tag:theconversation.com,2011:/uk/topics/environmental-pollutants-23609/articlesenvironmental pollutants – The Conversation2023-12-13T03:28:22Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2193952023-12-13T03:28:22Z2023-12-13T03:28:22ZPesticide residue from farms and towns is ending up in fresh oysters<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/564439/original/file-20231208-27-22yb4u.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=11%2C11%2C1930%2C1444&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Author supplied</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/">CC BY-ND</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>For years, oysters have been lauded as one of the most sustainable and healthy seafood options. But our food is only as healthy as the environment it is grown in. </p>
<p>In new research published in <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envpol.2023.123084">Environmental Pollution</a>, we found something unfortunate. These filter-feeding shellfish eat by straining particles from water. This, alas, makes them very good at soaking up pesticide residue. </p>
<p>When we analysed oysters growing naturally in the Richmond River estuary in New South Wales, we found 21 different pesticides – more than in the water. Each oyster had detectable amounts of nine different pesticides, on average. </p>
<p>We don’t know the full health risks of eating oysters from this river. But we do know five pesticides we found are potentially dangerous – they are not allowed to be present in meat due to the risks. </p>
<p>To be clear: the risk is largely in taking oysters from the wild. Commercially farmed oysters are likely to be safer, as they are regulated by Australia’s <a href="https://www.agriculture.gov.au/biosecurity-trade/export/controlled-goods/fish/registered-establishment/shellfish-qa">shellfish quality assurance program</a> and can only be harvested when water quality is good. </p>
<h2>How do pesticides get into oysters?</h2>
<p>Oysters pump water through their bodies and eat the bacteria, plankton and other particles they filter out. A single oyster can filter up to five litres of water an hour and over 250,000 litres in their lifetime. </p>
<p>Before colonisation, oyster reefs were everywhere. Most of these reefs were pulled out to use the shells for lime and the meat to eat. In the Richmond River, poor water quality and a disease killed off most oysters until a new, <a href="https://ozfish.org.au/2020/04/new-oyster-variety-potential-game-changer/">disease-resistant strain emerged</a>. </p>
<p>Filter-feeding works well if you’re just filtering out what’s found naturally. But if the water is contaminated, oysters can end up storing pathogens and pollutants in their bodies. </p>
<p>Oysters prefer brackish water – where fresh meets salt. That’s why they’re intensively farmed in many estuaries. But because many of our coastal catchments now contain farms, towns or cities, the pesticides, herbicides and insecticides we use wash into rivers after rain.</p>
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/564436/original/file-20231208-21-22yb4u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="oysters on a rock" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/564436/original/file-20231208-21-22yb4u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/564436/original/file-20231208-21-22yb4u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=800&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/564436/original/file-20231208-21-22yb4u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=800&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/564436/original/file-20231208-21-22yb4u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=800&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/564436/original/file-20231208-21-22yb4u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1005&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/564436/original/file-20231208-21-22yb4u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1005&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/564436/original/file-20231208-21-22yb4u.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"></a>
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<span class="caption">Sydney rock oysters have a remarkable ability to filter water but can also accumulate pesticides in the process.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Kirsten Benkendorff</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/">CC BY-ND</a></span>
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<h2>What did we find in these oysters?</h2>
<p>Most of the herbicides, insecticides and fungicides we found are used routinely by farmers, land managers and council workers. </p>
<p>But we did find an unwelcome surprise – the fungicide benomyl, which has been illegal in Australia since 2006 due to the high risk to human health and the environment. Detecting this chemical means someone is using it illegally. </p>
<p>Four pesticides – atrazine, diuron, hexazinone and metolachlor – were found in concentrations above safe environmental limits for <a href="https://www.waterquality.gov.au/anz-guidelines/guideline-values/default/water-quality-toxicants/search">fresh and marine water</a>.</p>
<p>Atrazine and diuron are among the most commonly used herbicides in Australian farming, but they are not safe chemicals. They’re known to contaminate groundwater and surface water, and have been detected in unsafe levels in the <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envpol.2009.03.006">waters of the Great Barrier Reef</a>. </p>
<p>Atrazine is banned in the European Union over concerns about the damage it can do to the environment and the risk of it getting into drinking water. </p>
<p>Diuron has been <a href="https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX%3A32023R1656">severely restricted</a> in the EU, but is commonly used by the sugarcane industry in Australia. Like atrazine, diuron can pollute groundwater and kill aquatic species, and is <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26086120/">carcinogenic to humans</a>. </p>
<p>Australia’s pesticide authority suspended the use of 63 diuron products <a href="https://www.apvma.gov.au/sites/default/files/publication/15396-diuron-review-report.pdf">in 2011</a>. The ban only lasted a year, following <a href="https://search.informit.org/doi/abs/10.3316/ielapa.336804883887109">lobbying from sugarcane growers</a>, and diuron is back in use. </p>
<h2>What does this mean for oyster eaters?</h2>
<p>The sheer number of different pesticides we found in oysters was perhaps the biggest concern for lovers of oysters. Five of these – pebulate, vernolate, fosetyl Al, benomyl and prothiofos – have residue limits set at zero for meat. That is, if you want to sell meat, it cannot have any detectable level of these pesticides. (At present, our food safety guidelines have no specific limits for most pesticides in seafood.)</p>
<p>What about the 16 other pesticides we found? Most were below the allowable residue limits in meat on their own, but we have very little understanding of the combined effects of exposure from multiple pesticides. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/the-real-cost-of-pesticides-in-australias-food-boom-20757">The real cost of pesticides in Australia's food boom</a>
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/564446/original/file-20231208-29-za277f.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="rock oyster on dock" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/564446/original/file-20231208-29-za277f.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/564446/original/file-20231208-29-za277f.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/564446/original/file-20231208-29-za277f.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/564446/original/file-20231208-29-za277f.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/564446/original/file-20231208-29-za277f.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/564446/original/file-20231208-29-za277f.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/564446/original/file-20231208-29-za277f.jpeg?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>
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<span class="caption">These Sydney rock oysters have come from an oyster lease in the Richmond River.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Kirsten Benkendorff</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/">CC BY-ND</a></span>
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<h2>What should be done?</h2>
<p>The problem for oyster farmers and marine managers is they’re effectively powerless to prevent water pollution entering the river from farms or towns upstream. </p>
<p>The first step is to find out how bad the problem is. We need dedicated pesticide monitoring programs for seafood producers in estuaries to gauge the size of the problem and look for hotspots. </p>
<p>If hotspots are found, the next step is to work with farmers and land managers to collaboratively design solutions. </p>
<p>These could include incentives to cut pesticide use through <a href="https://www.epa.nsw.gov.au/your-environment/pesticides/integrated-pest-management">integrated pest management</a> and <a href="https://www.csiro.au/en/research/plants/crops/farming-systems/precision-agriculture">precision agriculture</a> as well as the use of tools to decide <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11356-023-29814-w">which pesticide to use and when</a>. </p>
<p>Strategically located wetlands and <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G8wIJ8hVYlc&t=6s">bacterial bioreactors</a> able to break down pesticides can also stop these chemicals arriving in the river. </p>
<p>Mangrove and shellfish reef restoration could help protect commercial oyster farms and other seafood harvesting areas. Like oysters, mangroves have the ability to remove chemical contaminants from the water and store them internally. </p>
<p>You might be wondering why some of these chemicals are legal to use in the first place. It’s very time consuming to seek review of currently available pesticides in Australia. Scientists or community members have to demonstrate these products cause harm, even if they have been reviewed and banned in many other nations. </p>
<h2>Can I still eat oysters?</h2>
<p>Yes. To cut your personal risk, buy only from reputable commercial oyster farms. These farms are only allowed to harvest oysters when the water quality is good, which helps remove water soluble pesticides. Given most of us don’t eat oysters daily, the risk is likely to be low. </p>
<p>What you should avoid is harvesting your own oysters in estuaries where there are farms or towns upstream. These may have accumulated pesticides. Leave them where they are – they’re doing a very important job: cleaning the water. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/once-the-fish-factories-and-kidneys-of-colder-seas-australias-decimated-shellfish-reefs-are-coming-back-184063">Once the fish factories and ‘kidneys’ of colder seas, Australia’s decimated shellfish reefs are coming back</a>
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<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/219395/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Kirsten Benkendorff receives funding from the NSW Government for other current projects on seafood and water quality.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span><a href="mailto:amanda.reichelt-brushett@scu.edu.au">amanda.reichelt-brushett@scu.edu.au</a> receives funding from the NSW State Government. She is affiliated with the Richmond RiverKeeper Association. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span><a href="mailto:e.jamal.10@student.scu.edu.au">e.jamal.10@student.scu.edu.au</a> receives funding from the Australia Awards Scholarship and postgraduate funding from the Faculty of Science, Southern Cross University.</span></em></p>Herbicides and pesticides wash downriver from farms and towns – and some of these chemicals are taken up by oysters.Kirsten Benkendorff, Professor, Southern Cross UniversityAmanda Reichelt-Brushett, Professor Environmental and Marine Science, Southern Cross UniversityEndang Jamal, Senior lecturer in aquaculture, Pattimura University and doctoral student, Southern Cross UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1907712022-10-10T14:51:36Z2022-10-10T14:51:36Z‘Forever chemicals’ are everywhere – here’s what you need to know about them<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/488987/original/file-20221010-14-gno6qd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=10%2C0%2C3527%2C2354&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Some non-stick pans may contain PFAS.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/fried-egg-on-frying-pan-48274687">Parpalea Catalin/ Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Whether you’ve heard of them before or not, “forever chemicals” are all around us. Stain-resistant carpets, non-stick pans, mascara and even some food packaging all contain these chemicals. But while these products can be very useful to us, the chemicals they contain have a darker side. Research has shown that they’re linked to <a href="https://www.epa.gov/pfas/our-current-understanding-human-health-and-environmental-risks-pfas">health problems</a>, including cancer. And one recent study even suggested that <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/society/2022/oct/05/pfas-sperm-count-mobility-testicle-development">in utero exposure</a> to forever chemicals can affect a man’s sperm count and quality later in life.</p>
<p>Here’s what you should know about them.</p>
<h2>What are forever chemicals?</h2>
<p>Forever chemicals are a class of chemicals collectively known as per- and polyfluorinated alkyl substances (PFAS), which were first introduced in the 1940s.</p>
<p>Their high thermal and chemical stability, coupled with their ability to repel grease and water, make these chemicals uniquely suited for a variety of engineering and commercial uses. As such, they can be found in many consumer products, such as makeup, fire extinguishers, fast food wrapping, textiles, stain repellents and electronics. The actual number of PFAS in circulation worldwide has yet to be defined – though according to some resources, this number is <a href="https://ehp.niehs.nih.gov/doi/10.1289/EHP4158">well over 4,700</a> chemicals. </p>
<p>The reason PFAS are called forever chemicals is because they <a href="https://www.hbm4eu.eu/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/Factsheet_PFAS.pdf">persist in the environment</a> for decades. For example, it would take approximately 400 years to break down just 500 mg (roughly the equivalent of a paracetamol tablet) of a type of forever chemical called perfluorooctane sulphonic acid (PFOS). This chemical was once used as a spray-on stain repellent for textiles. The same amount of another forever chemical known as perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) would take 800 years to break down. This chemical was used in the manufacture of non-stick pans. </p>
<p>Given that PFAS are used in so many everyday items, it also means they can find their way into the sewage system during washing, or into landfill after disposal – which may allow them to eventually end up in rivers. They’re also known to accumulate in plants and animals as they move through the food chain, so they may end up in the foods we eat including <a href="https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/nidhisubbaraman/pfas-food-farms-milk-produce">milk</a> and <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S004565352202776X#:%7E:text=Eight%20PFAS%20were%20detected%20in,of%20free%2Dranging%20laying%20hens.&text=PFOS%20was%20the%20dominant%20compound%20and%20concentrations%20decreased%20from%20the%20fluorochemical%20plant.&text=Diet%20and%20age%20of%20laying,PFOS%20and%20PFOA%20egg%20concentrations.&text=Homegrown%20eggs%20can%20be%20an%20important%20exposure%20pathway%20of%20PFAS%20to%20humans.">eggs</a>. </p>
<p>For instance, <a href="https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1012230/Poly-_and_perfluoroalkyl_substances_-sources_pathways_and_environmental_data_-_report.pdf">research from 2014 and 2019</a> showed traces of PFOA and PFOS – which have not been commercially produced in Europe for over a decade – were still present in most rivers, lakes and ground water in the UK. In 2021, PFOS was also <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2022/feb/08/high-levels-of-toxic-chemicals-found-in-cambridgeshire-drinking-water">detected in drinking water</a> in Cambridgeshire. The source of the contamination was not clear, but may have been from historic use of firefighting foam from an airfield nearby.</p>
