{"id":11974,"date":"2019-10-20T20:00:36","date_gmt":"2019-10-21T00:00:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/steep\/?p=11974"},"modified":"2022-08-15T14:44:02","modified_gmt":"2022-08-15T18:44:02","slug":"part-2-pfas-where-do-they-come-from","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/steep\/part-2-pfas-where-do-they-come-from\/","title":{"rendered":"Part 2: PFAS: Where Do They Come From?"},"content":{"rendered":"<div style=\"float: right; margin: 12px 6px 12px 12px;\">\n<!-- iframe plugin v.6.0 wordpress.org\/plugins\/iframe\/ -->\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/iG5xV3P4f-8\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture\" 0=\"allowfullscreen\" scrolling=\"yes\" class=\"iframe-class\"><\/iframe>\n<\/div>\n<p>When firefighters save lives by spraying flames with extinguishing foams, we see why these foams &#8212; PFAS, or \u201cforever chemicals\u201d &#8212; fulfill an important safety role in modern human life. But are they really needed to prevent the cheese from sticking to our greasy pizza boxes and to ensure nonstick kernels in microwave popcorn bags?<\/p>\n<p>Most likely not, answers Rainer Lohmann, a University of Rhode Island (URI) chemical oceanographer and PFAS expert. We need to \u201cstop production of chemicals that don\u2019t go away,\u201d says Lohmann, lead researcher on STEEP &#8212; Sources, Transport, Exposure &#038; Effects of PFAS &#8212; a partnership project of the URI Coastal Institute to understand, analyze, and address just how harmful PFAS are to people and the environment. While PFAS use may be justifiable in some products, like flame retarding foam (PFAS suffocates fire better than other options), Lohmann questions its presence in basic household items like makeup\u2014for sheen? \u2014 and dental floss\u2014for that smooth glide?<\/p>\n<p>\u201cForever Chemicals: PFAS &#8211; Where Do They Come From?\u201d is the second of an eight-part STEEP video shorts series, \u201cSilent Chemicals, Loud Science,\u201d that explores problems posed by PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances), explains how STEEP science is shedding light on the issues, and offers practical and positive steps for making our daily lives less vulnerable to adverse health impacts.&nbsp; In this video, Lohmanndescribes the manmade chemicals which are proven to create certain health risks, and explains how they never break down or go away. Whether for essential use &#8212; like that firefighting foam &#8212; or not, PFAS stay forever, both indoors and out. That\u2019s why, says Lohmann, most of us &#8212; 98 percent &#8212; carry PFAS in our blood.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>So, indicates Lohmann, we\u2019d be wise to choose our PFAS uses carefully. First and foremost, he says, is protecting drinking water and water resources. He points to the case of a milk farm in Maine; a farmer\u2019s livelihood halted when the milk produced by his cows was found laden with PFAS tied to a wastewater treatment plant and the use of associated biosolids. An \u201cextreme\u201d case, says Lohmann, but one that reminds us of the close connection between what\u2019s in the environment and what we ingest.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Household uses deserve scrutiny too, says Lohmann. PFAS coats food packaging so we don\u2019t touch grease, and stops stains from permeating our clothing, furniture and rugs. It\u2019s a common ingredient in cosmetics. Fire extinguishers aside, we should, says Lohmann, be working actively to keep PFAS at a minimum in our lives. \u201cHopefully,\u201d he says, we get to a point where \u201cwe limit the non-essential uses\u201d of PFAS, because they\u2019re \u201ctoo dangerous for the long term.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/steep\/media\">More Videos<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>When firefighters save lives by spraying flames with extinguishing foams, we see why these foams &#8212; PFAS, or \u201cforever chemicals\u201d &#8212; fulfill an important safety role in modern human life. But are they really needed to prevent the cheese from sticking to our greasy pizza boxes and to ensure nonstick kernels in microwave popcorn bags? [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1002,"featured_media":11986,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[73],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-11974","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-videos"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/steep\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11974","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/steep\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/steep\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/steep\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1002"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/steep\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11974"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/steep\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11974\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":16789,"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/steep\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11974\/revisions\/16789"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/steep\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/11986"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/steep\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11974"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/steep\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11974"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/steep\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11974"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}