-third of bathroom sinks</a> in greater Sydney contain acanthamoeba. We assume it’s present in other parts of the country but no-one else has studied it so don’t know how common it is elsewhere in Australia.</p>
<p>Acanthamoeba are free-living <a href="https://microbiologysociety.org/why-microbiology-matters/what-is-microbiology/protozoa.html">protozoa</a> (single-celled microorganisms) that feed on bacteria and cells at the front of the eye, the cornea. This leads to inflammation, disorganisation and destruction of the cornea, blocking vision.</p>
<p>The <a href="https://bjo.bmj.com/content/86/5/536">vast</a> <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ophtha.2014.01.031">majority</a> of acanthamoeba keratitis occurs in contact lens wearers.</p>
<p>But you can minimise your chance of getting it. <a href="https://bjo.bmj.com/content/102/12/1621">Avoid exposing</a> your lenses to water, including running them under the tap, in the shower or while swimming.</p>
<p>In fact, many new packs of contact lenses now <a href="https://www.cclsa.org.au/tap/">carry</a> “no water” warning stickers like the one below.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/350534/original/file-20200731-35-1fi1f6t.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Sign warning contact lens users to avoid contact with water" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/350534/original/file-20200731-35-1fi1f6t.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/350534/original/file-20200731-35-1fi1f6t.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=249&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/350534/original/file-20200731-35-1fi1f6t.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=249&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/350534/original/file-20200731-35-1fi1f6t.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=249&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/350534/original/file-20200731-35-1fi1f6t.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=313&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/350534/original/file-20200731-35-1fi1f6t.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=313&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/350534/original/file-20200731-35-1fi1f6t.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=313&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Contact lens packs are now clearly marked reminding users of the dangers of exposing lenses to water.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.cclsa.org.au/tap/">Cornea and Contact Lens Society of Australia</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Another of our <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41433-020-1015-9">studies</a> shows this particular warning sticker can change behaviour. Contact lens wearers who see this sticker are more likely to avoid water. Their contact lens storage cases were also less likely to be contaminated with bacteria, meaning less chance of bacterial infection and less food for acanthamoeba.</p>
<h2>You can catch other eye infections too</h2>
<p>While acanthamoeba infections are rare, bacterial eye infections are much more common, estimated to affect around <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0161642008003072?via%3Dihub">four per 10,000</a> contact lens wearers a year.</p>
<p>About 13% of people whose eyes or contact lenses are infected with bacteria <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0161642008003072">lose substantial vision</a>. That’s equivalent to two lines or more on the vision chart optometrists use.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/explainer-what-is-conjunctivitis-and-how-did-i-get-it-64230">Explainer: what is conjunctivitis and how did I get it?</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>Most people’s infections improve in two to four weeks by using <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/cxo.12581">antibiotic drops</a>. </p>
<p>However, bacterial infections can be severe and fast-acting. The main bacterium responsible for contact lens related infections is <a href="https://journals.lww.com/optvissci/Fulltext/2007/04000/Pseudomonas_aeruginosa_Infection_and_Inflammation.8.aspx">pseudomonas</a>, another water-loving microorganism. It can sometimes burrow through the eye surface in hours.</p>
<p>There is <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1367048420300552">no evidence</a> to suggest wearing contact lenses increases your risk of being infected with the virus that causes COVID-19.</p>
<h2>So how do I avoid all this?</h2>
<p>These <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/contactlenses/show-me-the-science.html">evidence-based</a> tips for healthy contact lens wear will help you avoid infections:</p>
<ul>
<li><p>wash and dry your hands before handling lenses or touching your eyes</p></li>
<li><p>rub, rinse and store contact lenses in <em>fresh</em> disinfecting solution. Topping up old solution with new is an infection risk</p></li>
<li><p>clean your storage case with the disinfecting solution and leave to air dry <a href="https://www.reviewofcontactlenses.com/article/what-is-happening-in-your-contact-lens-storage-case">upside down between uses</a> </p></li>
<li><p>don’t use water with lenses or cases</p></li>
<li><p>avoid wearing your lenses overnight.</p></li>
</ul>
<h2>How do I know if I have a problem?</h2>
<p>If your eyes sting, are red and watery, blurry or are otherwise uncomfortable while wearing your lenses, remove them.</p>
<p>If your symptoms get worse, visit an optometrist. GPs do not usually have equipment with enough magnification to diagnose potentially serious eye infections. </p>
<p>Pseudomonas is resistant to the strongest over-the-counter drops, <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/ceo.12497">chloramphenicol</a>. But most optometrists can treat eye infections by prescribing eye drops and can refer you to an ophthalmologist (a specialist eye doctor) if needed.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/141117/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Nicole Carnt has received funding from J&J VisionCare, CooperVision, Alcon and Australian Government NHMRC . She is a council member for the International Society of Contact Lens Researchers and is Chair of the Australian Standards Contact Lenses Working group and Expert to International Standards Organization. </span></em></p>Simple hygiene goes a long way to avoid serious eye infections.Nicole Carnt, Scientia Senior Lecturer, School of Optometry and Vision Science, UNSW, Sydney, UNSW SydneyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1371642020-04-28T04:16:00Z2020-04-28T04:16:00ZCutting ‘green tape’ may be good politicking, but it’s bad policy. Here are 5 examples of regulation failure<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/330612/original/file-20200427-145499-5uucvm.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=36%2C42%2C3989%2C2975&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">The eastern tributary in the Woronora drinking water catchment </span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Ian Wright</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Debate about how Australia will emerge from the coronavirus pandemic is heating up. As part of the economic recovery, business groups have renewed calls to cut “green tape” – environmental regulation that new projects, such as new mines, must follow. </p>
<p>In response, federal environment minister Sussan Ley <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2020/apr/23/coalition-is-aiming-to-change-australias-environment-laws-before-review-is-finished?CMP=share_btn_tw">wants to introduce</a> new legislation to cut green tape and speed up project approvals. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/when-it-comes-to-climate-change-australias-mining-giants-are-an-accessory-to-the-crime-124077">When it comes to climate change, Australia's mining giants are an accessory to the crime</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>However a major <a href="https://www.environment.gov.au/epbc/about/review">ten-yearly review</a> of the federal government’s <a href="https://www.environment.gov.au/epbc/about">key environment legislation</a> is not due to be finished until October. </p>
<p>Cutting green tape is <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/radio/programs/pm/scott-morrison-promises-to-cut-so-called-green-tape/11093248">a long-held aim</a> of the Morrison government, which claims excessive environmental regulation unfairly stifles businesses.</p>
<p>But this isn’t the case. In my 30 years of experience researching water pollution, “green tape” has not translated into effective environmental regulation of industry. In fact, I’m yet to see a coal mining operation that’s effectively regulated after approved through the NSW and federal environmental assessment processes.</p>