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<img alt="A woman holding a glass of water." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/488992/original/file-20221010-11-d5cf4v.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/488992/original/file-20221010-11-d5cf4v.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/488992/original/file-20221010-11-d5cf4v.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/488992/original/file-20221010-11-d5cf4v.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/488992/original/file-20221010-11-d5cf4v.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/488992/original/file-20221010-11-d5cf4v.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/488992/original/file-20221010-11-d5cf4v.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">Forever chemicals have even been found in drinking water.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/young-woman-drinking-water-570636958">sebra/ Shutterstock</a></span>
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<p>These pollutants have even been found in <a href="https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acs.est.2c02592">formerly pristine parts of the world</a>, far from where they were manufactured or used. This has created an immense environmental challenge which does not respect national boundaries. And due to their extreme persistence, these pollutants are likely to adversely affect future generations.</p>
<h2>Health problems</h2>
<p>Just as PFAS take a long time to break down in the environment, forever chemicals can also stay within our bodies for a long time – <a href="https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20220512-the-chemicals-that-linger-for-decades-in-your-blood">possibly even decades</a>. They may also accumulate in our body the more we come into contact with them.</p>
<p>Research shows that PFAS are implicated in many different diseases, with studies linking them to testicular and kidney cancer, thyroid problems, obesity, reproductive disorders and developmental issues in the foetus. They may also raise cholesterol levels, act as immunosuppressants and lower the effectiveness of vaccines. Research has also shown that PFAS has been detected in <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2022/sep/23/forever-chemicals-found-umbilical-cord-blood-samples-studies">umbilical cords</a>.</p>
<p>Only two PFAS have been banned in Europe so far. But six more are <a href="http://chm.pops.int/theconvention/thepops/chemicalsproposedforlisting/tabid/2510/default.aspx">currently under review</a> – including chemicals used in insecticides and paints – because of their health risks. </p>
<p>However, even if we could collect all the PFAS pollution in the world, there’s no way to safely dispose of them. These pollutants are not biodegradable and thermally very stable. Even at the high temperatures of incineration they break down to toxic and corrosive substances or fluorocarbons which are potent greenhouse gases and their disposal would need to be carefully monitored. This makes regulation of these chemicals even more important than it already is.</p>
<p>As consumers, we can reduce the amount of forever chemicals reaching the environment (and our bodies) by trying to purchase products which are free from forever chemicals. Before purchasing waterproof or stain resistant textiles, read the label to make sure they haven’t been treated with PFAS. Better yet, look for products labelled as free from PFC, PFOS, and PFOA. Also take care to examine items such as fast food wrapping, cosmetics and dental floss for these ingredients. If you still aren’t sure what to look out for, you can also check online using <a href="https://www.pfasfree.org.uk/current-initiatives/pfas-free-product">this resource</a> which can tell you which everyday products are free from forever chemicals.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/190771/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Joanne Roberts receives funding from
British Mass Spectrometry Society. </span></em></p>So-called ‘forever chemicals’ are in many of the everyday products we use.Joanne Roberts, Research Fellow, Environmental Chemistry, Glasgow Caledonian UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1787712022-04-11T01:06:14Z2022-04-11T01:06:14ZNew evidence shows blood or plasma donations can reduce the PFAS ‘forever chemicals’ in our bodies<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/456298/original/file-20220405-22-j8xbfz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C20%2C4601%2C3428&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>You might have heard of PFAS, a synthetic chemical found in certain legacy firefighting foams, non-stick pans, carpets, clothes and stain- or water-resistant materials and paints. </p>
<p>PFAS stands for “per- and poly-fluorinated alkyl substances”. These molecules, made up of chains of carbon and fluorine atoms, are nicknamed “forever chemicals” because they don’t degrade in our bodies. </p>
<p>There is global <a href="https://www.epa.vic.gov.au/for-community/environmental-information/pfas">concern</a> about PFAS because they have been used widely, are persistent in the environment and accumulate in our bodies over time.</p>
<p>There was no way to reduce the amount of PFAS found in the body – until now.</p>
<p>Our new randomised clinical trial, published in the journal <a href="http://jamanetwork.com/article.aspx?doi=10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2022.6257">JAMA Network Open</a>, has found regularly donating blood or plasma can reduce blood PFAS levels. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/pfas-forever-chemicals-are-widespread-and-threaten-human-health-heres-a-strategy-for-protecting-the-public-142953">PFAS 'forever chemicals' are widespread and threaten human health – here's a strategy for protecting the public</a>
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<h2>What’s the concern about PFAS chemicals?</h2>
<p>The science is unresolved around what levels of PFAS exposure, if any, are safe. </p>
<p>The historical use of some firefighting foams at <a href="https://www.qfes.qld.gov.au/planning-and-compliance/aqueous-film-forming-foam">fire stations</a>, <a href="https://www.parliament.vic.gov.au/393-enrrdc/inquiry-into-the-cfa-training-college-at-fiskville">fire training bases</a>, <a href="https://www.airservicesaustralia.com/community/environment/pfas/">airports</a>, <a href="https://defence.gov.au/environment/pfas/investigationandmanagementsites.asp">military</a> and <a href="https://www.industrialchemicals.gov.au/consumers-and-community/and-poly-fluorinated-substances-pfas">industrial facilities</a> has led to widespread environmental contamination across <a href="https://pfas.australianmap.net">Australia</a>, <a href="https://www.eea.europa.eu/publications/emerging-chemical-risks-in-europe">Europe</a> and the <a href="https://www.ewg.org/interactive-maps/pfas_contamination/">US</a>.</p>
<p>Major environmental and health agencies, including the <a href="https://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/pfas/index.html">US Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry</a>, <a href="https://www.epa.gov/pfas/our-current-understanding-human-health-and-environmental-risks-pfas">US Environmental Protection Agency</a>, and the <a href="https://www1.health.gov.au/internet/main/publishing.nsf/Content/44CB8059934695D6CA25802800245F06/$File/FactSheet-PFAS-june19-enHealth.pdf">Australian Department of Health</a> have noted PFAS exposure has been associated with adverse health effects.</p>
<p>But now, new research from Macquarie University and Fire Rescue Victoria has found that the concentration of PFAS in a person’s blood can be reduced if that person regularly donates blood or plasma.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/456295/original/file-20220405-8941-djednm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A large puddle of firefighting foam in a street." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/456295/original/file-20220405-8941-djednm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/456295/original/file-20220405-8941-djednm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/456295/original/file-20220405-8941-djednm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/456295/original/file-20220405-8941-djednm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/456295/original/file-20220405-8941-djednm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/456295/original/file-20220405-8941-djednm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/456295/original/file-20220405-8941-djednm.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"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The historical use of some firefighting foams at fire stations, training bases, airports, military and industrial facilities has led to widespread environmental contamination.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/wearing-shoes-in-the-house-is-just-plain-gross-the-verdict-from-scientists-who-study-indoor-contaminants-177542">Wearing shoes in the house is just plain gross. The verdict from scientists who study indoor contaminants</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>How can PFAS in our bodies be reduced?</h2>
<p>The trial aimed to find out whether plasma or blood removal are effective strategies for reducing serum PFAS concentrations. It was funded and supported by Fire Rescue Victoria to find a way to remove the PFAS from firefighters’ bodies.</p>
<p>The trial involved 285 Fire Rescue Victoria staff and contractors with elevated levels of PFOS, a common detected type of PFAS used in some firefighting foams. </p>
<p>They were randomly allocated to donate plasma every six weeks, to donate whole blood every 12 weeks, or to make no donations (the control group) for 12 months. </p>
<p>Their PFAS levels were measured at four intervals: at recruitment, the start of the trial, after 12 months of following their treatment plan, and again three months later to test if the results were sustained.</p>
<p>Both blood and plasma donation resulted in significantly lower PFAS chemicals than the control group, and these differences were maintained three months later.</p>
<p>Plasma donation was most effective, resulting in a roughly 30% decrease in average blood serum PFAS concentrations over the 12-month trial period. </p>
<h2>Why would donating blood or plasma help?</h2>
<p>Reductions in PFAS levels from blood or plasma donations may be because PFAS are bound to proteins primarily found in the serum; many other organic pollutants are bound to fats. </p>
<p>The finding that plasma was more effective than blood donation might be because firefighters in the plasma donation group donated blood every six weeks, whereas those in the blood donation group donated every 12 weeks. </p>
<p>In addition, each plasma donation can amount to as much as 800mL compared with 470mL for whole blood. </p>
<p>Plasma PFAS concentrations are also about two times higher than blood PFAS concentrations, which could make plasma donation more efficient at reducing the body burden of PFAS chemicals.</p>
<p>Still, plasma donation is more complex and can be more uncomfortable than blood donation. Indeed, the adherence to the study protocol was lower for the plasma group than the other groups.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/456294/original/file-20220405-23-9e3x9i.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A person's arm is attached to tubes as they donate plasma." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/456294/original/file-20220405-23-9e3x9i.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/456294/original/file-20220405-23-9e3x9i.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/456294/original/file-20220405-23-9e3x9i.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/456294/original/file-20220405-23-9e3x9i.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/456294/original/file-20220405-23-9e3x9i.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/456294/original/file-20220405-23-9e3x9i.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/456294/original/file-20220405-23-9e3x9i.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">Plasma donation is more complex and can be more uncomfortable than blood donation.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Overall, the randomised clinical trial — which is the <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/1471-0528.15199">gold standard</a> for evaluating the effectiveness of intervention — had an exceptional 94% participant retention rate, with the 285 firefighters completing more than 1,000 blood tests and hundreds of blood and plasma donations. </p>
<p>This engagement from the Fire Rescue Victoria staff was a remarkable achievement because it spanned the Black Summer Bushfires as well as the extensive COVID-19 lockdowns in Melbourne.</p>
<p>It is a testament to their tenacity to support the discovery of an effective intervention to benefit others with substantial PFAS exposure. </p>
<p>Fire Rescue Victoria has replaced firefighting foams that contain PFAS and decontaminated fire trucks to eliminate or reduce ongoing occupational exposure to PFAS.</p>
<p>Still, because these chemicals accumulate in the body, many firefighters have elevated levels of PFAS because of historical exposures.</p>
<p>More research is needed to understand the ideal frequency and volumes of donations that will be effective for lowering PFAS, balancing the treatment efficacy with the obstacles to frequent donations. </p>
<p>It is also not clear whether reducing PFAS leads to improved health outcomes in the longer term. More research is needed to evaluate the clinical implications of the findings. </p>
<h2>How can these findings be used in practice?</h2>
<p>This study provides the first avenue for affected individuals to remove PFAS from their bodies and redress the effects of their PFAS exposure. </p>
<p>In future, more people with significant PFAS exposures may be encouraged to donate blood or plasma. According to the Australian Red Cross Lifeblood program, people who have been exposed to PFAS <a href="https://www.lifeblood.com.au/faq/eligibility/other/PFASs">can still donate</a>. For recipients of donated blood components, no PFAS threshold has been identified as posing an increased risk. Our study didn’t investigate this risk, but blood authorities should continue to monitor the possible health effects of PFAS and consider any implications of elevated PFAS levels in blood donors.</p>
<p>In late March, a Senate <a href="https://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Committees/Joint/Foreign_Affairs_Defence_and_Trade/PFASRemediation/Report">joint standing committee</a> looking into PFAS recommended the government examine this research. For people with high PFAS levels who can’t donate blood or plasma – because, for example, of potential exposure to blood-borne illnesses – the committee recommended the government consider finding a way for them to make therapeutic donations.</p>
<p>The inquiry also <a href="https://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Committees/Joint/Foreign_Affairs_Defence_and_Trade/PFASRemediation/Report">recommended</a>: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>that the Australian government provide funding for further longitudinal studies on potential adverse health effects for firefighters and members of PFAS-affected communities.</p>
</blockquote><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/178771/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Mark Patrick Taylor and co-authors from Macquarie University received funding for their study published in JAMA Network Open (2022): "Efficacy of plasma and blood donation on serum per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) concentrations in firefighters: a randomised clinical trial.”
MPT received funding for two other separate projects for the Metropolitan Fire Brigade that merged in July 2020 to form Fire Rescue Victoria: (1) Chemical and health risks associated with the Tottenham Fire, Melbourne, 30 August 2018; (2) An assessment of PFAS and other toxicants at Metropolitan Fire Brigade’s 51 fire stations; provided expert advice and environmental guidance to South Australia United Firefighter’s Union and South Australian Metropolitan Fire Service in 2019 in relation to a PFAS contaminated fire station.
MPT is also a member of the Victorian Presumptive Rights Advisory Committee.
MPT is an Honorary Professor at Macquarie University and a full time employee of EPA Victoria, appointed to the statutory role of Chief Environmental Scientist. In his current role as Chief Environmental Scientist for EPA Victoria, part of his work involves working with emergency services, including Fire Rescue Victoria.
