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Cancer-Linked Chemicals Manufactured by 3M Are Turning Up in Drinking Water

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Re: Cancer-Linked Chemicals Manufactured by 3M Are Turning Up in Drinking Water

#171

Post by harimau777 »

steve_adams_86 wrote: post #12
cronix wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

More and more microplastics are showing up in drinking water because the particles are so small. They seem to be mostly coming from our clothing released during washing, which is increasingly made of synthetic materials. "The US had the highest contamination rate, at 94%, with plastic fibres found in tap water sampled at sites including Congress buildings, the US Environmental Protection Agency’s headquarters, and Tr…

People _really_ need to stop laundering synthetics. The amount of plastic and other material that sheds into our water is stunning.

I think one problem is that there aren't lots of good alternatives at least when it comes to warm weather gear. Wool tends to be expensive, difficult to care for, and some people are allergic or vegan. On the other hand, all of the plant fibers that I'm aware of do not keep you warm if they get wet.

Re: Cancer-Linked Chemicals Manufactured by 3M Are Turning Up in Drinking Water

#172

Post by RaceWon »

ianai wrote: post #153
RaceWon wrote: post #144

15 years I ago I worked on the construction phase of a microchip manufacturing facility, well actually they were adding another separate plant to make gaming chips. The computer giant that owned the land and had done so much ecological damage to the water table they had to supply the town with city water. Dead birds could be found all over the rooftops, no worms or insects were in any of the soil near the plant. At t…

Did anyone die while you worked there?

Not that I know of, but I understand a young employee from an electrical company had a heart attack due to cyanide exposure from an improperly decommissioned pipe; that was the word on street, and I talked to him and that's what he claimed too. I have no idea if it was true or not.

Re: Cancer-Linked Chemicals Manufactured by 3M Are Turning Up in Drinking Water

#173

Post by [deleted] »

onetimemanytime wrote: post #167
ianai wrote: post #164

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Very true. My skin harshly reacts to many things that are just common place today. Don’t want to go near stuff like that. I fully back leaving a workplace like that. It’s sad our field relies on such harmful compounds.

Chemistry /physics are such maybe that we have no way out? Don't know. Maybe robots can make both sides happy?

[deleted]

Re: Cancer-Linked Chemicals Manufactured by 3M Are Turning Up in Drinking Water

#174

Post by Arn_Thor »

hnmonkey wrote: post #141
nerdponx wrote: post #118

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Do alternatives even exist?

Yes, they themselves produce alternatives but they have the same issues generally speaking as the original chemicals. As noted above they'll usually move to the new one because they've exhausted what they can get from the original and the new one isn't tainted by regulation/lawsuits/studies yet. The EPA isn't proactive about testing these things so it then takes time for people to study them and determine that they'r…

You seem knowledgeable so I'm reaching out into the dark here.. Does that mean I should throw out my non-stick pans and get steel or cast iron alternatives?

Re: Cancer-Linked Chemicals Manufactured by 3M Are Turning Up in Drinking Water

#175

Post by Jaepa »

driverdan wrote: post #133
Jaepa wrote: post #70

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Brita's are pretty much unless unfortunately. As are most pitcher style filter systems. Faucet mounted systems are probably the easiest way to go (eg Pur), but better under the counter or household water filters do exist. Its also worth mentioning that there good chance that a water filter won't actually filter this out. Water treatment plants will often treat the water through multiple levels of filtration, reverse…

> Brita's are pretty much unless unfortunately. How do you figure that? They're the same carbon filters as found in the faucet systems.

They are both carbon filters, but they are not the same.

I got concerned about water quality (specifically lead) right before the Flint after doing some plumbing work in my apartment. After some digging I found a report detailing PPM before and after filtration. Brita's generally filtered less than 20 percent of containment with the exception of things like chlorine which naturally off gas. The faucet systems generally removed 80-90%.

Re: Cancer-Linked Chemicals Manufactured by 3M Are Turning Up in Drinking Water

#176

Post by hnmonkey »

Arn_Thor wrote: post #174
hnmonkey wrote: post #141

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yes, they themselves produce alternatives but they have the same issues generally speaking as the original chemicals. As noted above they'll usually move to the new one because they've exhausted what they can get from the original and the new one isn't tainted by regulation/lawsuits/studies yet. The EPA isn't proactive about testing these things so it then takes time for people to study them and determine that they'r…

You seem knowledgeable so I'm reaching out into the dark here.. Does that mean I should throw out my non-stick pans and get steel or cast iron alternatives?

Hey, sorry for the slow reply. Generally, no you'll probably be fine with non-stick pans. The precursor chemicals used for making teflon are definitely not good, but once it gets into your pan it's mostly ok. That said, if you get the pan too hot (think no food in it and its just sitting on a hot fire) then I believe the teflon can offgas which is bad for you. Also, you should use bamboo/wood/silicon utensils on non-stick pans. Anything else can scratch it and take off some of the teflon. Once it's been scratched it becomes very easy for bits of teflon to come off in your food and parts of the layers to continue to peel off. If you scratch it you should either see if the manufacturer will replace/fix it or probably toss it. You don't want to be eating the stuff that flakes off the scratched areas. While teflon is I think technically inert (which is why it's used everywhere) I don't think it's healthy to have that passing through your system.

So, if you take good care of your non-stick pans you'll mostly be ok. Basically just baby them and make sure they're in good condition and you should be fine.

Stainless steel doesn't have this problem but of course isn't as non-stick as teflon or the teflon-similar materials out there and can be much more expensive depending on quality levels.

I wouldn't throw them out if I were you, but would invest in some high quality utensils to use with them (silicon on the end and bamboo for the handle part) so you never scratch them. Oh, and of course when cleaning don't use anything metallic like steel wool/mesh on them. Even barkeepers friend has potential to be too abrasive and take off some of the layers. Soap and water when it's still hot is a great way to make cleaning the pots/pans easier.

Hope that helps!

Re: Cancer-Linked Chemicals Manufactured by 3M Are Turning Up in Drinking Water

#177

Post by Arn_Thor »

hnmonkey wrote: post #176
Arn_Thor wrote: post #174

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You seem knowledgeable so I'm reaching out into the dark here.. Does that mean I should throw out my non-stick pans and get steel or cast iron alternatives?

Hey, sorry for the slow reply. Generally, no you'll probably be fine with non-stick pans. The precursor chemicals used for making teflon are definitely not good, but once it gets into your pan it's mostly ok. That said, if you get the pan too hot (think no food in it and its just sitting on a hot fire) then I believe the teflon can offgas which is bad for you. Also, you should use bamboo/wood/silicon utensils on non-…

Thanks a bunch for the reply! Puts my mind at ease. I've always been obsessive about not getting scratches in the non-stick coating because I heard it was pretty bad for your health. I'll keep it up
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