<p>Here are five examples that show how existing environmental regulations have done little to prevent pollution and toxic chemicals from entering the environment. </p>
<h2>1. Closed mines pollute for decades</h2>
<p>My research on water pollution from coal mines in the Sydney basin routinely reveals inadequate environmental regulation. I’ve repeatedly uncovered long-standing environmental issues the industry doesn’t seem to learn from, such as pollution continually leaching from active and closed mines. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/what-should-we-do-with-australias-50-000-abandoned-mines-18197">What should we do with Australia's 50,000 abandoned mines?</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>As part of my PhD research in 2002/3, I <a href="https://www.academia.edu/20983552/Comparison_of_Sewage_and_Coal-Mine_Wastes_on_Stream_Macroinvertebrates_Within_an_Otherwise_Clean_Upland_Catchment_Southeastern_Australia">studied Canyon Colliery</a> – a coal mine deep in the Blue Mountains that closed in 1997. The mine constantly releases large volumes of toxic zinc and nickel contaminated water from the flooded underground workings into an otherwise pristine mountain stream.</p>
<p>This <a href="https://www.academia.edu/20983552/Comparison_of_Sewage_and_Coal-Mine_Wastes_on_Stream_Macroinvertebrates_Within_an_Otherwise_Clean_Upland_Catchment_Southeastern_Australia">caused ecological damage</a> in the Grose River, including a steep reduction in species and numbers of river invertebrates below the entry of the mine wastes into the river. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/330616/original/file-20200427-145560-2wuomm.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/330616/original/file-20200427-145560-2wuomm.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/330616/original/file-20200427-145560-2wuomm.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/330616/original/file-20200427-145560-2wuomm.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/330616/original/file-20200427-145560-2wuomm.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/330616/original/file-20200427-145560-2wuomm.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/330616/original/file-20200427-145560-2wuomm.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/330616/original/file-20200427-145560-2wuomm.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Contaminated drainage washing out of the closed canyon mine in Blue Mountains National Park.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Ian Wright</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>It’s now 23 years since the mining stopped, but the pollution continues – testimony of weak and ineffective environmental regulation. And it will probably last for centuries. </p>
<p>The Canyon Mine is just one of thousands of contaminated, derelict mining and industrial sites dotted around Australia lacking environmental controls. </p>
<h2>2. Wollangambe River</h2>
<p>Environmental regulation has become more stringent in the last 25 years thanks to <a href="https://www.environment.gov.au/epbc/about">legislation</a> introduced by the Howard government in 1999, and NSW’s <a href="https://www.legislation.nsw.gov.au/#/view/act/1997/156">Protection of the Environment Operations Act</a> introduced in 1997. </p>
<p>But despite this legislation, many new and active mines that lead to environmental damage have been assessed and approved.</p>
<p>Research by my team at Western Sydney University has documented pollution from an active Blue Mountains coal mine, Clarence Colliery. </p>
<p>The mine caused <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/313538720_Coal_Mine_Water_Pollution_and_Ecological_Impairment_of_One_of_Australia's_Most_'Protected'_High_Conservation-Value_Rivers">severe metal contamination and ecological damage</a> to the Wollangambe, a World Heritage River. Our <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-our-research-is-helping-clean-up-coal-mining-pollution-in-a-world-heritage-listed-river-74253">research</a> led to the NSW Environment Protection Authority (EPA) in 2017 imposing more effective restrictions on the release of toxic pollutants from the mine. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/330611/original/file-20200427-145553-w56jqy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/330611/original/file-20200427-145553-w56jqy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/330611/original/file-20200427-145553-w56jqy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=453&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/330611/original/file-20200427-145553-w56jqy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=453&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/330611/original/file-20200427-145553-w56jqy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=453&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/330611/original/file-20200427-145553-w56jqy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=570&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/330611/original/file-20200427-145553-w56jqy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=570&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/330611/original/file-20200427-145553-w56jqy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=570&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The author sampling water in the contaminated Wollangambe River.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Despite approvals from both the NSW and federal governments, it seemed no one had noticed the magnitude of pollution from poorly treated mine wastes until our research was conducted. This caused ecological degradation to more than 20 kilometres of the highly “protected” Wollangambe River.</p>
<p>The Conversation contacted Centennial Coal, which owns Clarence Colliery, for comment. They directed us to their <a href="https://cdn.theconversation.com/static_files/files/1014/CLARENCE_Environmental_Protection_Licence_170317.pdf?1588031385">statements in 2017</a>, when the EPA finished a five-year review of Clarence’s Environmental Protection Licence (EPL). Then, the company said:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>As a result of this review Clarence will operate under a new EPL which will include agreed reductions in metal concentration limits for all water discharged to the Wollangambe. Salinity targets will also be set at 100 EC (electrical conductivity).</p>
<p>Clarence will also be required to comply with a Pollution Reduction Programme (PRP), also issued by the EPA, which will result in Centennial formalising options to address all water quality issues and to meet specific water quality milestones. </p>
</blockquote>
<h2>3. Georges River</h2>
<p>In 2010 I made a submission as part of the environmental assessment for an extension of BHP Billiton’s <a href="https://www.south32.net/docs/default-source/illawarra-coal-bulli-seam-operations/bulli-seam-operations-project-environmental-assessment/executive-summary.pdf?sfvrsn=2a003a22_9">Bulli Seam coal mining operations</a> (now owned by South 32). </p>
<p>This involved reading thousands of pages of <a href="https://www.planningportal.nsw.gov.au/major-projects/project/13121">consultant reports</a> explaining how the expanded operation would attempt to avoid or minimise impacts to the environment.</p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1253796164320686080"}"></div></p>
<p>The mine extension was approved. Despite the many “green tape” hurdles, the approved mine was allowed to discharge wastes which our research discovered contained pollutants that were hazardous to river life in the Georges River. These included salt, nickel, zinc, aluminium and arsenic polluting the upper Georges River.</p>
<p>Environmental groups took the <a href="https://www.illawarramercury.com.au/story/271731/regulator-ignores-georges-river-toxins-for-a-decade/">coal mine owner to court</a> in 2012, and I provided <a href="https://www.epa.nsw.gov.au/-/media/04F6DEE98AF644D5921134775DFC1FB9.ashx?la=en">my evidence</a> for the court case to the NSW EPA. </p>
<p>The EPA has since <a href="https://www.south32.net/our-business/australia/illawarra-metallurgical-coal/documents">worked with</a> the coal miner to reduce pollution from the mine. </p>
<h2>4. Coal mining under Sydney’s water supply</h2>
<p>Many were stunned <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/mar/31/fears-for-water-quality-after-nsw-allows-coalmining-extension-under-sydneys-worona-reservoir">on March 16 this year</a>, when the NSW government signed off on new coal mine “longwalls” directly under Woronora Reservoir, part of Sydney’s drinking water supply. </p>
<p>Longwall mining is the continuous mechanical removal of coal in underground mines that allows the roof of the mine to cave in after the coal is removed. </p>