</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Bruce Lanphear receives funding from the National Institutes of Health, Canada Institute for Health Research, the US Environmental Protection Agency and the US Department of Housing and Urban Development. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Miri Forbes receives funding from the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC), in addition to the funding received from Fire Rescue Victoria to conduct this study.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>This study was funded by a grant from Fire Rescue Victoria.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Dr Yordanka Krastev and co-authors from Macquarie University received funding from Fire Rescue Victoria for their study published in JAMA Network Open (2022): "Efficacy of plasma and blood donation on serum per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) concentrations in firefighters: a randomized clinical trial.” </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Brenton Hamdorf 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>In a new randomised clinical trial, we found regularly donating blood or plasma can reduce blood PFAS levels.Mark Patrick Taylor, Chief Environmental Scientist, EPA Victoria; Honorary Professor, Macquarie UniversityBrenton Hamdorf, Director, Strategic Research Initiatives, Macquarie UniversityBruce Lanphear, Professor, Simon Fraser UniversityMiri Forbes, Senior Research Fellow and NHMRC Emerging Leadership Fellow, Macquarie UniversityRobin Gasiorowski, Senior Lecturer and Haematologist, Macquarie UniversityYordanka Krastev, Clinical Research Manager, Macquarie UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1600072021-05-03T20:08:22Z2021-05-03T20:08:22ZAre chemicals shrinking your penis and depleting your sperm? Here’s what the evidence really says<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/398259/original/file-20210503-13-ocd03y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=14%2C0%2C4977%2C3323&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>A doomsday scenario of an end to human sperm production has been <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2021/mar/18/toxic-chemicals-health-humanity-erin-brokovich">back in the news recently</a>, now with the added threat of shrinking penises.</p>
<p>Professor Shanna Swan, a US epidemiologist who studies environmental influences on human development, recently published a <a href="https://www.shannaswan.com/countdown">new book</a> called Countdown.</p>
<p>In it, she suggests sperm counts <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/society/2021/mar/28/shanna-swan-fertility-reproduction-count-down">could reach zero by 2045</a>, largely owing to the impact of a range of environmental pollutants used in manufacturing everyday products: phthalates and bisphosphenol A (BPA) from plastics, and per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) used, for example, in waterproofing. Under this scenario, she says, most couples wanting to conceive would need to rely on assisted reproductive technologies.</p>
<p>She has also warned these chemicals are shrinking penis size.</p>
<p>Such extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence. I would argue the evidence is not strong enough.</p>
<h2>Correlation doesn’t equal causation</h2>
<p>Epidemiologists find associations between disease and potential contributing factors, like lung cancer and smoking. But their work can’t identify the causes of disease — just because two things are associated doesn’t mean one is causing, or caused by, the other.</p>
<p>An article written by environmental activist Erin Brockovich in <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2021/mar/18/toxic-chemicals-health-humanity-erin-brokovich">The Guardian</a> in March leads by referring to “hormone-disrupting chemicals that are decimating fertility”. But causation is <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33385395/">far from established</a>. </p>
<p>It’s reasonable to expect chemicals that <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33385395/">affect hormone function</a> in our bodies, like BPA and PFAS, could affect reproduction in males and females, given available evidence. But we don’t have irrefutable proof.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A man and a pregnant woman outside with their dog." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/398265/original/file-20210503-17-fzbt4d.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/398265/original/file-20210503-17-fzbt4d.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/398265/original/file-20210503-17-fzbt4d.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/398265/original/file-20210503-17-fzbt4d.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/398265/original/file-20210503-17-fzbt4d.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/398265/original/file-20210503-17-fzbt4d.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/398265/original/file-20210503-17-fzbt4d.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">Could environmental pollutants be leading to infertility? Establishing cause and effect isn’t clear-cut.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Selective reporting</h2>
<p>In 2017, Swan and several colleagues published <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28981654/">an exhaustive review study</a> showing an apparent drop in men’s sperm counts of 59.3% between 1973 and 2011. This research informs the arguments Swan makes in Countdown and those we’ve seen in the media.</p>
<p>What’s not often mentioned is the fact the researchers only observed a decline in sperm count in groups of men from North America, Europe, Australia, and New Zealand, but not in groups of men from South America, Asia or Africa.</p>
<p>When Swan and her colleagues combined the data from all countries, they saw a decline because the studies of “Western” men outweigh those of men elsewhere (in the number of studies and participants).</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/huge-drop-in-mens-sperm-levels-confirmed-by-new-study-here-are-the-facts-81582">Huge drop in men's sperm levels confirmed by new study – here are the facts</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
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<p>Swan and her colleagues worked hard to avoid bias when conducting their study. But <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/9455838/">selection bias</a> (related to how study participants are chosen), <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/2406472/">publication bias</a> (resulting from researchers’ tendency to report only observations they think will be of interest) and other limitations of the original work used as the basis for their investigation could be influencing the results of the larger study.</p>
<p>Many studies from different parts of the world show declining sperm counts, which is concerning, but we don’t fully understand the <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32168194/">reasons for the apparent decline</a>. Blaming chemicals in the environment overlooks <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29774489/">other important factors</a> such as chronic disease, diet, and obesity, which people can act on to improve their fertility.</p>
<h2>The problem with extrapolation</h2>
<p>Swan’s 2017 study boils down to a straight descending line drawn between sperm counts of groups of men studied at different times between 1973 and 2011.</p>
<p>Just because a straight line can be drawn through the data, this doesn’t justify extrapolation of that line beyond its earliest and latest data points. It’s unscientific to assume trends in data exist outside the range of observations.</p>
<p>We know sperm counts of men in the early 1940s were around <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/1393072/">113 million sperm per ml of semen</a>, not the roughly 140 million/ml you get from extrapolating backwards from Swan’s research. Concluding sperm counts will reach zero in 2045, based on extrapolating forward from the available data, is just as likely to be incorrect. </p>
<p>When Swan told <a href="https://www.axios.com/newsletters/axios-future-e58ada65-1a84-4550-afd8-79d698bb7d38.html?stream=future&utm_campaign=newsletter_axiosfutureofwork&utm_medium=email&utm_source=newsletter">news website Axios</a> “If you look at the curve on sperm count and project it forward” she was encouraging unjustifiable and unscientific interpretation of her data — even though she acknowledged it was “risky” to extrapolate in this way. Unfortunately this caution is too often unmentioned.</p>
<p>For example, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2021/mar/18/toxic-chemicals-health-humanity-erin-brokovich">Brockovich writes</a>: “That would mean no babies. No reproduction. No more humans.” That’s hyperbole. It’s just not science.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="An illustration of sperm." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/398266/original/file-20210503-23-8j0tma.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/398266/original/file-20210503-23-8j0tma.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/398266/original/file-20210503-23-8j0tma.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/398266/original/file-20210503-23-8j0tma.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/398266/original/file-20210503-23-8j0tma.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/398266/original/file-20210503-23-8j0tma.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/398266/original/file-20210503-23-8j0tma.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">Swan has extrapolated from recent data to predict sperm counts could reach zero by 2045. But this isn’t necessarily accurate.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Relax, your penis isn’t shrinking</h2>
<p>Claims of shrinking penises are obvious clickbait. But only <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30403786/">a single study</a>, of 383 young men from the Veneto region in northeastern Italy, links men’s penis size to the types of chemicals Swan attributes to declining sperm counts.</p>
<p>Within Veneto there are <a href="https://figshare.com/articles/figure/Supplemental_Figure_1/7016234">geographic zones</a> with varied levels of PFAS contamination. A group of 212 men who live in areas with high or intermediate PFAS exposure and have high levels of these chemicals in their bodies, had an average penis length of 8.6cm, about 10% lower than the average of a group of 171 men from an area without exposure (9.7cm).</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/science-or-snake-oil-do-men-need-sperm-health-supplements-84379">Science or Snake Oil: do men need sperm health supplements?</a>
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<p>But a few features of this study affect the reliability of the observations and whether we can generalise them to other populations.</p>
<ol>
<li><p>men were grouped according to where they lived, not where they were born. Since genital size is <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30403786/">determined before birth</a>, the environment during their mothers’ pregnancies is more relevant to penis size than where the men lived at the time of the study. Some men will likely have relocated from their place of birth but how many, and where they may have moved to and from, we don’t know</p></li>
<li><p>the levels of PFAS exposure for men living in the contaminated regions of Veneto are extreme, because of <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29108835/">decades of industrial pollution</a>. How the potential effect of such large exposures relates to smaller and more common exposures to pollutants, like from plastic food wrap, we don’t know</p></li>
<li><p>the study is missing details about its subjects and the conditions under which measurements were made. It’s <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33748967/">usual</a> to exclude people with conditions that might affect study outcomes, such as congenital abnormalities, but it’s not clear whether this happened in the study. Variables that <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31171853/">influence penile measurements</a> (such as room temperature, posture, and whether the penis is held straight or hanging) are not mentioned.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>And from a semantic perspective, for penises to be “shrinking” they must be getting shorter over time, on either an individual or population basis. I cannot find any reports of men’s penises shortening as a consequence of environmental pollution. <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31171853/">Available data</a> <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25487360/">don’t suggest</a> a decline in penis size over the past few decades.</p>
<p>While environmental pollution is a pressing concern, the evidence suggests the catastrophic collapse of human reproduction and accompanying penis shrinkage is thankfully a pretty unlikely prospect.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/considering-using-ivf-to-have-a-baby-heres-what-you-need-to-know-108910">Considering using IVF to have a baby? Here's what you need to know</a>
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<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/160007/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Tim Moss is Health Content Manager at Healthy Male (formerly Andrology Australia). He is the current President of The Perinatal Society of Australia and New Zealand. </span></em></p>Warnings of an end to human sperm production have been making headlines recently, now with the added threat of shrinking penises. Is this science or sensationalism?Tim Moss, Adjunct Associate Professor, Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Monash UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1561212021-03-18T01:38:25Z2021-03-18T01:38:25ZTeeth contain detailed records of lead contamination in humans and other primates<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/390240/original/file-20210318-17-691fba.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C4478%2C2981&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>Lead is a powerful toxin. It can affect almost every organ and system in the body, and babies are extremely vulnerable to its harmful effects. Infants’ brains grow rapidly during the first year of life, and even low levels of lead exposure have been associated with brain development deficits. </p>
<p>It’s also more common than you might think. Many popular baby foods and infant formulas available in the US were recently <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0048969718334442">found</a> to contain elevated levels of lead and other heavy metals. </p>
<p>Few studies have examined Australian-sourced infant formulas and foods, and those that have show lead levels are generally low. However, more than half of the products sold in Australia are imported — so international problems are still a concern.</p>
<p>Lead leaves traces in growing teeth. In a new <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/bies.202000298">study</a> published in BioEssays, we used a very sensitive technique called laser-ablation mapping to analyse the teeth of young macaque monkeys. We found traces of lead from both commercial infant formula and the milk of their own mothers. This provided clues of events that happened years, or even decades, earlier.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/how-safe-is-your-baby-food-155443">How safe is your baby food?</a>
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<img alt="Diagram showing the process of laser-ablation mapping of teeth." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/386794/original/file-20210227-15-19cb2m2.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/386794/original/file-20210227-15-19cb2m2.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=289&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/386794/original/file-20210227-15-19cb2m2.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=289&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/386794/original/file-20210227-15-19cb2m2.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=289&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/386794/original/file-20210227-15-19cb2m2.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=364&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/386794/original/file-20210227-15-19cb2m2.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=364&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/386794/original/file-20210227-15-19cb2m2.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=364&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">How laser-ablation mapping works: a) the tooth is sliced open; b) a small sample is vaporised by laser; c) the levels of different elements over the span of tooth growth is determined with a mass spectrometer.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.nature.com/articles/ncomms15493">Arora et al. (2017), Nature Communications</a></span>
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<h2>The stories teeth tell</h2>
<p>The development of teeth records each day of our childhoods, <a href="https://thereader.mitpress.mit.edu/birth-certificate-neonatal-lines/">including birth</a>, as well as the chemistry of the food and water we consume. Public health specialists in Australia and the US have worked out <a href="https://www.scientificamerican.com/custom-media/mount-sinai/in-teeth-markers-of-disease/">how to measure</a> infants’ metal intake using the concentrations of different elements and growth lines in teeth. </p>
<p>Our team honed this analytical model through a 2013 <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/nature12169">study</a> of human, monkey, and Neanderthal nursing histories. We tracked changes in the trace element barium, which is stored in bones and teeth, and concentrated in calcium-rich milk. While barium is toxic in large amounts or certain compounds, small amounts in milk and foods like Brazil nuts do not seem to be particularly harmful. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/got-milk-our-breastfeeding-habits-are-older-than-you-think-14577">Got milk? Our breastfeeding habits are older than you think</a>
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<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/386789/original/file-20210227-19-1abud9u.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/386789/original/file-20210227-19-1abud9u.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=416&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/386789/original/file-20210227-19-1abud9u.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=416&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/386789/original/file-20210227-19-1abud9u.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=416&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/386789/original/file-20210227-19-1abud9u.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=523&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/386789/original/file-20210227-19-1abud9u.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=523&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/386789/original/file-20210227-19-1abud9u.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=523&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">Changes in the concentrations of different elements may indicate milk intake following birth (blue to orange), the end of exclusive suckling (orange to green), and the cessation of milk intake (green to blue) in primate teeth. The neonatal line (marked NL) marks birth, and identifying microscopic daily growth increments allows precise age estimates of childhood dietary changes, health challenges, and lead exposure.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://LINK.TK">Smith et al. BioEssays (2021).</a></span>
