[CPEO-MEF] PFAS: Report on National Academies workshop

[Lenny Siegel <lsiegel@cpeo.org>]

PFAS: Controlling, Preventing, and Understanding Exposure

By Megan Lowry 
National Academies of Sciences
October 22, 2019

PFAS, or perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances, are ubiquitous fluorinated organic compounds found widely in manufactured products, from firefighting foam to stain-resistant carpets. These water- and oil-repellent compounds are known to degrade slowly over time, and have been found in humans, drinking water, and even in Arctic ecosystems.

What do we know about human exposure to PFAS? How can contaminated media be treated? How can these compounds be controlled, and how can exposure be prevented? Last month, the Environmental Health Matters Initiative of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine hosted a two-day workshop that brought together experts and stakeholders from academia, research, government, and industry to address these and other important questions about PFAS.

The term “PFAS” describes a group of chemicals, rather than one distinct chemical. Not every chemical in the PFAS group has been carefully studied, and research has yet to define the properties of every PFAS compound, how they act in the environment, and what their effects could be in humans. Steve Korzeniowski, a representative for FluoroCouncil, cautioned that PFAS “are extremely different in terms of chemistry, in terms of property … calling everything PFAS is really not appropriate when you look at the functionality.”




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For the entire article, see
http://www8.nationalacademies.org/onpinews/newsitem.aspx?RecordID=10222019b&utm_source=NASEM+News+and+Publications&utm_campaign=5afef2a014-NAP_mail_new_2019_10_28&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_96101de015-5afef2a014-101932485&goal=0_96101de015-5afef2a014-101932485&mc_cid=5afef2a014&mc_eid=2f945b7a70

To access recordings of the workshop,, go to https://vimeo.com/showcase/6332191

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Lenny Siegel
Executive Director
Center for Public Environmental Oversight
A project of the Pacific Studies Center
LSiegel@cpeo.org
P.O. Box 998, Mountain View, CA 94042
Voice/Fax: 650-961-8918
http://www.cpeo.org





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