<p>So what can they do to a river? <a href="https://www.thestuffnews.com/2018/09/16/tahmoor-mine-ordered-to-repair-redbank-creek-damage-in-nsw/">Redbank Creek</a> near Picton – 65 kilometres southwest of Sydney – provides a sad testimony. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/330609/original/file-20200427-145518-mi0h9a.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/330609/original/file-20200427-145518-mi0h9a.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/330609/original/file-20200427-145518-mi0h9a.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/330609/original/file-20200427-145518-mi0h9a.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/330609/original/file-20200427-145518-mi0h9a.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/330609/original/file-20200427-145518-mi0h9a.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/330609/original/file-20200427-145518-mi0h9a.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/330609/original/file-20200427-145518-mi0h9a.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Redbank Creek no longer flows normally, but has isolated pools of contaminated water.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Ian Wright</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>For nearly a decade, I <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/283231885_Subsidence_from_an_Underground_Coal_Mine_and_Mine_Wastewater_Discharge_Causing_Water_Pollution_and_Degradation_of_Aquatic_Ecosystems">documented damage</a> where falling ground levels (subsidence) caused by longwalls led to extensive damage to the creek channel. </p>
<p>The land surface fell more than one meter. This <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-09-17/sydney-coal-mine-ordered-to-repair-cracked-creek/10253148">caused cracking</a>, warping and buckling of the creek channel. It now rarely holds water in many stretches. Isolated stagnant pools in the creek now accumulate saline and metal-contaminated water containing little aquatic life except for mosquitoes. </p>
<p>The mine responsible for this damage, Tahmoor Colliery, is seeking <a href="https://www.planningportal.nsw.gov.au/major-projects/project/10966">to extend</a> its operations and the NSW government is currently considering the development.</p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1244254175363575810"}"></div></p>
<p>This mine also <a href="https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1755-1315/344/1/012003/pdf">disposes of</a> about <a href="http://www.simec.com/mining/tahmoor-coking-coal-operations/publications/epl1389-monitoring-reports/">four to eight megalitres</a> of poorly treated wastes each day to the Bargo River, a popular freshwater swimming river for south-western Sydney. </p>
<h2>5. PFAS contamination</h2>
<p>Despite the existence of “green tape”, unforeseen problems have left Australia with many contaminated sites that may never be fully cleaned up. </p>
<p>We’ve seen this in the dozens of locations across Australia where toxic PFAS chemicals <a href="https://theconversation.com/a-blanket-ban-on-toxic-forever-chemicals-is-good-for-people-and-animals-127879">have contaminated</a> land, water, ecosystems and people.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/a-blanket-ban-on-toxic-forever-chemicals-is-good-for-people-and-animals-127879">A blanket ban on toxic 'forever chemicals' is good for people and animals</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>These were <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/4corners/contamination/9032140">previously regarded</a> as safe chemical additives, for example in fire fighting foam, particularly at military bases. </p>
<p>Such contamination is very expensive to remediate and in February this year landholders near three defence bases reached a <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-02-27/pfas-federal-class-action-setttlement/12006184">financial settlement</a> for the PFAS damage to their property. </p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1253439988064083974"}"></div></p>
<p>“Green tape” is an emotive word implying unnecessary and slow environmental regulation that delays major projects. </p>
<p>Given my own direct experience involved poorly regulated coal mines, I shudder to imagine the environmental degradation “fast-tracked” environmental regulation will lead to. </p>
<hr>
<p>The Conversation also contacted SIMEC, which owns Tahmoor Colliery. A spokesperson said:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Mining in NSW is governed by stringent state and federal laws enforced by a number of government departments and regulators. SIMEC Mining acquired the Tahmoor Coking Coal Mine two years ago and takes its environmental, compliance and social responsibilities seriously.</p>
<p>Tahmoor Mine has been operating for well over 40 years. We acknowledge that historical mine activity did impact Redbank Creek and that this was self-reported to the regulator. Since then, SIMEC has worked closely with the NSW Department of Planning, Industry and Environment (DPIE) to enact a comprehensive plan to rehabilitate the creek. Recent rainfall has demonstrated the success of this work and we are confident that the rehabilitation works will restore the creek.</p>
<p>While our operations do produce water as part of the mining process, this is treated and monitored in accordance with our licence conditions. The quality of this water is mandated by our environment protection licence issued and monitored by the NSW Environmental Protection Authority (EPA). Typically, the water monitoring results are well below those limits allowed by the licence. To further improve water quality, SIMEC Mining has committed to the installation of a new water treatment plant.</p>
<p>Water management has been a key focus for SIMEC in the planning of the proposed Tahmoor South extension. We have commissioned extensive specialist assessments to understand any potential impact on ground and surface water. If our extension is approved, these water assets will be carefully monitored throughout the life of the mine to ensure that should any issue occur, it is detected early and resolved efficiently.</p>
</blockquote><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/137164/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Ian Wright receives research and consulting funding from local, state and local Governments. </span></em></p>In my 30 years of research, I keep uncovering long-standing environmental issues the mining industry doesn’t seem to learn from.Ian A. Wright, Senior Lecturer in Environmental Science, Western Sydney UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1361222020-04-16T12:20:22Z2020-04-16T12:20:22ZMaking masks at home – what you need to know about how to reduce the transmission of coronavirus<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/328188/original/file-20200415-153330-1peugts.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C8%2C5751%2C3802&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Homemade masks will not filter the SARS-CoV-2 virus, but may prevent transmission of droplets and spray between individuals.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/search/stack/798222728?assettype=image&family=creative&uiloc=view_all_same_series_adp">Nikola Stojadinovic/Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>The recent Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommendation to use <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/prevent-getting-sick/cloth-face-cover.html">cloth face coverings</a> to help slow the spread of COVID-19 has generated numerous how-to articles and videos. As academics who focus on personal protective equipment (PPE) research and development, we are concerned about the lack of information about two critical features of home mask design: fit and fabric selection. </p>
<h2>The reality of particle size</h2>