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<p>In our new study we were able to show a precise correspondence between the onset of suckling and elevated lead levels, which disappeared when the macaque infants stopped consuming Enfamil formula or mothers’ milk. Captive monkey mothers may be exposed to lead from water pipes or old paint, as lead was once a widely used paint additive that has a pleasant sweet taste.</p>
<h2>How barium and lead get into teeth</h2>
<p>Milk is an important source of calcium for infant growth, but it may also contain other less helpful ingredients. Barium and lead are known as <em>bone-seeking elements</em>: when abundant they can transfer to the bloodstream and substitute for calcium in the hard mineral that strengthens our growing bones and teeth. </p>
<p>We’ve also discovered that when young monkeys become very sick, they may tap their skeletal stores of calcium to maintain metabolic balance, also inadvertently releasing lead and barium from bones back into the bloodstream and ultimately locking them into growing teeth. This form of elemental recycling means that we can also explore health histories after individuals stop nursing. </p>
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<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/386796/original/file-20210227-23-153bzpy.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/386796/original/file-20210227-23-153bzpy.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=422&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/386796/original/file-20210227-23-153bzpy.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=422&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/386796/original/file-20210227-23-153bzpy.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=422&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/386796/original/file-20210227-23-153bzpy.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=531&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/386796/original/file-20210227-23-153bzpy.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=531&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/386796/original/file-20210227-23-153bzpy.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=531&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">Monkey molar showing formation timing on the microscope image (left) and lead concentrations (normalized to calcium on the right). Lead in the enamel drops markedly with the cessation of formula (Enfamil) intake at 112 days of age (red arrows), which is even more apparent in the underlying dentine. A second macaque infant provided Enfamil in 1976–77 also implicates this commercial source, consistent with reports of metal contamination of various human infant formulas. Image credit: Smith et al. (2021) <em>BioEssays</em>.</span>
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<p>The origin of lead found in humans’ teeth is more difficult to pin down than it is for captive monkeys. Likely factors range from <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2021/feb/22/lead-levels-among-children-in-south-australias-port-pirie-reach-decade-high">environmental pollution</a> and <a href="https://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/AK2102/S00130/no-level-of-lead-is-safe-in-drinking-water-says-master-plumbers.htm">drinking water</a> to soils used to grow food. Public health crises such as the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flint_water_crisis">water contamination in Flint, Michigan</a> in 2014–2015 are currently under investigation to better understand the timing and degree of lead exposure in children from that region. </p>
<p>Our new study also revealed wild primates can be exposed to lead in their natural environments. We found lead bands in the teeth of baboons that grew up in Ethiopia and orangutans from Borneo and Sumatra. While human industrial activity may explain some of these cases, we <a href="https://advances.sciencemag.org/content/4/10/eaau9483.full">recently uncovered</a> lead intake in Neanderthal children roughly 250,000 years ago. </p>
<p>In that instance the lead was likely derived from geological deposits in southeast France, a region that has since been commercially mined. The two Neanderthals likely ate or drank something contaminated with lead, although we couldn’t rule out the possibility they may have inhaled lead released into the air through combustion during the winter and early spring.</p>
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<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/what-teeth-can-tell-about-the-lives-and-environments-of-ancient-humans-and-neanderthals-104923">What teeth can tell about the lives and environments of ancient humans and Neanderthals</a>
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<p>Studies of nonhuman primates and ancient hominins help us to better understand our own physiology, including the sensitive recording systems inside our own bodies. They point to complex environmental problems as well as the dangers of the natural world. </p>
<p>Our study adds to the evidence that lead exposure is common around the world. To safeguard our health, we need better regulation of food, water, and air quality.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/156121/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Tanya M. Smith receives funding from the Australian Academy of Science and the Australian Research Council. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Christine Austin receives funding from the National Institutes of Health, USA. </span></em></p>Like rings in tree trunks, the layers of our teeth carry a detailed record of our growth — and reveal lead contamination is common.Tanya M. Smith, Professor in the Australian Research Centre for Human Evolution & Griffith Centre for Social and Cultural Research, Griffith UniversityChristine Austin, Assistant Professor of Environmental Medicine and Public Health, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount SinaiLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1318732020-02-24T15:54:42Z2020-02-24T15:54:42ZDark Waters’ pollution threat isn’t Hollywood hysteria – it could be a ticking timebomb worldwide<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/316863/original/file-20200224-24659-116i9jp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=10%2C0%2C1194%2C754&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Mark Ruffalo plays corporate defence attorney Robert Bilott in Dark Waters (2020).</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.focusfeatures.com/dark-waters/image/unit-16048">Focus Features</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>If you live in the US or Australia, you’re likely to know about PFAS (or perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances). But in the UK, few people have heard of them, despite one scientist I know describing the presence of these pollutants in UK groundwater as “a ticking timebomb”.</p>
<p>Dark Waters, directed by Todd Haynes and starring Mark Ruffalo, has helped popularise the story of PFAS pollution in the US. It focuses on true events in the US town of Parkersburg, West Virginia, where a local factory began making Teflon in the 1950s. Despite the industry <a href="https://www.business-humanrights.org/en/dupont-lawsuits-re-pfoa-pollution-in-usa">allegedly knowing the risks</a> of these compounds, <a href="https://www.alleghenyfront.org/ohio-river-communities-are-still-coping-with-teflons-toxic-legacy/">over 1.7 million pounds of PFOA</a> – a particular type of PFAS – were emitted to the environment between 1951 and 2003.</p>
<p>Research suggests that the safety threshold for PFOA in drinking water <a href="https://theintercept.com/2019/06/18/pfoa-pfas-teflon-epa-limit/">may be as low as 0.1 parts per trillion</a>. That’s 700 times lower than the safe level that <a href="https://pfasproject.com/2019/02/05/2019-pfas-conference/">has been cited by</a> the Environmental Protection Agency in the US. Since 1951, <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/3697324.stm">over 50,000 Parkersburg residents</a> have been affected by PFAO contamination in their drinking water. </p>
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<p>It wasn’t an incompetent small-time outfit that was implicated in the scandal, but the multinational DuPont. The case rolled on through the 1990s and early 2000s, ultimately resulting in <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2016/01/10/magazine/the-lawyer-who-became-duponts-worst-nightmare.html">a class action lawsuit</a> worth several hundred million dollars. But the toxic influence of PFAS stretches beyond Parkersburg and DuPont. Today, the whole planet is contaminated with them. </p>
<p>For much of my career, I’ve worked as an environmental forensic investigator, identifying sources of pollution and measuring the exposure to humans and wildlife. As scientists, we’re normally reserved in our choice of words, but PFAS could be described as one of the most dangerous groups of pollutants in the world today.</p>
<h2>Dream additive, nightmare pollutant</h2>
<p>PFAS are a group of synthetic organic chemicals that consist of multiple fluorine atoms attached to a carbon backbone. They are incredibly useful compounds with great waterproofing properties. They’re added to coats and coffee cups to stop liquids leaking in or out. They’re also used in food packaging to stop grease seeping through and frying pans to help make washing up easier. PFAS can also form effective foams which are used by firefighters to combat some of the most extreme fires, such as on oil rigs and in airports. So what’s the problem? </p>
<p>Well, for one, PFAS are highly toxic. They persist in the environment and accumulate in animal tissue so effectively that they’ve been nicknamed “<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2019/sep/11/pfas-toxic-forever-chemicals-hearing-3m-dupont-chemours">forever chemicals</a>”. PFAS exposure has been <a href="https://toxicfreefuture.org/key-issues/chemicals-of-concern/pfas-nonstick-nightmare/">linked to several different diseases</a>, including <a href="http://www.c8sciencepanel.org/">testicular and kidney cancer</a>. They are also soluble in water, which means that they can travel much faster through the environment than other persistent organic pollutants such as <a href="https://theconversation.com/killer-whales-why-more-than-half-worlds-orcas-are-threatened-by-leftover-industrial-chemicals-104020">PCBs</a> and <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-date-palm-seeds-can-remove-toxins-from-the-environment-60902">dioxins</a>. </p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/the-conversation-special-preview-film-screening-of-dark-waters-followed-by-exclusive-environmental-qanda-131792">The Conversation: special preview film screening of Dark Waters followed by exclusive environmental Q&A</a>
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<p>PFAS have been used for decades, and their levels in the environment are increasing. It’s only recently that we discovered that <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chemosphere.2016.08.126">they are even present</a> in remote Arctic regions, where there is no known local source. While research has helped establish contamination levels in the US and Australia, much less is known about the UK, where PFAS have been widely used for decades. They must be accumulating in the environment somewhere. </p>
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<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/316859/original/file-20200224-24655-1r3cs01.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/316859/original/file-20200224-24655-1r3cs01.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/316859/original/file-20200224-24655-1r3cs01.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/316859/original/file-20200224-24655-1r3cs01.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/316859/original/file-20200224-24655-1r3cs01.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/316859/original/file-20200224-24655-1r3cs01.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/316859/original/file-20200224-24655-1r3cs01.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">
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<span class="caption">PFAS are used in food packaging – including takeaway pizza boxes.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-illustration/pizza-boxes-stack-isolated-on-white-492189316">Maxx-Studio/Shutterstock</a></span>
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<p>Understanding the scale of the issue is one thing, and was an important first step in adding the PFAS compounds PFOS and PFOA to <a href="http://chm.pops.int/TheConvention/Overview/TextoftheConvention/tabid/2232/Default.aspx">the Stockholm Convention</a>, an international treaty focused on eliminating persistent organic pollutants, in 2009 and 2019 respectively. </p>
<p>The manufacture of these two chemicals is now being phased out, but other PFAS compounds are being used in their places. These are still likely to be toxic and persistent and to accumulate in ecosystems. <a href="https://www.oecd.org/officialdocuments/publicdisplaydocumentpdf/?cote=ENV-JM-MONO(2018)7&doclanguage=en">A recent study</a> estimated that there are over 4,700 different PFAS compounds in the world today. Rather than having high concentrations of a small number of PFAS, there is a high total concentration of a wide number of PFAS. The problem hasn’t gone away, it has just got more complicated.</p>
<h2>How we uncover the truth</h2>
<p>In forensic investigations of pollution, scientists have to identify who is responsible. The case depicted in Dark Waters was pretty clear cut, but there are so many different potential sources of PFAS, as they have been used widely for decades in many different products. This can make identifying one source of PFAS from another difficult. </p>
<p>I research new techniques for measuring pollutants in the environment that can differentiate between sources. One technique, called chemical fingerprinting, can identify sources of pollution by comparing the chemical composition of a suspected source material to the chemical signature found at the pollution site. This is similar to traditional forensic fingerprinting, where police compare a suspect’s fingerprints to those found at a crime scene. These signatures can change over time as the chemicals are degraded and altered in the environment, but we have developed methods to cope with this.</p>
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<span class="caption">Forensic investigators can now match pollution to its source in a similar fashion to detectives matching culprits to their fingerprints at a crime scene.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/taking-fingerprints-235287226">Viicha/Shutterstock</a></span>
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<p>Scientists are often hired as expert witnesses and called to court to present evidence and explain who is responsible for a pollution incident. While we might get paid by a company we are defending, our duty is to provide a balanced assessment of the evidence to the court. This is the only way that those who have been affected by environmental pollution can obtain some kind of justice.</p>
<p>Dark Waters might increase public awareness of PFAS in the UK and other countries when it launches on February 28, but could it drive research to uncover environmental contamination? Scientists have all the tools at their disposal to undertake this task. It is just a matter of funding and public support.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/131873/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>David Megson works and consults for Manchester Metropolitan University and Chemistry Matters – a team of experts that handles complex and litigious investigations involving environmental forensics.</span></em></p>PFAS have been used in everything from coffee cups to frying pans. But they’re toxic, and accumulating in the environment.David Megson, Senior Lecturer in Chemistry and Environmental Forensics, Manchester Metropolitan UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1184642019-07-14T10:51:54Z2019-07-14T10:51:54ZHow South Africa’s rural communities are getting a raw deal from mining<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/283507/original/file-20190710-44448-x7vm1p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Mining activities in South Africa's rural areas tend to occur at the expense of local communities and the environment.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Some of the most profitable South African mines are situated in the <a href="https://hsf.org.za/publications/hsf-briefs/mining-land-and-community-in-communal-areas-ii-mineral-rights-and-land-rights">areas of the country</a> that are home to traditional communities and are governed in terms of customary law. </p>
<p>Many of these developments have led to the <a href="https://www.bizcommunity.com/Article/196/558/76519.html">destruction</a> of the natural environment. And mining activities have also disrupted local ways of life. For example, residential homes have been <a href="https://mg.co.za/article/2018-07-27-00-scramble-for-minerals-leaves-rural-families-homeless">destroyed</a>. In others, violence has erupted within communities leading to <a href="https://www.hrw.org/report/2019/04/16/we-know-our-lives-are-danger/environment-fear-south-africas-mining-affected">the deaths</a> of people opposed to mining. </p>
<p>On top of this communities rarely <a href="https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2019-02-05-mining-brings-no-benefit-say-79-of-community-members-in-audit/">benefit</a> from mining. Instead, they’re exposed to pollution and health risks as well as disruptions to their livelihoods. </p>
<p>Unfortunately, communities are often let down by traditional leaders who are meant to represent their interests. Some have acted as barriers to local community participation and decision making. And some have entered into deals with the mining companies for personal profit, without local community consent.</p>
<p>There have been <a href="http://www.hsrc.ac.za/uploads/pageContent/6547/HSRC%20Review%20Nov%20to%20Dec%202015.pdf">legal cases</a>. For example, over a decade ago the Bakgatla-ba-Kgafela traditional community <a href="https://www.ajol.info/index.php/sacq/article/view/109085">attempted</a> to hold their traditional leader to account over assets and revenue derived from mining operations. The traditional leader sought an <a href="http://www.saflii.org/za/cases/ZACC/2015/25.html">interdict</a> against villagers from holding public meetings to discuss community concerns about mining and corruption. In the end the traditional leader was convicted of <a href="https://www.judgesmatter.co.za/opinions/judge-hendricks-in-the-hot-seat/">theft and corruption</a>.</p>
<p>I conducted a <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0264837718308664?dgcid=author">study</a> in the community of Fuleni located in Northern KwaZulu-Natal near the Great St Lucia Wetland Park, where a coal mining company is attempting to develop an anthracite open cast coal mine. </p>
<p>My fieldwork centred on the role of traditional leaders in the area. I conducted research spread over a year in Fuleni and neighbouring Somkele, and as part of a larger study on mining in South Africa. My findings included the fact that corruption played a role in blocking the local community’s concerns being taken on board when mining licences were considered. I also found that mining conglomerates exercise more control over the government and traditional chiefs than local communities.</p>
<h2>The research</h2>
<p>I interviewed key social actors. These included local community residents fighting mining, youth groups and civil society organisations that were providing support to the local community. </p>
<p>I found that there was a lack of transparency on how decisions were made about mining developments within the Fuleni traditional council. And that decisions weren’t in the interest of the community. The support for mining development within the traditional council was due to benefits received from <a href="https://www.iol.co.za/sunday-tribune/news/community-vs-coal-mining-giants-in-court-today-16691046">mining development</a>. </p>
