by According to a new study, extremely high mirrors of toxic chemicals, which are referred to as PFAs (Perfluoralkyl and Polyfluoralkyl substances) (Perfluoralkyl and Polyfluoralkyl substances), which were found according to a new study.
“Regardless of whether we wear female hygiene products or not, we are all exposed,” said Graham Peaslee, professor of physics, chemistry and biochemistry at the University of Notre Dame in Indiana.
“Everything in the USA ultimately goes to landfill, and over time they are chemicals in our drinking water, our irrigation water and our food supply forever,” said Peaslee.
Perfluoralkyl and polyfluoralkyl substances are referred to as “forever” chemicals because they do not collapse completely in the environment. Well -known endocrine disruptors, different types of PFAs were associated with serious health problems such as cancer, obesity, high cholesterol, reduced fertility, low birth weight, accelerated puberty and hormone disorder.
The highest levels of contamination come from a kind of “neutral” PFAS, which scientists know, but have only recently been able to measure damage and test it more thoroughly, as the study found.
“We usually measure a kind of PFAS that is called Ionik and has a load, and we can measure it up to parts per trillion, which is a low level of exposure,” said Peaslee. (An ionic load is the positive or negative load of an ion, an atom that has won or lost electrons.)
Recent technology enables scientists to measure neutral PFAs – who have no fee. It is believed that some of the neutral versions are associated with the same health damage as the Ionian versions, said Kathrin Schilling, assistance professor for environmental sciences at Columbia University Irving Medical Center in New York City. She was not involved in the study.
“This is important because neutral pfas tend to fly under the radar, but more easily through the skin or even mucous membranes like those in the vagina because they can move more easily through adipose tissue,” said Schilling by e -mail.
According to the study, the new tests showed an alarming amount of these neutral PFAs in some reusable products.
“When we measured the neutral PFAs, there were much higher concentrations – no parts per trillion, not even parts per billion, but the level at parts per million – that is very, very high,” said Peaslee.
What does that mean for the people who use these products?
“The truth is, we still don’t fully understand how it could behave in the body or what long -term exposure could mean,” said Schilling.
“Neutral Pfas are not well studied and there are no clear regulations for you yet.”
Some Pfas deliberately added
The study published on Tuesday in the magazine Environmental Science and Technology Letters analyzed 43 period underwear, eight reusable pads, four menstrual cups, three reusable incontinence underwear and a reusable incontinence pad – a total of 59 products. A separate part of the study also examined tampons.
“We did not give any manufacturer names in our study, but the majority were US manufacturers,” said Peaslee. “We also looked at a couple from South America, a couple from Australia and a couple from Europe. While the number of samples is small, we believe that it was a representative snapshot.”
In addition to the measurement of neutral and ionic PFAs, the study examined whether PFAs were found in sufficient low levels to indicate that it was accidentally added due to contamination during the manufacturing process. The researchers also searched for higher PFAs, which indicate that the chemicals were probably deliberately added.
“What is shocking is that we found 33% of the lower underwear and 25% of the reusable pads that the PFAs were deliberately used – which means that the chemicals had been stored there and the products are likely to run out,” said Peaslee.
Many reusable materials have been obtained from third -party suppliers in other countries, which may not be as aware of the dangers of PFAS as domestic manufacturers, he said.
“It seemed accidental – sometimes they put pfas in the inner layer of materials, sometimes outside, sometimes between the layers, which indicates that they have no idea what they are doing,” added Peaslee.
“There is no labeling, so consumers have no idea because they cannot say it.”
There were some encouraging knowledge, said the main author Alyssa Wicks, who carried out research during a doctoral student at Notre Dame.
“Only a subgroup of the products had a high level of PFAs, which means that PFAs must not be essential for the production of reusable female hygiene products,” said Wicks, today postdoctoral country at the Nicholas School of the Environment at Duke University in Durham, North Carolia.
“Manufacturers should be able to produce these textile products without hesitation to chemicals,” said Wicks in an explanation.
A growing number of teenagers and adults are looking for more environmentally friendly decisions at a time when scientists still know very little about how many PFAs and other chemicals are actually absorbed through vaginal tissue over time, Schilling said.
“This is an enormous gap in our understanding, especially in view of the fact how many people rely on these products for years,” she said. “While these results may appear niche at first glance, they indicate a broader need for research, regulation and transparency about the materials used in all menstrual products.”
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