<p>Virus particles are tiny, ranging from 0.1 to 0.3 micron. A size 40 micron particle is visible with the naked eye – anything smaller, you need specialized equipment to see it. </p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/327352/original/file-20200412-123487-d49vpy.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/327352/original/file-20200412-123487-d49vpy.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/327352/original/file-20200412-123487-d49vpy.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=577&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/327352/original/file-20200412-123487-d49vpy.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=577&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/327352/original/file-20200412-123487-d49vpy.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=577&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/327352/original/file-20200412-123487-d49vpy.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=725&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/327352/original/file-20200412-123487-d49vpy.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=725&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/327352/original/file-20200412-123487-d49vpy.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=725&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">SARS-CoV-2 virus in comparison to other known particles (not to scale).</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Susan Sokolowski</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Protective masks like the N95 are designed to prevent virus particles from flowing in and out of the mask. Due to <a href="https://www.fda.gov/medical-devices/personal-protective-equipment-infection-control/n95-respirators-and-surgical-masks-face-masks">current shortages</a>, N95 masks should be reserved for COVID-19 health care workers only.</p>
<h2>Better than nothing</h2>
<p>Homemade masks cannot block or filter the SARS-CoV-2 virus, because it can easily flow through every common material people have at home. However, a homemade mask is still better than none at all. If made correctly, a homemade mask can reduce the transmission of the virus from the wearer to others by impeding large droplets and spray produced by a cough or sneeze. It can also reduce the transmission of the virus from others to the wearer.</p>
<h2>Fit</h2>
<p>Masks should completely cover the nose and mouth. When measuring for a mask pattern, make sure it extends from the top of the nose – as close as possible to the eyes without obstructing sight – to under the chin. Masks should cover the face side-to-side, well past the opening of the mouth. </p>
<p>When developing prototypes, check around all edges of the mask for gaps. If you see any, close them up by pinching the fabric together, and stitch or tape or staple edges together to create a pleat or dart. A thin metal wire or paper clip placed along the top edge of the mask can stabilize and shape it along the bridge of the nose and cheekbone for a closer fit.</p>
<p>Masks should stay securely in position and fit comfortably with ties or elastic ear loops. If the mask is too tight or loose, the wearer may continuously adjust the mask forgetting the admonition – “Don’t touch your face!” </p>
<p>The ties and loops should also be the <a href="https://www.who.int/emergencies/diseases/novel-coronavirus-2019/advice-for-public/when-and-how-to-use-masks">mechanism for taking off the mask</a>, as the front of the mask might be contaminated.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/327373/original/file-20200412-51445-1bizpy.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/327373/original/file-20200412-51445-1bizpy.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/327373/original/file-20200412-51445-1bizpy.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=261&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/327373/original/file-20200412-51445-1bizpy.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=261&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/327373/original/file-20200412-51445-1bizpy.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=261&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/327373/original/file-20200412-51445-1bizpy.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=328&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/327373/original/file-20200412-51445-1bizpy.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=328&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/327373/original/file-20200412-51445-1bizpy.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=328&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A properly fitting mask.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Arlys Dayton</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Fabric selection</h2>
<p>People have varying access to different fabrics at home. Masks should incorporate fabrics that:</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Reduce virus transmission to and from the nose and mouth </p></li>
<li><p>Wrap around the face and are comfortable next to the skin</p></li>
<li><p>Are easy to wash and sanitize. </p></li>
</ol>
<p>Fabric is comprised of four variables that must be considered for mask making: fiber, yarn, structure and finish. Change a variable - and mask performance changes. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/327357/original/file-20200412-51445-1fedkyn.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/327357/original/file-20200412-51445-1fedkyn.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/327357/original/file-20200412-51445-1fedkyn.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=111&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/327357/original/file-20200412-51445-1fedkyn.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=111&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/327357/original/file-20200412-51445-1fedkyn.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=111&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/327357/original/file-20200412-51445-1fedkyn.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=139&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/327357/original/file-20200412-51445-1fedkyn.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=139&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/327357/original/file-20200412-51445-1fedkyn.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=139&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Variables that make up a fabric.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Susan L. Sokolowski and Karen L. LaBat</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Fibers are the smallest component of a fabric. They cannot be identified by sight or touch. Look for a fiber content label on the products or fabrics you might use for your mask. Alternately, a “<a href="https://info.fabrics.net/fabric-facts/fabric-identification/">burn test</a>” can be used as a crude method to determine if a fabric is a natural fiber, human-made fiber, or a blend of natural and man made fibers. If you choose this method be careful. </p>
<p>There are three important fiber characteristics to consider for mask making. The first is micron size – the diameter of a fiber. The SARS-CoV-2 virus particle is 0.1 to 0.3 micron, so small-sized fibers allow for more compact fabric structures to reduce transmission. The second is how the fiber feels next to skin – this will indicate how comfortable a mask may feel next to your face. The third is moisture regain – how well the fiber absorbs moisture. A higher number means more absorbency; low regain gives a sense of how well the fiber might repel moisture. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/327553/original/file-20200413-141787-1n5mjcf.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/327553/original/file-20200413-141787-1n5mjcf.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/327553/original/file-20200413-141787-1n5mjcf.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=550&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/327553/original/file-20200413-141787-1n5mjcf.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=550&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/327553/original/file-20200413-141787-1n5mjcf.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=550&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/327553/original/file-20200413-141787-1n5mjcf.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=691&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/327553/original/file-20200413-141787-1n5mjcf.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=691&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/327553/original/file-20200413-141787-1n5mjcf.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=691&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Generic fiber characteristics and mask considerations.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Susan L. Sokolowski and Karen L. LaBat</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Fibers are twisted together to form yarns. Yarns vary in size affecting fabric thickness and breathability. “Yarn count” is the number of yarns in a 1-inch square of woven fabric. A high yarn count fabric indicates a dense fabric with droplet blocking potential. Yarns with different properties can be blended to combine characteristics. </p>