<p>I also found that South Africa’s laws weren’t being enforced. </p>
<p>Firstly, the <a href="http://www.justice.gov.za/legislation/constitution/SAConstitution-web-eng.pdf">South African Constitution</a> protects peoples’ right to transparency, accountability and justice. These conditions were not being met. </p>
<p>In addition, specific laws – such as the <a href="https://cer.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/107-of-1998-National-Environmental-Management-Act_18-Dec-2014-to-date.pdf">1998 National Waste Management</a> Strategy and the <a href="https://www.gov.za/documents/national-environmental-management-act">1998 National Environmental Management Act</a> – designed to protect the environment were also being flouted. </p>
<p>These laws all point to the fact that the state has a duty to ensure that communities’ interests are genuinely taken into account during decision making processes over mining developments. </p>
<p>In addition, mining companies need to ensure that they’re operating within the law and to ensure that proper rehabilitation of the environment is done post-mining operations. </p>
<p>Another big challenge is monitoring the impact of mining once a licence is granted. A lack of human resources at all government levels means that this is done unevenly. As a result mining companies take advantage of enforcement loopholes. </p>
<h2>Traditional leaders</h2>
<p>Another major challenge is that the government is <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/joac.12179">proposing</a> new regulations that would strengthen the powers of traditional leaders. Traditional leaders often purport to be the only community representatives in negotiation processes with mining companies. </p>
<p>But reasserting the proprietary powers of chiefs in the name of “custom” would create a situation in which land could be indirectly transferred to mining corporations. </p>
<p>Even as things stand, communities are left vulnerable to exploitation by traditional leaders, mining companies and government. This is because of a lack of transparency – nobody knows what deals traditional leaders have done – is compounded by weaknesses in the regulatory framework. A sound framework would ensure genuine consultation, consent, and <a href="http://www.larc.uct.ac.za/sites/default/files/image_tool/images/347/NewsStories/In%20Good%20Company.pdf">downward accountability in mining communities</a>. </p>
<p>So far government has distanced itself from the challenges faced by mining affected communities. It needs to adopt a co-ordinated and integrated environmental management approach when it considers mining development and applications. And effective governance won’t happen unless the government and industry are transparent and employ credible participatory processes.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/118464/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Llewellyn Leonard 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>South Africa’s rural communities where mining licenses have been granted are often excluded from consultations and bear the brunt having their environment and livelihoods destroyed.Llewellyn Leonard, Professor Environmental Science, University of South AfricaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1139812019-04-02T21:04:24Z2019-04-02T21:04:24ZHow clean is your city? Just ask the bees<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/267155/original/file-20190402-177163-v9uujc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Honey can carry clues about where pollutants come from. </span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>There’s a good chance you live in a city — or will soon. According to estimates by the United Nations, two out of every three people will live in an urban area by 2050. </p>
<p>The environmental impact of such rapid urbanization is a global concern. Traditional methods of monitoring pollution such as soil and air sampling can be expensive and time consuming. </p>
<p>We need new tools to track heavy metals and other pollution. So, we came up with a novel approach — honey.</p>
<h2>A sweet beginning</h2>
<p>It all began with a question. Julia Common, the chief beekeeper at <a href="https://hivesforhumanity.com/">Hives for Humanity</a>, a Vancouver-based, non-profit organization of urban beekeepers, was asked repeatedly, “How clean is the honey from downtown Vancouver?”</p>
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<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/264950/original/file-20190320-93048-dmd0ff.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/264950/original/file-20190320-93048-dmd0ff.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/264950/original/file-20190320-93048-dmd0ff.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/264950/original/file-20190320-93048-dmd0ff.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/264950/original/file-20190320-93048-dmd0ff.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/264950/original/file-20190320-93048-dmd0ff.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/264950/original/file-20190320-93048-dmd0ff.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">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Sampling honey from hives to test for environmental pollutants.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Kate Smith</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Hives for Humanity manages about 200 hives within Vancouver. They’re on rooftops in the bustling city centre, near city gardens, in residential back yards and on farms in Delta, one of British Columbia’s major agricultural hubs. The organization doesn’t only produce honey, they also manage several therapeutic beekeeping programs. </p>
<p>To help answer this question, Dr. Dominique Weis, the director of the <a href="http://pcigr.eos.ubc.ca/">Pacific Centre for Isotopic and Geochemical Research</a>, measured a suite of trace elements (including lead, titanium and cadmium and others) in some of the honey from Hives for Humanity. <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41893-019-0243-0">The honey</a> was clean, well below the <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/1541-4337.12182">worldwide average</a> for heavy metals like lead. </p>
<p>But when Weis started looking more closely at the data, she realized that the honey carried additional clues about where the metals came from — and could be linked to land use and human activity in the immediate vicinity of the hive.</p>
<h2>Bee-sourcing science</h2>
<p>When honeybees forage for pollen and nectar, they also pick up dust and other small particles, and carry it back to the hive where it is incorporated into the honey and other hive products. </p>
<p>Since bees rarely forage more than two to three kilometres from their hive, the honey provides a chemical snapshot of the environment surrounding the hive. This phenomenon has been exploited in a number of studies to assess not only the levels of certain metals in the environment, but also the <a href="http://science.sciencemag.org/content/358/6359/109">effects of pesticides</a> and the environmental impact of <a href="https://doi.org/10.1051/apido:2005043">nuclear fallout</a>.</p>
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<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/sKkEF1KdPM4?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
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<p>Our study showed that honey collected from areas of higher urban density contains elevated levels of metals, including tin, lead, cadmium, copper and zinc. Antimony, for example, is elevated in honey from downtown Vancouver, relative to suburban and rural honey, presumably due to stop-and-go traffic, as antimony is a component in vehicle break pads. </p>
<p>Other batches of honey sampled from areas near the shipping port, showed higher levels of vanadium, which can be found in heavy fuel oils burned by large engines such as those on cargo ships. </p>
<p>Even though we could find these trace elements in the honey samples, the concentrations were too low to pose any health risk. An adult would have to eat more than 600 grams of Vancouver honey per day to exceed tolerable daily lead intake levels. </p>
<h2>Fingerprinting honey</h2>
<p>We also analysed the different forms of lead, called isotopes, found in the honey to see how land use influenced the type of lead found in the environment. This had been tried only once before, <a href="https://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/acs.est.7b04084">in Australia</a>. </p>
<p>Because each source of lead has a characteristic isotopic composition, this approach is a little like fingerprinting the lead. Honey from industrial or heavily populated sectors of the city has a different lead fingerprint than local, natural lead found, for example, in the rocks from the <a href="https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/ggge.20191">Garibaldi volcanic belt</a> or <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chemgeo.2014.05.028">sediment from the Fraser River</a>. That means that the lead observed in honey from downtown hives is likely the result of human activities. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/267154/original/file-20190402-177178-10hjwml.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/267154/original/file-20190402-177178-10hjwml.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/267154/original/file-20190402-177178-10hjwml.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/267154/original/file-20190402-177178-10hjwml.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/267154/original/file-20190402-177178-10hjwml.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/267154/original/file-20190402-177178-10hjwml.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/267154/original/file-20190402-177178-10hjwml.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">Vanadium can be found in heavy fuel oils like those used by large cargo ships.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Overall, the chemical signature in honey from any sector of the city reflects a combination of the botanical offerings that surround the hive, as well as other pollution sources associated with land use: traffic, shipping, rail yards and agriculture. </p>
<h2>Monitoring change</h2>
<p>The honey paints a comprehensive picture of current trace metal distribution throughout Metro Vancouver. In the future, we can look for variations, as the city grows and changes over the next century. Cities are dynamic and experience constant shifts in land use, population growth, aging infrastructure and climate change (especially coastal cities). </p>
<p>Because honey bees live where humans live, the method could be used anywhere hives exist. This makes it possible for cities around the world to harness the power of the honeybee, even if they lack more traditional environmental monitoring infrastructure.</p>
<p>Urban gardening and urban beekeeping are rising in popularity, which makes projects like these all the more amenable to community participation. </p>
<p>The benefit of engaging the community in the scientific process is that everyone gains a deeper appreciation for their environment and local ecology. That, like the honey in Vancouver, is a sweet outcome!</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/113981/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Kate Smith receives funding from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada, the Peter Wall Institute for Advanced Studies and the University of British Columbia. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Diane Hanano receives funding from the University of British Columbia. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Dominique Weis receives funding from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada, the Peter Wall Institute for Advanced Studies, the University of British Columbia and the Canada Foundation for Innovation.</span></em></p>Urban pollutants are a health concern in growing cities. Scientists are turning to honey bees to help monitor contaminants in soil, water, air and plants.Kate E. Smith, PhD Candidate, University of British ColumbiaDiane Hanano, Research Manager, University of British ColumbiaDominique Weis, Professor, University of British ColumbiaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1123462019-04-02T10:41:42Z2019-04-02T10:41:42ZKids exposed to flame retardant PBDE are at risk for lifelong liver or cardiovascular problems<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/266586/original/file-20190329-70986-1q75yi3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Most baby clothes, toys, bedding and furniture are treated with flame-retardant chemicals.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/baby-clothes-newborn-pastel-colors-326694860">vkuslandia/SHutterstock.com</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>What factors determine if you will experience healthy and cheerful aging or if it will turn into an endless chain of suffering from numerous health conditions? </p>
<p>Many factors shape our health, including genetics, diet, physical activity, smoking and stress. Some other factors may be as powerful but may not yet be recognized. </p>
<p>I am an environmental toxicologist studying how man-made chemicals affect our health. I was always interested in understanding how our current health is shaped by chemical exposures during the embryonic and early postnatal period – life stages that are particularly sensitive to environmental stressors. </p>
<p>To address these questions, I focused on the analysis of long-term health effects induced by a family of chemicals used as flame retardants called <a href="https://www.epa.gov/sites/production/files/2014-03/documents/ffrrofactsheet_contaminant_perchlorate_january2014_final_0.pdf">polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs)</a>. The first patent for PBDE use as a flame retardant was issued in 1960, and manufacturing of commercial products containing PBDEs, such as building materials, electronics, furnishings, motor vehicles, plastics, polyurethane foams, baby pajamas and others, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2008.05.003">began in 1965</a>. PBDEs were first detected by scientists in <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/0045-6535(87)90291-8">animal tissues in the 1980s</a>. </p>
<p>Later studies showed that concentrations of these chemicals in human blood, milk and tissues were <a href="http://doi.org/10.1021/es035082g">increasing exponentially over the past 30 years, doubling every five years</a>, while their health effects were poorly understood.</p>
<h2>Early exposures trigger lifelong changes in blood lipids</h2>
<p>In one of my experiments, I fed mice one of the PBDEs most often found in human blood and milk – BDE-47. The <a href="http://doi.org/10.1210/js.2016-1011">female mice received it</a> from day 8 of their pregnancy until the end of nursing (postpartum day 21). </p>
<p>We exposed mice to 0.2 milligrams of this chemical per kilogram of body weight. This caused BDE-47 concentrations in the fat of experimental animals to reach similar levels to concentrations found in humans living in big American cities. This comparison is used in toxicology to ensure that laboratory experiments use doses relevant for human exposures. </p>
<p>We were surprised to find that triglyceride levels were significantly altered in the offspring of exposed mothers, even though exposure to BDE-47 ceased three months earlier. Triglycerides are main constituents of body fat and cell membranes in humans and other animals.</p>
<p>To understand how BDE-47 changes blood triglycerides and other lipids, <a href="http://doi.org/10.3389/fendo.2018.00548">my laboratory conducted another experiment</a> with mice. Lipids are insoluble molecules that are used to store energy and as structural components of cell membranes. </p>
<p>We hypothesized that changes in blood lipids result from changes in liver function. It is well-known that the liver regulates composition of lipids in blood. The liver can synthesize new lipids, destroy them, secrete lipids to blood and absorb them from blood. </p>
<p>To test our hypothesis, we exposed female mice to BDE-47 daily during pregnancy or during the period of lactation and analyzed health outcomes in offspring when they reached one year old – roughly equivalent to 50 years in humans. </p>
<p>This experiment again demonstrated that short-term exposure to BDE-47 during early steps of development results in long-lasting effects on blood lipids in mice. These effects were very similar in animals that were exposed during the embryonic period or during nursing. </p>
<h2>Reprogramming the balance of lipid in blood and liver</h2>
<p>In exposed animals, levels of blood triglycerides fell by half, and <a href="http://doi.org/10.3389/fendo.2018.00548">livers accumulated 20 percent to 40 percent more lipids than in mice that were never exposed to the chemical</a>. Activity of many liver genes encoding enzymes important for lipid metabolism was altered in exposed mice. </p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/266845/original/file-20190401-177196-xgnkmm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/266845/original/file-20190401-177196-xgnkmm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/266845/original/file-20190401-177196-xgnkmm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/266845/original/file-20190401-177196-xgnkmm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/266845/original/file-20190401-177196-xgnkmm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/266845/original/file-20190401-177196-xgnkmm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/266845/original/file-20190401-177196-xgnkmm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/266845/original/file-20190401-177196-xgnkmm.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"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Stages of liver damage. In severe cases, high levels of fat in the liver can lead to liver cancer.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-vector/stages-liver-damage-disease-healthy-fatty-1071451652">wowow/Shutterstock.com</a></span>
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</figure>
<p>Among key proteins involved in lipid metabolism, one was particularly high. This protein – CD36 – is responsible for pumping lipids from blood to the liver. Increased amount of CD36 in exposed animals is likely responsible for lowering lipids in blood and raising them in the liver, resulting in increased accumulation of these fats in the liver. </p>
<p>We observed that lower-exposure dose (0.2 mg/kg) and higher-exposure dose (1.0 mg/kg) regulated CD36 in opposite directions. Lower dose resulted in decreased CD36 and elevated blood triglycerides, while higher dose raised CD36 and decreased blood triglycerides. We think it is important to note that both tested doses were in the range of human exposures. </p>
<h2>Do changes in CD36 pose health risks?</h2>
<p>Our findings demonstrate that exposure to BDE-47 during early development can alter the levels of CD36 in either direction in mice and that both increase and decrease in CD36 may be deleterious. </p>
<p>When we exposed mice to high doses of BDE-47, this increased levels of the CD36 protein, which causes excessive accumulation of fat in liver cells. This condition is called nonalcoholic fatty liver disease. It is the <a href="http://doi.org/10.1002/hep.20701">most common form of chronic</a> <a href="http://doi.org/10.1097/01.mpg.0000239995.58388.56">liver disease among adults and children</a>. </p>
<p>Around <a href="https://doi.org/10.1002/hep.20466">one-third of the American population has</a> nonalcoholic fatty liver disease, and it is a risk factor for <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/nrgastro.2013.41">Type 2 diabetes, hypertension, cardiovascular and kidney disease</a>, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhep.2011.10.027">liver cirrhosis and liver cancer</a>.</p>
