PFAS are common environmental pollutants dubbed “forever chemicals.” These harmful chemicals are used to make different environmental and consumer products like firefighting foams and nonstick products. PFAS has long been a cause for concern due to its widespread presence in soil, water, food, and even human blood.
The study, published in the journal Environmental Health Perspectives, involves 823 girls aged six to eight years old, with 379 of them coming from the Greater Cincinnati area in Ohio and 444 from the San Francisco Bay area in California.
The study tracks the relationship between PFAS exposure, hormones and puberty onset, particularly the first signs of breast development and pubic hair. Researchers monitored pubertal development, including signs such as breast development and the emergence of pubic hair, while testing their blood for PFAS levels for several years.
“The study found that in girls with PFAS exposure, puberty is delayed five or six months on average but there will be some girls where it’s delayed a lot more and others that it wasn’t delayed at all. We are especially concerned about the girls at the top end of the spectrum where it’s delayed more,” Pinney said.
Thanks to your generous support, we are building the infrastructure of human freedom and actively donating our technology to independent publishers, authors and home schooling organizations. Learn about our game-changing non-commercial AI project here. Support our ongoing efforts to preserve and enhance human knowledge by shopping at HealthRangerStore.com.
Moreover, Pinney warned the public about the long-term implications associated with delayed puberty, including a heightened risk of breast cancer, renal disease and thyroid disease.
“Puberty is a window of susceptibility. Environmental exposures during puberty, not just to PFAS, but anything, have more of a potential for long-term health effects. What these have done is extend the window of susceptibility, and it makes them more vulnerable for a longer period of time,” she said.
Drinking water and most feminine hygiene products contain high levels of PFAS chemicals
Pinney warned that local factors contribute to PFAS exposure in Greater Cincinnati.
For instance, a DuPont plant near Parkersburg, West Virginia, has been releasing PFAS into the Ohio River, the primary source of drinking water in the area, for decades. These PFAS flow downstream to major water intakes on both sides of the river near eastern Hamilton County. Pinney also claims that a firefighter training area near those same water intakes also contributes to PFAS exposure, as they have found PFAS in firefighting foam.
Aside from PFAS in drinking water in the local area, non-toxic family products company Mamavation, in partnership with Environmental Health News, found in a separate investigation in 2022 that PFAS are also present in various tampon brands, including some labeled as organic. The report, released after testing 23 different tampon products in an Environmental Protection Agency-certified lab confirms the contamination of five popular tampon brands with detectable levels of fluorine, indicative of PFAS contamination.
The brands in question are Maxim Hygiene Organic Cotton Cardboard Applicator Tampons, OrganYc Complete Protection Tampons, Playtex SPORT Regular & Super Tampons, Tampax Cardboard Applicator Unscented Tampos and Up & Up Regular Tampons. They contained PFAS levels ranging from 19 to 28 parts per million.
A Windrush victim has branded the compensation scheme for victims of the scandal "disgusting", and suggested the government were waiting for those affected to "die off".Critics have repeatedly called for the Home Office to be stripped of responsibility for determining and handling payments to victims and said it should be given to an independent body instead. The compensation scheme has been in place since 3 April 2019.It was set up […]
Post comments (0)