<p>Yarns are then structured into the physical fabric.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/328199/original/file-20200415-153351-pe774v.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/328199/original/file-20200415-153351-pe774v.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/328199/original/file-20200415-153351-pe774v.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=216&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/328199/original/file-20200415-153351-pe774v.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=216&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/328199/original/file-20200415-153351-pe774v.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=216&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/328199/original/file-20200415-153351-pe774v.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=271&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/328199/original/file-20200415-153351-pe774v.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=271&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/328199/original/file-20200415-153351-pe774v.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=271&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Types of fabric.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Susan L. Sokolowski and Karen L. LaBat</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/328190/original/file-20200415-153351-kzlaym.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/328190/original/file-20200415-153351-kzlaym.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/328190/original/file-20200415-153351-kzlaym.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=205&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/328190/original/file-20200415-153351-kzlaym.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=205&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/328190/original/file-20200415-153351-kzlaym.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=205&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/328190/original/file-20200415-153351-kzlaym.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=258&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/328190/original/file-20200415-153351-kzlaym.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=258&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/328190/original/file-20200415-153351-kzlaym.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=258&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Structures and mask considerations.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Susan L. Sokolowski and Karen L. LaBat</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Performance finishes, like water repellency and antimicrobials, are not visible but could be helpful. Detect water repellency or moisture wicking by using an eye dropper to place a drop of water on a fabric to see how it moves across the fabric. Aesthetic finishes like graphics and batik are not so useful. </p>
<h2>Put it all together</h2>
<p>There are many fabric variables to reckon with for a homemade mask. Consider building a three-layer system.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/327818/original/file-20200414-117598-1s2srlb.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/327818/original/file-20200414-117598-1s2srlb.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/327818/original/file-20200414-117598-1s2srlb.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=181&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/327818/original/file-20200414-117598-1s2srlb.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=181&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/327818/original/file-20200414-117598-1s2srlb.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=181&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/327818/original/file-20200414-117598-1s2srlb.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=227&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/327818/original/file-20200414-117598-1s2srlb.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=227&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/327818/original/file-20200414-117598-1s2srlb.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=227&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Three-layer mask system considerations.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Susan L. Sokolowski and Karen L. LaBat</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>This three-layer system includes a space between the inner and outer layers for a removable middle layer. A replaceable “filter” is inserted in that space. If one fabric layer is too thin, add additional layers for protection. </p>
<p>Homemade masks will not filter the SARS-CoV-2, however, masks may prevent droplets and spray from transmitting between individuals. When wearing a mask, remember to continue social distancing, wash hands frequently and wipe down surfaces and packages.</p>
<p>[<em>Get facts about coronavirus and the latest research.</em> <a href="https://theconversation.com/us/newsletters?utm_source=TCUS&utm_medium=inline-link&utm_campaign=newsletter-text&utm_content=upper-coronavirus-facts">Sign up for The Conversation’s newsletter.</a>]</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/136122/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>At-home mask makers should carefully consider fit and fabric variables when designing face coverings to help prevent transmission of SARS-CoV-2.Susan L. Sokolowski, Director & Associate Professor of Sports Product Design, University of OregonKaren L. LaBat, Professor Emerita of Design, University of MinnesotaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1351352020-04-01T16:02:45Z2020-04-01T16:02:45ZShould we wear masks or not? An expert sorts through the confusion<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/324486/original/file-20200401-66109-l9sy5w.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=75%2C192%2C4509%2C2385&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">The guidance on masks appears to be shifting, but social distancing is still the key step people can take.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/corona-virus-covid19-close-young-asian-1684027927">Muhammad Fayyaz Rub/Shutterstock.com</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>As a <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=BjWiYaQAAAAJ&hl=en">professor at Boston University’s</a> School of Medicine and a geriatrician at Boston Medical Center caring for the most vulnerable in this pandemic, I’ve been asked a lot of questions about COVID-19. </p>
<p>It turns out there is good science out there that helps us know what masks we need to wear and when to wear them. That being said, some of the following advice could change as scientists learn more about why some people get a bad or even lethal case of this virus while many more get through it OK. One of the areas of greatest confusion seems to be about <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/31/health/coronavirus-asymptomatic-transmission.html">masks</a>. </p>
<p>Much of the decision about wearing masks depends on what the essential businesses that remain open are doing to ensure <a href="https://theconversation.com/social-distancing-what-it-is-and-why-its-the-best-tool-we-have-to-fight-the-coronavirus-133581">social distancing</a> and therefore, our safety.</p>
<h2>Knowledge will protect you</h2>
<p>Guidance about wearing a mask has to do with the different ways viruses like COVID-19 spread from person to person: through contact, droplets and as airborne, also called <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/niosh/topics/aerosols/pdfs/Aerosol_101.pdf">aerosolized</a>, particles.</p>
<p>People get infected with COVID-19 when they touch a contaminated surface like a subway handle, or shake hands and then touch their face. <a href="https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMc2004973">Steel and plastic</a> surfaces can harbor live virus for three days. On average, people touch their faces every <a href="https://www.ajicjournal.org/article/S0196-6553(14)01281-4/fulltext">two-and-a-half minutes,</a> so it is easy to see how this virus can spread so easily from one person to the next by touching surfaces. </p>
<p>Another way to get the virus is by <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK143281/">droplets</a> that people produce by coughing and sneezing. Droplets are relatively large and contain mostly water plus the virus, so they usually fall from the air within six feet (one of the reasons for the six-foot social distancing rule). That said, vigorous coughs can go farther, and a <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/j.1600-0668.2007.00469.x">strong sneeze</a> – they’ve been clocked at 50-100 meters per second – can spread a droplet 18 feet away. This is why people who aren’t already wearing a mask because they are sick should cough or sneeze into their elbow. </p>