<p>On the other hand, decreased activity of CD36 will lead to higher lipid levels in the blood and result in <a href="https://medlineplus.gov/atherosclerosis.html">atherosclerosis</a> – a disease in which plaques of lipids build on the walls of vessels. Atherosclerosis is the primary risk factors for <a href="https://healthmetrics.heart.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/Heart-Disease-and-Stroke-Statistics-2017-ucm_491265.pdf">heart attack, which causes around 800,000 deaths annually</a> in the U.S. alone. Thus, early life exposure to this environmental chemical may completely reprogram lifelong health trajectory.</p>
<p>Studies published by other laboratories confirm that <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s00204-018-2292-y">PBDEs disrupt lipid metabolism in rats</a> and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s00204-018-2177-0">increase risk of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease</a> in mice exposed during early steps of development.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/266843/original/file-20190401-177163-1eavddz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/266843/original/file-20190401-177163-1eavddz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=280&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/266843/original/file-20190401-177163-1eavddz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=280&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/266843/original/file-20190401-177163-1eavddz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=280&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/266843/original/file-20190401-177163-1eavddz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=352&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/266843/original/file-20190401-177163-1eavddz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=352&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/266843/original/file-20190401-177163-1eavddz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=352&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">High levels of blood triglycerides can cause the buildup of fatty plaques that eventually block blood flow.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-illustration/closeup-atherosclerosis-3d-rendering-1036109620">Crevis/Shutterstock.com</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Still at risk?</h2>
<p><a href="https://doi.org/10.1021/es303879n">PBDEs were banned in Europe by 2008</a> and <a href="https://www.epa.gov/sites/production/files/2014-03/documents/ffrrofactsheet_contaminant_perchlorate_january2014_final_0.pdf">voluntarily withdrawn by industry in North America by 2013</a>. It is likely that PBDEs’ production ceased all over the world, although data are missing for many regions. However these chemicals are still present in products used in U.S. households and cars. PBDEs are very stable compounds. Once released into the environment, they accumulate in sediments and in fatty tissues of wildlife and humans and stay there for many years. For example, the <a href="https://doi.org/10.1021/es1035046">half-life of different PBDEs</a> in the human body is between one and seven years. In the environment they found their way to fatty tissues of animals, many of which represent important sources of food for us.</p>
<p>Although production of PBDEs has ceased in developed countries, some studies report that concentrations of PBDEs in human tissues in the U.S. <a href="http://doi.org/10.1021/acs.est.7b00565">continue to grow</a>. </p>
<p>People born in the U.S. and Canada during the last 15 to 20 years were exposed during their early life to environmental concentrations of PBDE, comparable to those that reprogrammed lipid metabolism in our experiments with mice. Thus, we believe that about 20 percent of the North American population may be at risk of conditions associated with altered lipid concentrations in blood and liver. </p>
<p>Will these people develop aging-related conditions more readily than previous generations? The answer is yet to come. It is likely that PBDEs are not the only culprit. Many other ubiquitous pollutants, such as <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tox.2012.07.007">polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs)</a>, <a href="https://www.toxicology.org/pubs/docs/Tox/2018Tox.pdf">dioxin (TCDD) and perfluorinated compounds (PFOS, PFNA)</a>, are known today to affect CD36 in mice. </p>
<p>It is not yet clear if effects of these other chemicals are as long-lasting as effects of PBDE. It is also not yet clear if effects of chemical exposures observed in mice are the same in humans. Mice are the most widely used animal model for testing the toxicity of pharmaceuticals and industrial chemicals, and animal toxicology studies generally are applicable to humans, <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK215893/">although responses of laboratory animals</a> and humans to chemicals may differ in type and severity.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/112346/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Alexander Suvorov receives funding from:
1. University of Massachusetts - Amherst (startup funding), expired
2. Institute of general Genetics of the Russian Academy of Sciences (research contract), expired
3. USA Department of State (research grant), expired
4. USA National Institutes of Health (research grant), current</span></em></p>Brief exposure to a family of chemicals used as flame retardants early in life can permanently alter fat levels in the blood and liver, raising the risk of liver cancer and heart disease.Alexander Suvorov, Assistant Professor, UMass AmherstLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1084202019-01-15T23:35:25Z2019-01-15T23:35:25ZAs the oceans rise, so do your risks of breast cancer<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/253973/original/file-20190115-152989-29vjbg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Evidence shows that the growth of air pollutants -- as well as rising temperatures, increased rain and flooding -- connect breast cancer with climate change. </span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shnutterstock)</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>It is encouraging to see greater attention in the media to the issue of climate change and its effects on the life-support systems of the planet. The link between breast cancer and the environment, however, is being overlooked. </p>
<p>Premenopausal women exposed to high levels of air pollution have a 30 per cent increased risk for breast cancer, according to <a href="https://journals.lww.com/environepidem/Fulltext/2018/09000/Residential_exposure_to_fine_particulate_matter.2.aspx">a paper in <em>Environmental Epidemiology</em></a> published by Paul Villeneuve, a professor of occupational and environmental health at Carleton University, and his research team last year.</p>
<p>This should trigger a wake-up call given that we tend to think of breast cancer as a disease of aging women.</p>
<p>In fact, the science of breast cancer tells us that “<a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1179/107735209799449761">genetic susceptibility makes only a small to moderate contribution</a>” to breast cancer. The known risk factors — such as family history, age, gender, ethnicity and hormones — account for <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22129067">only around three in 10 cases</a>.</p>
<p>The other 70 per cent are likely related mostly to environment — including the air, water and soil, the places we live and work in and the products we consume — according to current research. </p>
<p>In Canada, <a href="http://www.cancer.ca/en/cancer-information/cancer-type/breast/statistics/?region=on">over 26,300 women were diagnosed with breast cancer in 2017</a> so that 70 per cent represents a lot of women. </p>
<h2>Carcinogens in the workplace</h2>
<p><a href="https://doi.org/10.1186/1476-069X-11-87">Our work environments</a> are part of this story. </p>
<p>A paper published last November in <em>New Solutions Journal</em> <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/1048291118810900">points to workplace exposures as the cause for one woman’s breast cancer</a>.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/253977/original/file-20190115-152968-1ugnkcg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/253977/original/file-20190115-152968-1ugnkcg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=384&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/253977/original/file-20190115-152968-1ugnkcg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=384&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/253977/original/file-20190115-152968-1ugnkcg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=384&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/253977/original/file-20190115-152968-1ugnkcg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=482&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/253977/original/file-20190115-152968-1ugnkcg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=482&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/253977/original/file-20190115-152968-1ugnkcg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=482&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Climate activists protest against global warming in Katowice, Poland, Dec. 8, 2018, during the COP24 UN Climate Change Conference.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(AP Photo/Alik Keplicz)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Using the evidence presented at a worker’s compensation hearing, Michael Gilbertson, a former federal government biologist who studied the health effects of toxic chemicals, and Jim Brophy, an occupational health researcher, found that they could infer a causal relationship between the woman’s diagnosis of breast cancer and her high exposure to air pollution — as a border guard at the bridge connecting Windsor, Ont. to Detroit, Mich.</p>
<p>Despite the scientific evidence highlighting environmental factors and the important role they likely play in contributing to breast cancer, the woman at the bridge was denied compensation. </p>
<p>She was denied even though breast cancers were occurring in this region at a rate up to 16 times higher than the rest of the county, and in an environment with <a href="https://doi.org/10.1002/cncr.22653">pollutants containing known breast carcinogens</a> such as benzene and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons. </p>
<p>It is not surprising, given that environment is regularly ignored when we talk about breast cancer.</p>
<h2>A disease of our communities</h2>
<p>When researchers study what women know about breast cancer they find a focus on cures, detection and treatments. What’s often missing from their list is prevention, and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/10410236.2010.496836">prevention is often confused with early detection</a>. </p>
<p>Primary prevention means stopping cancer before it starts — not finding it and treating it early, although that too is important. Women’s knowledge of breast cancer is importantly <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-9566.00274">connected to media and medical practitioner’s messages</a>. </p>
<p>Forecasts of the future of cancer tell us that <a href="https://www.canada.ca/en/public-health/services/chronic-diseases/cancer/canadian-cancer-statistics.html">one in two Canadians</a> will likely be diagnosed with cancer in their lifetime. Projections show rising rates of many cancers, including breast cancer.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/253978/original/file-20190115-152983-gzxym1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/253978/original/file-20190115-152983-gzxym1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/253978/original/file-20190115-152983-gzxym1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/253978/original/file-20190115-152983-gzxym1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/253978/original/file-20190115-152983-gzxym1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/253978/original/file-20190115-152983-gzxym1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/253978/original/file-20190115-152983-gzxym1.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">The Miami Tower is lit up pink and purple for Metastatic Breast Cancer Awareness Day, on Oct. 13, 2018 in Miami. There are 155,000 women in the United States living with this cancer.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Jesus Aranguren/AP Images for AstraZeneca</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Dr. Ted Schettler, who wrote <a href="https://www.healthandenvironment.org/docs/EcologyOfBreastCancer_Schettler.pdf"><em>The Ecology of Breast Cancer</em></a> argues:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>“breast cancer is not only a disease of abnormal cells, but also of communities we create and live in.” </p>
</blockquote>
<p>If we apply his argument, it means we can create conditions for fewer future breast cancers. The question then becomes how? </p>
<h2>We cannot blame women</h2>
<p>To start, we need to make prevention at least as much a priority as early detection, better treatments and the search for cures. We also have to take a good look at all suspected causes. </p>
<p>Conversations about prevention often stir debate about what is to blame for the breast cancer rates we are seeing. But an aging population of women who make bad lifestyle choices doesn’t explain increases in breast cancers in more and younger women. </p>
<p>It doesn’t explain why women who migrate from countries with lower rates of breast cancer develop the same rates within 10 years of living in their new homes. It also doesn’t explain the clusters of breast cancers in regions with high levels of air pollution containing definitive breast carcinogens.</p>
<p>We need confidence in what the science is already showing us about the role of <a href="https://ehjournal.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12940-017-0287-4#Sec49">environmental and workplace hazards</a> in breast cancer causation. </p>
<p>Indeed, the evidence points to <a href="https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2017-10/ssi-ete101017.php">associations between numerous environmental pollutants</a> and an increased risk for breast cancer — <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17503434">including pesticides, herbicides, synthetic chemicals, endocrine disrupting chemicals and vehicle emissions</a>. <a href="https://journals.lww.com/joem/Abstract/2011/05000/Breast_Cancer_Risk_Associated_With_Residential.10.aspx">Living and working in proximity to these exposures</a>, especially during vulnerable windows of development, is <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1240618/">putting women</a> at <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22129067">high risk</a>. </p>
<p><a href="https://doi.org/10.1186/1476-069X-11-87">Some occupations</a>, including radiology, pharmacy, health care, hairdressing, working with plastics, manufacturing, agriculture, working as airline crew and firefighting, also <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/1048291118758460">carry a higher risk</a>. These <a href="https://d124kohvtzl951.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/02025357/Report_Working-Women-and-Breast-Cancer_August_2015.pdf">occupational sectors employ thousands of thousands of women</a> worldwide. </p>
<p>We need greater awareness and extended programmes that focus on these environmental and workplace causes. And we need to create and enforce policies and put regulations in place that prevent such exposures.</p>
<h2>The climate change link</h2>
<p>The women in Paul Villeneuve’s study are not unlike the female border guard. These cases are all linked to high levels of air pollution. Their stories are those of countless other women who face exposures to breast carcinogens in many Canadian urban environments and workplaces with high levels of traffic and industrial pollution.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/253979/original/file-20190115-152983-1aieub2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/253979/original/file-20190115-152983-1aieub2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/253979/original/file-20190115-152983-1aieub2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/253979/original/file-20190115-152983-1aieub2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/253979/original/file-20190115-152983-1aieub2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/253979/original/file-20190115-152983-1aieub2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/253979/original/file-20190115-152983-1aieub2.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">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Flooding, as a result of climate change, can move contaminants to places where greater exposure by humans is possible. Here Suzanne Diamond walks through floodwaters from Lac-Saint-Pierre in Yamachiche, Que., in May 2017.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(THE CANADIAN PRESS/Ryan Remiorz)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>We also have evidence that these exposures are increasing, as our climate is changing. This link is complex, as is so much about cancer generally. Air pollution is <a href="https://www.who.int/sustainable-development/AirPollution_Climate_Health_Factsheet.pdf">one of the many causes of climate change</a> as well as <a href="https://journals.lww.com/environepidem/Fulltext/2018/09000/Residential_exposure_to_fine_particulate_matter.2.aspx">breast cancer</a>.</p>
<p>It is also believed that increased ambient air temperatures may change the effects of chemical contaminants on humans and that increased precipitation and flooding will <a href="https://setac.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/etc.2046">move contaminants to places where greater exposure by humans is possible</a>. </p>
<p>Finally, as the incidence of fires increase with climate change, exposures to chemicals associated with the development of breast cancer often found in fires also increase. Studies are now investigating <a href="http://womenfirefighterstudy.com/about/">possible elevated incidence of breast cancer among women firefighters</a>. They are clearly a highly exposed group and may be just one example of women bearing an elevated breast cancer risk.</p>
<h2>Prevention a priority</h2>
<p>At this important moment in history, as we debate the poor state of the environment and the adverse outcomes associated with it, we have the opportunity to make prevention of the many diseases — including breast cancer — a priority. </p>
<p>Many stories report on the numerous health problems connected to climate change including other cancers, cardiovascular disease, fertility problems, asthma, adverse birth outcomes, disabilities, diabetes and stroke. And yet, despite increasing evidence of an association between breast cancer and environmental exposures, the media does not cover this piece of the story.</p>
<p>We must do the work now to create a future where we won’t have to surrender our good health to unregulated exposure to known and suspected breast carcinogens. Instead we must <a href="https://deainfo.nci.nih.gov/ADVISORY/pcp/annualReports/pcp08-09rpt/PCP_Report_08-09_508.pdf">implement the precautionary principle</a> — in our communities, our workplaces and across our planet.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/108420/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jane McArthur receives funding from Social Sciences Humanities Research Council (SSHRCC)</span></em></p>Most cases of breast cancer are related to environmental causes. When we talk about climate change, we must not forget this part of the story.Jane E. McArthur, Doctoral Candidate in Sociology, University of WindsorLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/883732017-12-27T16:57:30Z2017-12-27T16:57:30ZRead this before you go sales shopping: the environmental costs of fast fashion<p>It’s tough to love our clothes and <a href="http://www.catexel.com/news/market-experts-explore-ways-lighten-textiles-environmental-load/">keep wearing them for longer</a> when we are faced with a tempting array of newness on offer in the shops. But before you head out into the January sales for those irresistible deals, spare a thought for the impact of fast fashion on the environment.</p>
<p>Fast fashion focuses on speed and low cost in order to deliver frequent new collections inspired by catwalk looks or celebrity styles. But it is <a href="http://www.greenpeace.org/international/en/news/Blogs/makingwaves/fast-fashion-drowning-world-fashion-revolution/blog/56222/">particularly bad</a> for the environment as pressure to reduce cost and the time it takes to get a product from design to shop floor means that environmental corners are more likely <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/sustainable-business/2017/jun/13/hm-zara-marks-spencer-linked-polluting-viscose-factories-asia-fashion">to be cut</a>. Criticisms of fast fashion <a href="http://www.thefashionlaw.com/learn/fast-fashions-green-initiatives-dont-believe-the-hype">include</a> its negative environmental impact, water pollution, the use of toxic chemicals and increasing levels of textile waste.</p>
<p>Vibrant colours, prints and fabric finishes are appealing features of fashion garments, but many of these are achieved with <a href="http://source.ethicalfashionforum.com/article/10-toxic-chemicals-to-avoid-in-your-products">toxic chemicals</a>. Textile dyeing is the <a href="http://file.scirp.org/Html/4-8301582_17027.htm">second largest</a> polluter of clean water globally, after agriculture. Greenpeace’s recent Detox campaign has been instrumental in pressuring fashion brands to take action to remove toxic chemicals from their supply chains, after it tested a number of brands’ products and confirmed the presence of <a href="http://www.greenpeace.org/eastasia/press/releases/toxics/2012/toxic-chemicals-detox-zara/">hazardous chemicals</a>. Many of these are <a href="http://e360.yale.edu/features/can_waterless_dyeing_processes_clean_up_clothing_industry_pollution">banned or strictly regulated</a> in various countries because they are toxic, bio-accumulative (meaning the substance builds up in an organism faster than the organism can excrete or metabolise it), disruptive to hormones and carcinogenic.</p>
<p>Polyester is <a href="http://textileexchange.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/TE-Preferred-Fiber-Market-Report-Oct2016-1.pdf">the most popular</a> fibre used for fashion. But when <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2016/jun/20/microfibers-plastic-pollution-oceans-patagonia-synthetic-clothes-microbeads">polyester garments</a> are washed in domestic washing machines they shed microfibers that add to the increasing levels of plastic in our oceans. These microfibers are <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/sustainable-business/2017/feb/12/seafood-microfiber-pollution-patagonia-guppy-friend">minute</a> and can easily pass through sewage and wastewater treatment plants into our waterways, but because they do not biodegrade, they represent a serious threat to aquatic life. Small creatures such as plankton eat the microfibres, which then make their way up the food chain to <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/sustainable-business/2017/feb/12/seafood-microfiber-pollution-patagonia-guppy-friend">fish and shellfish</a> eaten by humans.</p>
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<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/how-your-pile-of-laundry-fills-the-sea-with-plastic-pollution-80109">How your pile of laundry fills the sea with plastic pollution</a>
</strong>
</em>
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<hr>
<p>The devastating impact of toxic chemical use in agriculture for growing cotton was shown in a documentary called <a href="https://truecostmovie.com/">The True Cost</a>, including the death of a US cotton farmer from a brain tumour and serious birth defects in Indian cotton farmers’ children. Cotton growing requires high levels of <a href="https://ejfoundation.org/what-we-do/cotton/the-true-costs-of-cotton">water and pesticides</a> to prevent crop failure, which can be problematic in <a href="https://www.statista.com/statistics/263055/cotton-production-worldwide-by-top-countries/">developing countries</a> that may lack sufficient investment and be at risk of drought. </p>
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<p>Most cotton grown worldwide is <a href="https://truecostmovie.com/learn-more/environmental-impact/">genetically modified</a> to be resistant to the bollworm pest, thereby improving yield and reducing pesticide use. But this can also lead to <a href="http://livebettermagazine.com/article/the-dark-side-of-genetically-modified-foods/">problems</a> further down the line, such as the emergence of “superweeds” which are resistant to standard pesticides. They often need to be treated with more toxic pesticides that are harmful to livestock and humans. </p>
<p>There is growing interest in organic cotton, with H&M and Inditex, the parent company of Zara, featuring among the world’s <a href="https://textileexchange.org/downloads/2017-organic-cotton-market-report/">top five</a> users of organic cotton by volume in 2016. But overall use of organic cotton represents <a href="https://www.c-and-a.com/uk/en/corporate/company/newsroom/featured-stories/2016/for-the-love-of-fashion/">less than 1%</a> of the world’s total annual cotton crop.</p>
<h2>Hunger for newness</h2>
<p>Textile waste is an unintended consequence of fast fashion, as more people buy more clothes and don’t keep them as long as they used to. The international expansion of fast fashion retailers exacerbates the problem on a global scale. Wardrobes in developed nations are saturated, so in order to sell more products, retailers must tempt shoppers with constant newness and convince them the items they already have are no longer fashionable. </p>
<p>Increasing disposable income levels over <a href="https://www.economist.com/news/finance-and-economics/21730674-gap-closing-millennials-are-doing-better-baby-boomers-did">recent generations</a> means there is less need to “make do and mend”, as it’s often cheaper and more convenient to buy new <a href="https://theconversation.com/community-repair-a-pop-up-alternative-to-the-throwaway-society-75821">than have an item repaired</a>. Busy lifestyles make many people more time-poor than previous generations, and with the loss of sewing and mending skills over time, there is less impetus to repair our garments. The rise of supermarket fashion that can be purchased alongside the weekly shop and the regular occurrence of seasonal sales make clothing seem “disposable”, in a way it didn’t used to be.</p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/community-repair-a-pop-up-alternative-to-the-throwaway-society-75821">Community repair: a pop-up alternative to the throwaway society</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
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<p>There is interest in moving towards a more circular model of textile production which <a href="https://daily.jstor.org/fashion-forward-three-revolutionary-fabrics-greening-industry/">reuses</a> materials wherever possible, yet current recycling rates for textiles are <a href="https://www.ellenmacarthurfoundation.org/publications/a-new-textiles-economy-redesigning-fashions-future">very low</a>. Despite a long-established national network of charity shops and increasing numbers of in-store recycling points in UK high street stores, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2017/apr/06/britons-expected-to-send-235m-items-of-clothing-to-landfill-this-spring">three-quarters of Britons</a> throw away unwanted clothing, rather than donating or recycling it.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/199931/original/file-20171219-4995-wr6a6a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/199931/original/file-20171219-4995-wr6a6a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/199931/original/file-20171219-4995-wr6a6a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/199931/original/file-20171219-4995-wr6a6a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/199931/original/file-20171219-4995-wr6a6a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=504&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/199931/original/file-20171219-4995-wr6a6a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=504&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/199931/original/file-20171219-4995-wr6a6a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=504&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">No more make do and mend.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/home">wwww.shutterstock.com</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>What shoppers can do</h2>
<p>So, can consumers reduce the environmental cost of fast fashion when out shopping? Choosing an eco-friendly fabric is complex as there are <a href="https://www.nrdc.org/sites/default/files/CBD-Fiber-Selection-FS.pdf">pros and cons</a> to all fibre types. Garments which are labelled as being made from natural fibres are not necessarily better than synthetic, as fibre choice is only one part of a complex picture. Fibres still have to be spun, knitted or woven, dyed, finished, sewn, and transported – all of which have different environmental impacts. </p>
<p>For example, choosing organic fabrics is better than choosing non-organic fabrics in terms of the chemicals used to grow the fibres, but organic cotton still requires high amounts of water and the impacts of dyeing it are <a href="https://www.nrdc.org/sites/default/files/CBD-Fiber-Selection-FS.pdf">higher</a> than the impacts of dyeing polyester. </p>
<p>Recycled content is often best of all, as it reduces the pressure on virgin resources and tackles the growing problem of waste management. For example, <a href="http://www.patagonia.com/recycled-polyester.html">Patagonia</a> was the first outdoor clothing brand to make polyester fleece out of plastic bottles. In 2017, it decided to rationalise its T-shirt ranges and from spring 2018, will offer only two fabric options of either 100% organic cotton or a blend of recycled cotton and recycled polyester, recognising that even organic cotton has a negative environmental impact. </p>
<p>The <a href="http://loveyourclothes.org.uk/">Love Your Clothes</a> initiative from the charity WRAP gives information for consumers on each stage of the purchase process, from buying smarter, to caring for and repairing items, to upcycling or customisation, and finally responsible disposal. Ultimately, the best thing we can do is to keep our clothing in use for longer – and buy less new stuff.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/88373/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Patsy Perry 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>Water pollution, toxic chemical use and textile waste: fast fashion comes at a huge cost to the environment.Patsy Perry, Senior Lecturer in Fashion Marketing, University of ManchesterLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/895192017-12-22T14:02:06Z2017-12-22T14:02:06ZFive things to consider about glitter this Christmas<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/200465/original/file-20171222-16518-11kdf8g.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Glitter – it gets everywhere.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://pixabay.com/en/sparkles-glow-blacklight-glowing-1989955/">heyerlein</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Does glitter bring to mind the prospect of shiny, sparkly, Christmassy, harmless fun? I’m afraid it is a bit more complicated than that. The popularity of glitter and the sheer volume used at Christmas presents us with a growing problem. Here are five reasons to rethink your glitter habit.</p>
<h2>1. All that glitters is … plastic</h2>
<p>Millions of items are adorned with glitter, from baubles to wrapping paper. Christmas is not Christmas without sparkly accessories and flamboyant decorations, but is it really? Modern glitter originated in 1934, when an American farmer named Henry Ruschmann created a way of cutting mylar and plastic sheets into tiny shapes. He formed <a href="https://meadowbrookglitter.com/">Meadowbrook Inventions</a>, which today is still one of the main global suppliers of glitter. </p>
<p>The majority of commercial products that contain glitter, whether these are single use items, such as Christmas cards, or more permanent items such as Christmas tree decorations, use inorganic glitter – chiefly plastics such as polyethylene terephthalate (PET) and also polyvinyl chloride (PVC). Glitter is usually <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S037907381100048X">layered with other materials</a>, such as aluminium to provide extra sparkle. Underneath the microscope, it is possible to see the <a href="http://projects.nfstc.org/trace/docs/final/Blackledge_Glitter.pdf">huge variation of glitter shapes and sizes</a>: hexagons, squares, rectangles and even hearts and stars ranging from 6.25mm to a truly tiny 0.05mm.</p>
<h2>2. Glitter is not fabulous (for marine life)</h2>
<p>Most people now understand that microplastics, such as fibres from clothes or microbeads in facial scrubs, are <a href="http://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/es802970v">dangerous to sea life</a>. Glitter is a microplastic too, classed as a <a href="https://portals.iucn.org/library/sites/library/files/documents/2017-002.pdf">primary type of microplastic</a> as the particles are less than 5mm in size and have been purposely manufactured to be of microscopic size. </p>
<p>Glitter can <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0043135417308400#bib2">enter seas and oceans from rivers</a>, via wastewater from our homes and via run-off from landfill sites. Although many microplastics are removed at wastewater treatment plants, a huge amount of microplastics still find their way through to the oceans. The size of these particles means they are easily consumed by small marine organisms, who <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18949831">cannot discriminate between particles of food and plastic</a>. </p>
<p>Microplastic particles attract inorganic and organic chemicals to adhere to them, such as polychlorinated biphenyls (<a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0045653517311724">PCB’s</a>, which have been <a href="https://www.epa.gov/pcbs/learn-about-polychlorinated-biphenyls-pcbs">banned since 1979</a>) and toxic <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S027277141530158X">heavy metals</a>. A big risk to wildlife comes from the <a href="http://www.globalwaterresearchcoalition.net/_r2619/media/system/attrib/file/706/Microplastics%20White%20Paper%20CEC7R17%20web%20%28002%29.pdf">bioaccumulation of these toxins</a> in the food chain – as recently highlighted in the final episode of the BBC’s <a href="http://www.radiotimes.com/news/tv/2017-12-11/blue-planet-2-plastic-waste-final-episode/">Blue Planet II television programme</a> on Earth’s oceans, which showed how young dolphins have been found dead, possibly killed by toxins accumulated in their mother’s milk.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/200466/original/file-20171222-16483-1eagrbw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/200466/original/file-20171222-16483-1eagrbw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=394&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/200466/original/file-20171222-16483-1eagrbw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=394&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/200466/original/file-20171222-16483-1eagrbw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=394&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/200466/original/file-20171222-16483-1eagrbw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=496&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/200466/original/file-20171222-16483-1eagrbw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=496&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/200466/original/file-20171222-16483-1eagrbw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=496&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Microplastics are a menace to the planet’s ocean life.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/oregonstateuniversity/21282786668">oregonstateuniversity</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>3. Glitter is not just for Christmas</h2>
<p>Microplastics break down under UV light which <a href="https://www.osapublishing.org/as/abstract.cfm?uri=as-19-5-141">changes the structure of the plastic</a>, by the mechanical action of water and by <a href="http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/07388550500346359?journalCode=ibty20">microbes</a>. Some plastics such as PVC contain plasticisers, <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0025326X11005133">which can extend the degradation time of plastic</a>. Given that plastics already may take hundreds, possibly even thousands of years to decompose, this is a concern. Glitter, like any other plastic, will degrade in the marine environment into further smaller pieces, called <a href="http://ec.europa.eu/environment/marine/good-environmental-status/descriptor-10/pdf/GESAMP_microplastics%20full%20study.pdf">secondary sources of microplastic</a>, but while it may grace your Christmas card only for a few weeks, it will hang around for much longer.</p>
<h2>4. Glitter is hard to dispose of</h2>
<p>Knowing the problems posed by glitter, you may be wondering what now to do with it all. This is a difficult question to answer, as whichever way you dispose of it there is a chance it will end up in the oceans. Most importantly, do not wash glitter down the sink. Instead, try reusing the glitter (or item adorned with it) for a future festive project. This still does not eliminate the risk, merely potentially prolonging the moment it enters the ocean. So what to do? </p>
<p>Where possible try not to buy cards or paper that features glitter, or make-up containing glitter particles. Nurseries in Dorset have already <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-dorset-42023245">banned the use of glitter</a> – could you do without it too? Ultimately, the only way to prevent this type of plastic adding to the global microplastic problem is to get rid of it completely, and opt for an eco-friendly alternative.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/200462/original/file-20171222-16486-15v7n82.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/200462/original/file-20171222-16486-15v7n82.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/200462/original/file-20171222-16486-15v7n82.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=213&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/200462/original/file-20171222-16486-15v7n82.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=213&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/200462/original/file-20171222-16486-15v7n82.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=213&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/200462/original/file-20171222-16486-15v7n82.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=268&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/200462/original/file-20171222-16486-15v7n82.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=268&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/200462/original/file-20171222-16486-15v7n82.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=268&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Google Trends data shows growing interest in searches for ‘biodegradable glitter’.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Google</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>5. There are guilt-free glitter alternatives</h2>
<p>In line with the 2017 <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/banning-the-use-of-microbeads-in-cosmetics-and-personal-care-products">ban on microbeads in toiletries</a>, there have recently been calls <a href="http://www.independent.co.uk/environment/glitter-ban-environment-microbead-impact-microplastics-scientists-warning-deep-ocean-a8056196.html">to ban glitter.</a>. This has been met with some resistance and accusations that this represents scientists “<a href="http://www.smh.com.au/environment/ban-the-glitter-scientists-calling-for-an-end-to-microplastics-20171202-gzxek1.html">wanting to take the sparkle out of life</a>”. But we don’t have to go all the way from bling to bland.</p>