<p>Coughs and sneezes also produce aerosolized virus, smaller particles that float in the air far longer than droplets and that can also travel farther. Aerosols are also produced by <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6984704/">talking</a>, yelling and just normal <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2843947/?report=reader">breathing</a>. A big problem is that in small, poorly ventilated rooms, COVID-19 can hang in the air and stay infectious for <a href="https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMc2004973">three hours</a>. Another thing to know is that common medical devices, like nebulizer machines for people with asthma and CPAP machines for those with sleep apnea, are good at aerosolizing virus.</p>
<h2>Two different types of masks to choose from</h2>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/324155/original/file-20200330-65528-2116np.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/324155/original/file-20200330-65528-2116np.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=337&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/324155/original/file-20200330-65528-2116np.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=337&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/324155/original/file-20200330-65528-2116np.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=337&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/324155/original/file-20200330-65528-2116np.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/324155/original/file-20200330-65528-2116np.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/324155/original/file-20200330-65528-2116np.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A surgical mask, left, and an N95 mask, right.</span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>There are two basic kinds of masks – surgical masks and N95 respirator masks.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.osha.gov/Publications/respirators-vs-surgicalmasks-factsheet.html">Surgical masks</a> are worn to protect patients from infectious droplets should the health care provider sneeze or cough. Someone who is suspected of being sick or is actually sick with COVID-19 should also wear a surgical mask to protect anyone around them from their sneeze or cough. </p>
<p>As far as protection for the user, surgical masks can protect the nose and mouth against splashes of bodily fluids, as a surgeon might encounter during a surgery. But don’t wear a surgical mask or a do-it-yourself mask if you think it’s going to protect you from COVID-19 that’s suspended in the air, say in a closed, poorly ventilated space. Aerosolized COVID-19 is so tiny that it can get in through gaps between the mask and face and breathed in through the material of the mask. </p>
<p>Some countries are requiring everyone to wear a surgical mask at least in potentially high people density, closed spaces. For example, the <a href="https://www.ft.com/content/f68f3063-5024-4654-9389-bcc7ee1efd8e">Austrian government</a> now requires supermarkets and pharmacies to hand out surgical masks to all customers who must wear them when in the store. The purpose of the masks is to prevent the wearer from spreading the virus to others by coughing and sneezing. If markets and other businesses and our means of transportation can’t enforce good social distancing and even just some people who are coughing or sneezing don’t wear masks when they venture out, then the United States and other countries might have to follow suit.</p>
<p>Several U.S. government officials have suggested that widespread public use of masks will help. <a href="https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2020/03/31/824560471/should-we-all-be-wearing-masks-in-public-health-experts-revisit-the-question">FDA Commissioner Gottlieb</a> argued that a mask can be “an additional layer of protection for those who have to go out.” To be clear though, surgical or DIY masks and scarves are used primarily to protect others by preventing the spread of droplets. People should not be lulled into a false sense of security in thinking that these types of masks will protect them from airborne, aerosolized virus in for example, poorly ventilated spaces frequented by others. The best thing to do is avoid such spaces and stay home as much as possible.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/hcp/respirator-use-faq.html">A N95 respirator mask</a> (in Europe, it’s called a FFP2) does protect the wearer from breathing in COVID-19 if it’s worn properly so that there is a really good seal around the face. If you’re a home care provider caring for someone who has or might have COVID-19, you should wear the N95 to protect yourself. That is, assuming there are enough of these masks to go around beyond those needed by care providers on the front lines at the hospitals. If you don’t have a N95, open a window in the patient’s room and maybe even use a fan if you have one to decrease the amount of virus floating around. Of course provide plenty of blankets to keep them warm!</p>
<h2>The bottom line</h2>
<p>In my opinion, you don’t need a mask with really good <a href="https://youtu.be/aMyx1uC_cuQ">social distancing</a> (staying at least six feet away from others) when you are outdoors. Even in a well-ventilated, large room where businesses are doing a good job of keeping the density of people small and you are there for as short a time as possible, I would not feel the need for a mask. But if those who are sneezing or coughing are not wearing masks and if social distancing doesn’t seem to be slowing the spread of COVID-19 fast enough, Americans and others will likely need to follow in Austria’s footsteps with mandatory masks inside buildings and go further to include any public transportation, taxis and ride sharing services. </p>
<p>If you are coughing or sneezing and therefore producing droplets that can contaminate other people or surfaces, wear a surgical mask to protect others. Even if you think it’s just a cold, wear a mask, or if you don’t have one, then a scarf. Pretty soon we may all be asked to wear these when we go to public places even if we aren’t coughing or sneezing, if some people don’t take this responsibility very seriously.</p>
<p>A N95 mask should be worn by people caring for COVID-19-suspected or infected people which, when worn properly, can protect against airborne virus. Because health care professionals are caring for many COVID-19 patients, they must have N95 masks. If there are enough, then asymptomatic caregivers of COVID-19 patients at home should also wear them.</p>
<p>[<em>You need to understand the coronavirus pandemic, and we can help.</em> <a href="https://theconversation.com/us/newsletters?utm_source=TCUS&utm_medium=inline-link&utm_campaign=newsletter-text&utm_content=upper-coronavirus-help">Read our newsletter</a>.]</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/135135/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Thomas Perls does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>The CDC is reconsidering its policy about the widespread public’s use of masks, as is the World Health Organization. Here are the facts about when it’s appropriate to wear a mask – and what kind.Thomas Perls, Professor of Medicine, Boston UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1308992020-02-17T13:07:42Z2020-02-17T13:07:42ZAfrica’s growing lead battery industry is causing extensive contamination<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/314726/original/file-20200211-146674-1i9yu18.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Serious lead poisoning cases are a growing problem on the continent. </span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">GeetyImages</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Africa is facing a serious lead poisoning problem. In Senegal, for example, researchers <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2897224/">linked the deaths</a> of children from processing lead waste to supply a lead battery recycling plant in a poor suburb of Dakar. </p>
<p>In <a href="https://pulitzercenter.org/reporting/woman-risking-her-life-save-village-lead-poisoning">Kenya</a>, the legacy of a shutdown lead-recycling plant is causing major health problems for people living in the neighbourhood. And in <a href="https://businessday.ng/businessday-investigation/businessday-investigation-f/article/dying-in-instalments-how-lead-battery-recyclers-are-poisoning-nigerians-part-i/">Nigeria</a> an investigation by journalists showed how lead battery recycling facilities were poisoning workers and the people living in the area. </p>
<p>The problem is growing along with the market for <a href="https://apps.who.int/iris/bitstream/handle/10665/259447/9789241512855-eng.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y">lead batteries</a>. This is due to lack of regulation and investment in environmentally sound battery recycling plants. Most facilities in Africa are small. They weren’t built with adequate pollution controls to prevent disasters and ongoing contamination.</p>