<p>Just as manufacturers of facial scrubs are looking at using natural exfoliating materials, such as apricot or walnut husks, glitter manufacturers have now started producing biodegradable glitter, available from many online stores (such as <a href="https://glitterevolution.com/">Glitterevolution</a> and <a href="https://www.ecoglitterfun.com/">Ecoglitterfun</a>). Biodegradable glitter is made from the cellulose of plants, such as the eucalyptus tree, grown on land unsuitable for food crops using <a href="http://www.lenzing.com/sites/botanicprinciples/website/sustainability03.htm">sustainable forestry initiatives that require little water</a>. On top of that, it is also compostable – truly an eco-glitter.</p>
<p>Even the company where modern glitter was born is getting environmentally friendly: Meadowbrook Inventions also now supplies <a href="https://meadowbrookglitter.com/biodegradable-glitter/">biodegradable glitter</a>, which means that with such a major supplier on board, there is hope for sparkly yet environmentally friendly Christmases in the future.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/89519/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Claire Gwinnett is affiliated with the UK Microplastics Network. </span></em></p>Once unleashed, glitter gets everywhere – not just in your house, but into the environment. Time to call a halt to the glitter explosion.Claire Gwinnett, Associate Professor in Forensic and Crime Science, Staffordshire UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/710752017-01-18T19:06:26Z2017-01-18T19:06:26ZAustralia needs stricter rules to curb air pollution, but there’s a lot we could all do now<p>Have you ever left your car running as you wait for a passenger to return from a quick errand? It’s called idling, and while it may feel easier than switching it off and on again, it wastes money and fuel, and dumps pollutants into the air. Vehicle emissions are a very significant contributor to air pollution, which causes health problems.</p>
<p>Few of us would leave the tap running or the fridge door open, and many are diligent about turning off lights. But when it comes to air pollution, many people are wasteful and unaware.</p>
<p>We need major public health campaigns to change people’s beliefs about what they can do to reduce air pollution, similar to the campaigns and enforcement that made our public spaces smoke-free and our schools and beaches sun smart. Australia also needs stronger policy aimed at curbing air pollution.</p>
<p>The Australian government’s fuel efficiency standards and noxious vehicle emission standards <a href="https://infrastructure.gov.au/roads/environment/forum/index.aspx">review</a>, under way now, offers a chance to do that – but what’s been proposed so far doesn’t go anywhere near far enough.</p>
<h2>A lack of awareness and weak standards</h2>
<p><a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4414870/">Air pollution</a> is <a href="https://www.healtheffects.org/publication/traffic-related-air-pollution-critical-review-literature-emissions-exposure-and-health">associated with</a> cardiovascular disease, respiratory disease, dementia, cancer, pregnancy complications and adverse birth outcomes.</p>
<p>Many governments around the world now ask citizens to stay home when <a href="https://www.epa.gov/pm-pollution/particulate-matter-pm-basics#PM">particulate matter</a> – meaning the mix of solid particles and liquid droplets in the air – from vehicles, fossil-fuel and wood burning are at hazardous levels. </p>
<p>And <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/251667411_Estimating_the_effect_of_on-road_vehicle_emission_controls_on_future_air_quality_in_Paris_France">bans on diesel vehicles</a> in some places are part of a broader push to cut the amount of harmful particulate matter, nitric oxide and nitrogen dioxide in the air.</p>
<p>Australia, by contrast, lags behind the rest of the world on policies to reduce air pollution. Take, for example, our rules on sulfur in fuels – a particularly damaging component of vehicle emissions.</p>
<p>Australia has one of the world’s most lenient sulfur standards for petrol, allowing 150 parts per million. That’s <a href="http://www.theicct.org/sites/default/files/publications/ICCT_StateOfCleanTransportPolicy_2014.pdf">15 times the limit allowed in the European Union</a>, Japan and the US. It’s three times what’s allowed in Brazil and China (China will allow just 10 parts per million from 2018).</p>
<p>Australia’s air quality standards, which are also being reviewed under the <a href="http://www.environment.gov.au/system/files/resources/f190181a-9a4c-4e2f-8144-aad86e5d95ef/files/national-clean-air-agreement-mid-term-review-report.pdf">National Clean Air Agreement</a>, feature good targets – even better than the World Health Organisation recommendations for PM2.5. However, without stricter measures to reduce vehicle emissions, these air quality targets will not be achieved.</p>
<p>The Australian government’s review of <a href="https://infrastructure.gov.au/roads/environment/forum/files/Vehicle_Fuel_Efficiency_RIS.pdf">fuel efficiency</a> and <a href="https://infrastructure.gov.au/roads/environment/forum/files/Vehicle_Noxious_Emissions_RIS.pdf">vehicle emission</a> standards is looking at particulate matter, ozone, nitric oxide and nitrogen dioxide (known collectively as NOx), and carbon. But what has been proposed so far worryingly includes a do-nothing scenario.</p>
<h2>Doing nothing comes with significant cost</h2>
<p>The OECD estimates that there are approximately <a href="http://www.oecd.org/env/the-cost-of-air-pollution-9789264210448-en.htm">740 preventable deaths per year in Australia</a> due to ozone and <a href="http://www.npi.gov.au/resource/particulate-matter-pm10-and-pm25">PM2.5</a> (the very fine particulate matter from vehicle emissions which, when inhaled, goes deep into the lungs and can pass into the bloodstream), but that does not include NOx – so these are very conservative estimates.</p>
<p>To put this in context, there are <a href="https://bitre.gov.au/publications/ongoing/road_deaths_australia_monthly_bulletins.aspx">1,280 deaths on our roads each year</a> and another 740 deaths due to vehicle emissions. This is a significant cost for choosing a transport system reliant on fossil fuel.</p>
<p>If the strictest standard being considered by Australia under the <a href="https://infrastructure.gov.au/roads/environment/forum/files/Vehicle_Noxious_Emissions_RIS.pdf">review</a> – the Euro 6 standard – is mandated for both light and heavy vehicles, a <a href="https://infrastructure.gov.au/roads/environment/forum/files/Vehicle_Noxious_Emissions_RIS.pdf">net benefit of A$675 million</a> will be realised by 2040. This figure is very small compared to the current annual cost of vehicle pollution to Australia of <a href="http://www.oecd.org/env/the-cost-of-air-pollution-9789264210448-en.htm">A$4 billion</a>.</p>
<p>But the standard Australia considers the strictest option is actually business as usual now in the US and Europe. Surprisingly, the <a href="https://infrastructure.gov.au/roads/environment/forum/files/Vehicle_Noxious_Emissions_RIS.pdf">impact statement</a> doesn’t even discuss banning or phasing out diesel vehicles in cities – a policy that experts now consider global best practice. </p>
<h2>What could be done?</h2>
<p>The decisions being made this year on Australia’s fuel efficiency and vehicle emission policies can improve the health of our urban air. This is a great chance to simultaneously improve fuel efficiency, demand higher-quality fuels and implement emission testing for vehicles to improve the air in our cities. </p>
<p>In the short term, we can all try to use cars less often and not idle our cars when in use. Raising awareness helps; a recent study showed <a href="https://www.fullyloaded.com.au/industry-news/0804/idling-reduction-trials-save-more-than-$12-million-in-diesel-report">millions of dollars could be saved in fuel costs</a> by exposing drivers of fleets to anti-idling initiatives. </p>
<p>Purchasing a vehicle with automatic <a href="http://www.motoring.com.au/how-it-works-idle-stop-51963/">idle-stop technology</a> will help cut vehicle emissions. This technology, popular in high-end European car models, automatically switches off the vehicle when it is still and allows the driver to restart the car when their foot presses the accelerator. </p>
<p>To achieve a population-level benefit from such technology, however, would require policymakers to include it in the <a href="https://infrastructure.gov.au/roads/motor/design/">Australian Design Rules</a>, the national standards for vehicle safety, anti-theft measures and emissions. That process can take many years.</p>
<p>A more sustainable approach to air pollution would be to upgrade Australian refineries to supply low-sulfur fuel. Although costly, the alternative – the escalating health burden associated with vehicle emissions – is a cost too high for society to pay.</p>
<p>We cannot afford to continually invest in a transport system operated solely on fossil fuels. Supporting public transport that operates with “clean” fuels (such as our trams and trains, which run on electricity) will go some way to reducing air pollution in our cities. It is worth noting, though, that while our electricity is mostly fossil-fuelled, this only shifts the air pollution to someone else’s backyard.</p>
<p>Importantly, we need to raise public awareness of the quality of our air and ensure the government considers the long-term ramifications of short-sighted policies. </p>
<p>We must all do our part to improve air quality in Australia – and that means not idling your car, which is an offence that can <a href="https://www.epa.gov/sites/production/files/documents/CompilationofStateIdlingRegulations.pdf">attract fines</a> as high as $5,000 and/or jail time in some parts of the world. </p>
<p>We can survive weeks without food, days without water, but only minutes without air. Let’s start treating our air as the valuable commodity it is.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/71075/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Robyn Schofield receives funding from the National Environmental Science Program's Clean Air and Urban Landscapes Hub, and the Australian Research Council. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Mark Stevenson has received funding from the NHMRC and the ARC. </span></em></p>Australia needs stronger policy aimed at curbing air pollution, but the options currently on the table fall short. For now, we could all aim to drive less and turn off the engine when the car is idle.Robyn Schofield, Senior Lecturer for Climate System Science, The University of MelbourneMark Stevenson, Professor of Urban Transport and Public Health, The University of MelbourneLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/520772016-01-04T19:15:53Z2016-01-04T19:15:53ZDo you really need a detox?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/106425/original/image-20151217-32600-1cfw12a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">No one-off detox regimen will 'erase' the effects of the last four weeks' worth of excess and years' worth of sluggish lifestyle habits.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/mundoo/8104526675/">Vicki/Flickr</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/">CC BY-NC-ND</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Early in the New Year is the traditional time for setting ambitious goals for better health, fitness and, often, a slimmer body. This resolve commonly reflects guilt stemming from the dissipation of the preceding festive season – and it often starts with a detox. </p>
<p>It’s unclear where the idea of an in-depth body cleanse or “the detox cure” comes from, but it’s worth noting that many traditional and complementary medicine practices describe cleansing and detoxification as a way to avoid illness, or engender wellness. </p>
<p>They’re based on the <a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3239317/">idea that “toxins” accumulate</a> and the body needs regular purification. They cover everything from enemas and colonic irrigation, lemon juice detox or water fasts to exclusion of certain food groups, purging with herbs, large-dose nutrient supplementation and sweat lodges, among other things. And they’re <a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25522674">generally a waste of money and effort</a>.</p>
<h2>Detoxing from what?</h2>
<p>In medical terms, <a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4014033/">detoxification</a> means removing poisons or the build-up of toxic substances, when large amounts have been consumed or have come into the body through inhalation or skin exposure. It’s only used when the amount or type of substance is such that our body’s natural detoxification systems are unable to clear it.</p>
<p>The body’s <a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11437235">detoxification system</a> uses the skin (via sweat and sebum), liver and gall bladder (bile), kidneys (urine), lungs, lymphatic system (lymph) and intestines (faeces) to get rid of toxins. </p>
<p>The toxins can be from both internal and external sources. Internal sources include the by-products from usual physiological processes and cells’ waste products. The process of breaking down food components to produce energy uses oxygen, for instance, and <a href="http://stm.sciencemag.org/content/7/304/304re7.short">results in unstable molecules</a> called free radicals. These molecules must be neutralised or converted to avoid build-up to toxic levels.</p>
<p>External sources of toxins can come from food and beverage-related compounds – <a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3704564/">molecules resulting from baking, deep-frying and char-grilling,</a> as well as alcohol and additives in processed foods. Then there’s medication, tobacco smoke and exposure to environmental pollutants, among other things.</p>
<h2>Toxic life</h2>
<p>Many toxins from external sources (also known as xenobiotics) are fat-soluble and can accumulate in fatty tissue. Exposure to these has considerably increased with modern lifestyles because of industrial waste contaminating soil and water and, in turn, agriculture products and seafood. </p>
<p>Agriculture practices also use a variety of chemicals, resulting in residues in food products. And cosmetics, body care products, as well as plastic food and beverage packaging, all increase our <a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26414233">exposure to a variety of chemicals.</a></p>
<p>These kinds of exposure are often used as <a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3239317/">the main rationale for commercial detox programs</a>. In the absence of robust human data on acceptable non-harmful ranges for all the chemicals in our environment, the argument goes that any small amount may be toxic and should be removed. But our bodies are purging these chemicals all the time.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/106593/original/image-20151218-8068-et9yq7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/106593/original/image-20151218-8068-et9yq7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/106593/original/image-20151218-8068-et9yq7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/106593/original/image-20151218-8068-et9yq7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/106593/original/image-20151218-8068-et9yq7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/106593/original/image-20151218-8068-et9yq7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/106593/original/image-20151218-8068-et9yq7.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">Not consuming unhealthy food will reduce the amount of detoxification your body needs to perform.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/carlosvelayos/23131382490/">Carlos/Flickr</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/">CC BY-NC-ND</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Anyway, no one-off detox regimen can “erase” the effects of weeks’ worth of excess and years of sluggish lifestyle habits. There’s <a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25522674">no scientific basis or high-level evidence</a> showing the benefits of commercial short-term detox programs. </p>
<p>Still, there’s good news too: your <a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11437235">internal detoxification system</a>, which includes numerous organs and enzymes coded for in your DNA, works around the clock to process toxins as needed. </p>
<p>Not consuming any alcohol, or masses of chocolate and fried food, for a few weeks may (depending on what you’re eating in their stead) reduce the amount of detoxification your body needs to perform. But real good happens over the long term. And anyway, all the alcohol you’ve drunk in the last few weeks has already been dealt with – principally by your liver – to avoid harmful effects.</p>
<h2>Natural detoxification</h2>
<p>Among its over 500 functions, the liver metabolises and detoxifies any dietary constituents (including caffeine or herbal teas and supplements) and any external toxins entering the body from a variety of exposure. </p>
<p>Detoxification is a <a href="http://farmasi.unud.ac.id/ind/wp-content/uploads/Human-Drug-Metabolism-An-Introduction.pdf">three-step process</a>. In the first two phases, fat-soluble compounds are converted to water-soluble compounds. And the third facilitates transport of the converted products out of the cells, then out of the body via the bile and faeces, or urine.</p>
<p>The internal production of toxins, such as free radicals, is kept under tight control by a sophisticated mechanism <a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23294312">involving genes that code for antioxidant enzymes</a>. Indeed, enzymes play a key role in detoxification and when there’s more to detoxify, the body <a href="http://farmasi.unud.ac.id/ind/wp-content/uploads/Human-Drug-Metabolism-An-Introduction.pdf">produces more enzymes</a>. </p>
<p>While the liver is the star of the show, most tissues in the body also participate in detoxification. But the differences between <a href="http://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-4-431-54992-5_21#page-1">individual genetic profiles</a> mean there can be large variation in responses to toxin exposure. </p>
<p>Vitamins and minerals in food are crucial for the optimal function of detoxification pathways and the function of enzymes. But this doesn’t mean you should consume large doses as that can <a href="https://www.nrv.gov.au/nutrients">also result in toxicity</a>.</p>
<p>The crux of the story is that the human body is a comprehensive, self-mending, self-detoxing apparatus. It will perform its detoxification tasks regardless of whether you’re undertaking a rigid detox cure, or a gourmet food and wine tasting marathon. But providing the right ingredients for optimal function daily, rather than opting for a quick-fix detox, is the key.</p>
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<p>This article is part of our series about New Year’s resolutions, <a href="https://theconversation.com/au/topics/a-fresh-start">A Fresh Start</a>.</p>
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<p><em>Veronique will be on hand for an Author Q&A between 3 and 4pm AEST on Tuesday, January 5, 2016. Post your questions in the comments section below.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/52077/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Veronique Chachay 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 human body is a comprehensive, self-mending, self-detoxing apparatus that will perform its tasks regardless of whether you’re undertaking a rigid detox cure, or a gourmet food and wine marathon.Veronique Chachay, Research & Teaching Academic , The University of QueenslandLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.