<p>The production of lead batteries is <a href="https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/africa-lead-acid-battery-market.html">growing rapidly</a> in Africa as the market for lead batteries expands. <a href="https://www.ila-lead.org/lead-facts/lead-uses--statistics">Global lead output</a> continues to grow, with about 85% production going to make batteries.</p>
<p>We conducted a study around lead battery recycling plants in Cameroon, Ghana, Kenya, Mozambique, Nigeria, Tanzania and Tunisia. Our results <a href="http://www.okinternational.org/docs/Lead%20Soil%207%20Countries%202018.pdf">showed</a> significant lead contamination around 15 licensed battery recycling plants. This shows that informal sector recycling is not the only source of lead pollution.</p>
<p>Other <a href="http://www.okinternational.org/docs/Gottesfeld%20JOEH%202011%20final.pdf">studies</a> have also reported excessive emissions from lead acid battery manufacturing and recycling plants in low and middle-income countries. </p>
<p>Our findings contribute to the growing body of research in documenting lead contamination around licensed recycling plants across Africa. This underscores the need for urgent action. This should include putting in place regulatory systems. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/314727/original/file-20200211-146674-1giotfl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/314727/original/file-20200211-146674-1giotfl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/314727/original/file-20200211-146674-1giotfl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/314727/original/file-20200211-146674-1giotfl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/314727/original/file-20200211-146674-1giotfl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/314727/original/file-20200211-146674-1giotfl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/314727/original/file-20200211-146674-1giotfl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A typical lead battery recycling plant without adequate pollution controls.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Occupational Knowledge International</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Growing problem</h2>
<p>At the 15 facilities we tested, 85% of the soil sampled from inside and outside the plants exceeded 80 parts per million (ppm). This is the health hazard level used in <a href="https://oehha.ca.gov/media/downloads/crnr/leadchhsl091709.pdf">California</a>. Piles of used battery cases and waste slag (residues) were responsible for some of the soil contamination. But excessive airborne emissions are the largest source. </p>
<p>This extensive soil lead contamination is a significant source of human exposure across the region. We found that these hazardous sites are often adjacent to residential areas, agricultural and grazing lands. </p>
<p>In recent years, the <a href="http://wedocs.unep.org/bitstream/handle/20.500.11822/11183/K1607167_UNEPEA2_RES7E.pdf?Sequence=1&isAllowed=y">United Nations Environment Assembly</a> has begun to recognise the growing threat of lead battery recycling to public health and the environment. In <a href="http://wedocs.unep.org/bitstream/handle/20.500.11822/11183/K1607167_UNEPEA2_RES7E.pdf?Sequence=1&isAllowed=y">2016</a>, it passed a resolution noting the lack of adequate infrastructure needed to recycle the rapidly growing number of used lead-acid batteries. It noted that there was a “need to further reduce releases, emissions and exposures”.</p>
<p>Despite this call and the urgent need for continued intervention, there’s been minimal effort by African governments.</p>
<p>Unlike electronic waste, lead battery recycling is a profitable enterprise that can be safely done without any subsidies. Countries such as <a href="http://www.okinternational.org/docs/China%20Lead%20Battery%20Report%20IPE%20English%20Revised.pdf">China</a> have enforced minimum size requirements for recycling facilities to ensure that adequate emission control technology can be cost effective. </p>
<p>In the US and Europe effective take-back schemes ensure that lead batteries are collected back at the end of their useful life. These measures are key to ensuring that used batteries go to regulated facilities and aren’t diverted to the informal sector.</p>
<h2>What is needed</h2>
<p>Our research points to the need for regional and national level action across the continent. This should include the establishment of comprehensive industry-specific regulations. </p>
<p>There must be performance requirements in place for stack emissions, ambient air levels, minimum production capacity for new and existing recycling plants and occupational exposure limits for airborne emissions and blood lead levels.</p>
<p>There’s also a need to attract investment to build efficient facilities with proper emission control technology. Along with these measures, governments should put strategies that should require manufacturers and distributors to take back used batteries in order to consolidate this hazardous waste stream. </p>
<p>Without formal collection systems there’s no financial incentive for battery recycling companies to invest in suitable infrastructure as they are competing against the informal sector. </p>
<p>As <a href="http://www.okinternational.org/docs/Lead%20Soil%207%20Countries%202018.pdf">our study</a> shows, land use restrictions in most countries on the continent have been ineffective in separating hazardous recycling plants from residential areas. This has resulted in harm to human health. </p>
<p>The industry needs to be more transparent. Battery makers and recyclers should report emissions and alert the public about soil lead contamination. </p>
<p>The remediation of contaminated soils under these circumstance is complex and costly. The regulatory system should ensure that financial resources are available for the anticipated cost of remediation following plant closure.</p>
<p>Comprehensive awareness programmes about the associated health impacts are critical to the communities since most contaminated sites only come to light after reported deaths or cases of severe lead poisoning are identified. </p>
<p><em>Perry Gottesfeld, the Executive Director of Occupational Knowledge International, was a co-author of the research and also contributed to this article.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/130899/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Faridah Hussein Were consults for UN Environment where she receives funding to enhance environmentally sound management of used lead acid battery activities. </span></em></p>Unregulated and hazardous lead acid battery manufacturing and recycling plants are often adjacent to residential areas, agricultural and grazing lands.Faridah Hussein Were, Lecturer, Department of Chemistry, University of NairobiLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1310212020-02-14T22:23:36Z2020-02-14T22:23:36ZNatural supplements can be dangerously contaminated, or not even have the specified ingredients<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/313463/original/file-20200204-41476-1i8r1r2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Some supplement products contain substances that are harmful.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/various-pills-lying-on-a-white-surface-royalty-free-image/483106863?adppopup=true">Getty Images / David Malan</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>More than two-thirds of Americans take dietary supplements. The vast majority of consumers – 84% – <a href="https://www.crnusa.org/CRN-consumersurvey-archives/2015/">are confident</a> the products are safe and effective.</p>
<p>They should not be so trusting.</p>
<p><a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=lWAD9d8AAAAJ&hl=en">I’m</a> a professor of pharmacy practice at the University of Connecticut. As described in <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/1060028019900504">my new article</a> in the Annals of Pharmacotherapy, consumers take real risks if they use diet supplements not independently verified by reputable outside labs. </p>
<h2>What are the risks?</h2>
<p>Heavy metals, which are known to cause <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4427717/">cancer, dementia and brittle bones</a>, contaminate many diet supplements. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0049676">One study of 121 products</a> revealed 5% of them surpassed the safe daily consumption limit for arsenic. Two percent had excess lead, cadmium and aluminum; and 1% had too much mercury. <a href="https://www.fda.gov/food/dietary-supplement-products-ingredients/fda-advises-consumers-stop-using-certain-life-rising-dietary-supplements">In June 2019</a>, the Food and Drug Administration seized 300,000 dietary supplement bottles because their pills contained excessive lead levels.</p>
<p>Bacterial and fungal contamination in dietary supplements <a href="https://www.foodsafetynews.com/2014/08/dietary-supplements-recalled-for-possible-salmonella-contamination/">is not uncommon</a>. <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/j.1745-4565.2009.00167.x">In one assessment</a>, researchers found bacteria in all 138 products they investigated. Toxic fungi were also in many of the supplements, and counts for numerous products exceeded the acceptable limits set by the <a href="https://www.usp.org/">United States Pharmacopeia</a>. Fungal contamination of diet supplements <a href="https://www.liebertpub.com/doi/10.1089/fpd.2015.2108">has been linked</a> to serious liver, intestinal and appendix damage. </p>
<p>From 2017-18, <a href="https://www.fda.gov/food/outbreaks-foodborne-illness/fda-investigated-multistate-outbreak-salmonella-infections-linked-products-reported-contain-kratom">dozens were hospitalized</a> with salmonella poisoning after ingesting kratom, a highly addictive natural opioid. Thirty-seven of the kratom products studied were contaminated. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/313468/original/file-20200204-41527-11izspw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/313468/original/file-20200204-41527-11izspw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/313468/original/file-20200204-41527-11izspw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/313468/original/file-20200204-41527-11izspw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/313468/original/file-20200204-41527-11izspw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/313468/original/file-20200204-41527-11izspw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/313468/original/file-20200204-41527-11izspw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">There are ways consumers can verify the quality and safety of supplements.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/senior-asian-man-shopping-for-natural-medicine-royalty-free-image/81714441?adppopup=true">Getty Images / Tanya Constantine</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Some dietary supplements contain drugs, yet the manufacturers <a href="https://theconversation.com/beware-of-natural-supplements-for-sex-gain-and-weight-loss-106484">don’t disclose that information</a> to consumers. Frequently, the concealed drugs are experimental and, in some cases, removed from the market because they’re dangerous. Hundreds of weight-loss, sexual-dysfunction and muscle-building products are adulterated with inferior or harmful substances.</p>
<p>Sometimes, the herb you think you’re buying contains little to no active ingredient. Occasionally, another herb is substituted. </p>
<p>The consequences for consumers are considerable. When manufacturers replaced the herb <a href="https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJM200006083422301">Stephania tetrandra with the herb Aristolochia fangchi</a> in 2000, more than 100 patients developed severe kidney damage; 18 more got kidney or bladder cancer. Although the herb is now banned by the U.S., <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/19440049.2014.892215?src=recsys">a 2014 investigation</a> found Aristolochia fangchi in 20% of the Chinese herbal products sold on the internet. </p>
<p><a href="https://doi.org/10.1002/jcph.1387">In an assessment</a> of CBD products, only 12.5% of vaporization liquids, 25% of tinctures and 45% of oils contained the promised amount of CBD. In most cases they held far less. A few CBD products had enough THC to put the user in legal jeopardy of marijuana possession.</p>
<p>Embarrassed by a New York Attorney General’s Office <a href="http://www.documentcloud.org/documents/1532311-supplements.html#document/p1">investigation</a> suggesting widespread and fraudulent under-dosing of active ingredients in dietary supplements, <a href="https://cvshealth.com/newsroom/press-releases/cvs-pharmacy-launches-tested-be-trusted-program-vitamins-and-supplements">CVS pharmacies analyzed</a> 1,400 products that it previously sold in its stores. <a href="https://cvshealth.com/newsroom/press-releases/cvs-pharmacy-launches-tested-be-trusted-program-vitamins-and-supplements">Seven percent,</a> or about 100 products, failed, resulting in updates to the supplement facts panel or removal of the product from shelves. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/313467/original/file-20200204-41476-b4qlq3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/313467/original/file-20200204-41476-b4qlq3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/313467/original/file-20200204-41476-b4qlq3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/313467/original/file-20200204-41476-b4qlq3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/313467/original/file-20200204-41476-b4qlq3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/313467/original/file-20200204-41476-b4qlq3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/313467/original/file-20200204-41476-b4qlq3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">It can be difficult for the FDA to adequately oversee supplements.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.apimages.com/metadata/Index/FDA-Smokeless-Tobacco/a7af1c510e574d73917d69703d24c31e/195/0">Associated Press / Andrew Harnik</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>What should consumers do?</h2>
<p>The <a href="https://ods.od.nih.gov/About/DSHEA_Wording.aspx">Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act</a> of 1994 allows manufacturers to sell dietary supplements without providing proof of their quality to the FDA. Instead, it’s up to the FDA to prove a product is unsafe and take it off the market. That’s an incredibly tall order, and woefully inadequate. But it’s unlikely to change.</p>
<p>In the meantime, I recommend that consumers should not purchase supplements without verification from one of three highly regarded independent laboratories: the aforementioned United States Pharmacopeia, NSF International and ConsumerLabs.com. The United States Pharmacopeia is an organization that <a href="https://www.usp.org/dietary-supplements-herbal-medicines">sets reference and quality standards</a> for prescription medication and food in the U.S.; the NSF International is an independent group that assesses safety and risk for food, water and consumer products; and ConsumerLabs.com is a company started to verify product quality for consumers that are paying members. These laboratories conduct an <a href="https://www.consumerreports.org/supplements/how-to-choose-supplements-wisely/">initial analysis</a> and then perform periodic unannounced assessments of the products; those with the appropriate amount of active ingredient, and without contamination or adulteration, can put the United States Pharmacopeia, NSF and <a href="https://www.consumerlab.com/seal.asp">ConsumerLabs.com seals</a> on their bottles. CVS announced that all products sold at its stores going forward will need to provide the company proof of quality. Other major retailers should follow suit.</p>
<p>Some manufacturers conduct quality testing and post certificates of analysis on their websites. But the autonomy of the laboratory, and its standards, <a href="https://www.consumerlab.com/answers/can-i-trust-supplement-manufacturer-lab-reports-and-certificates-of-analysis/certificates-of-analysis/">are often not known</a>. Sometimes, labs may select an inappropriate testing method, intentionally or unintentionally. Sometimes they perform the test incorrectly, or simply make up results.</p>
<p>Because the FDA can’t fully protect you from quality issues in dietary supplements – at least not right now – you must protect yourself. Even if a celebrity or “health guru” recommends a product, that doesn’t mean it’s high-quality. Before you put any supplement into your body, demand proof.</p>
<p><em>Editor’s Note: This article has been updated to state that NSF International, not the National Science Foundation, assesses safety and risk for food, water and consumer products.</em></p>
<p>[<em>Deep knowledge, daily.</em> <a href="https://theconversation.com/us/newsletters?utm_source=TCUS&utm_medium=inline-link&utm_campaign=newsletter-text&utm_content=deepknowledge">Sign up for The Conversation’s newsletter</a>.]</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/131021/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>C. Michael White does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Americans love their supplements, but some of the products are contaminated with heavy metals, bacteria and toxic fungi. The FDA has little control because of a law passed in 1994.C. Michael White, Professor and Head of the Department of Pharmacy Practice, University of ConnecticutLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.