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FDA rejects petition to set PFAS limits in food

theguardian.com

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Re: FDA rejects petition to set PFAS limits in food

#41

Post by SoftTalker »

toomuchtodo wrote: post #35
feverzsj wrote: post #27

EPA already set a Maximum Contaminant Level of 4.0 ppt. That's why they moved most PFAS production to China.

Another issue is that sewage sludge and "biosolids", unknowingly containing PFAS, is/was being used as farm fertilizer, causing some farms to have to be written off for food production. I would expect many more farms in the future to be found with PFAS soil levels exceeding what is safe to produce food with. The only way to find out is to test. Maine listened to farmers and confronted the PFAS crisis - https://news.y…

I can't believe that we are still using sewage sludge as fertilizer. People dump anything down the drain. I remember this being an issue 30-40 years ago with PCBs.

Re: FDA rejects petition to set PFAS limits in food

#42

Post by toomuchtodo »

SoftTalker wrote: post #41
toomuchtodo wrote: post #35

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Another issue is that sewage sludge and "biosolids", unknowingly containing PFAS, is/was being used as farm fertilizer, causing some farms to have to be written off for food production. I would expect many more farms in the future to be found with PFAS soil levels exceeding what is safe to produce food with. The only way to find out is to test. Maine listened to farmers and confronted the PFAS crisis - https://news.y…

I can't believe that we are still using sewage sludge as fertilizer. People dump anything down the drain. I remember this being an issue 30-40 years ago with PCBs.

From industrial sources, in some cases, no less. Paper mills, tanneries, etc. Silver lining is that these farms are solar PV installations of the future, when possible, to give the land a few decades to recover from contamination. I presume you can pair this solar in an agrivoltaics model with grasses or other flora they can absorb and remediate subject contamination, but do not know enough to speak with authority on that.

Maine farmers impacted by PFAS pivot to harvesting solar power - https://www.newscentermaine.com/article/tech/science/environ... - August 22nd, 2024

> Maine farmland made worthless by PFAS chemicals could be put back into production again through harvesting the power of the sun.

> Last month, regulators approved new rules following 2023 state legislation that calls for renewable energy generated on contaminated land, clearing the way for the development of thousands of megawatts of new clean power.

(brownfields are a great place to cite solar generation)

EPA Brownfields Renewable Energy Siting - https://www.epa.gov/system/files/documents/2024-08/brownfiel...

NREL Solar Development on Contaminated and Disturbed Lands - https://web.archive.org/web/20250218192949/https://www.nrel....

Plant-based material can remediate PFAS, new research suggests - https://www.niehs.nih.gov/news/factor/2022/9/science-highlig...

Re: FDA rejects petition to set PFAS limits in food

#43

Post by slibhb »

fcarraldo wrote: post #29
haussman wrote: post #16

[flagged]

> The Guardian, which is already at the limits of reliability Based on what, exactly? Disagreeing with a publication does not make them unreliable. The Guardian's journalism is consistently award-winning and rates highly on credibility. The Guardian's opinion section is openly centre-left, though I suppose Americans would consider this to be some sort of comically ultra-left-wing communist point-of-view given the sta…

[dead]

Re: FDA rejects petition to set PFAS limits in food

#44

Post by appplication »

toomuchtodo wrote: post #35
feverzsj wrote: post #27

EPA already set a Maximum Contaminant Level of 4.0 ppt. That's why they moved most PFAS production to China.

Another issue is that sewage sludge and "biosolids", unknowingly containing PFAS, is/was being used as farm fertilizer, causing some farms to have to be written off for food production. I would expect many more farms in the future to be found with PFAS soil levels exceeding what is safe to produce food with. The only way to find out is to test. Maine listened to farmers and confronted the PFAS crisis - https://news.y…

I have no issue repurposing biological waste as fertilizer, that’s fine. But sewage is not just biological waste. It’s got all sorts of other shit in it that’s not suitable for reentry into the food chain. This isn’t a practice that should be allowed anywhere. It’s not like they can’t grow crops without it, they’re just gaming costs.

Re: FDA rejects petition to set PFAS limits in food

#46

Post by logancbrown »

BLKNSLVR wrote: post #2

No Tylenol for y'all, but I'll shout the whole bar another round of PFAS! > They have been linked to cancer, birth defects, decreased immunity, high cholesterol, kidney disease and a range of other serious health problems. They are dubbed “forever chemicals” because they can persist for thousands of years in the environment, and are designed to be indestructible. But _not_ autism! Autism is the great evil we have cho…

I think you mean PFOS and not PFAS, the relationship of cancers and health risks is linked to PFOS, but not PFAS in general at this time. PFOS in consumer-facing products were also majority phased out back in 2015.

Re: FDA rejects petition to set PFAS limits in food

#47

Post by SoftTalker »

seethishat wrote: post #4

Doing whole blood donations seems to significantly reduce PFAS in the blood. Here's one paper: https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/fullarticle... Edit: This also helps others who are in accidents, car wrecks, have Cancer, etc. Yes, we pass on the PFAS to others, but the immediate need for blood is more urgent than the potential long term impacts of PFAS.

Bloodletting making a comeback? And having actual benefits this time?

Re: FDA rejects petition to set PFAS limits in food

#48

Post by toomuchtodo »

appplication wrote: post #44
toomuchtodo wrote: post #35

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Another issue is that sewage sludge and "biosolids", unknowingly containing PFAS, is/was being used as farm fertilizer, causing some farms to have to be written off for food production. I would expect many more farms in the future to be found with PFAS soil levels exceeding what is safe to produce food with. The only way to find out is to test. Maine listened to farmers and confronted the PFAS crisis - https://news.y…

I have no issue repurposing biological waste as fertilizer, that’s fine. But sewage is not just biological waste. It’s got all sorts of other shit in it that’s not suitable for reentry into the food chain. This isn’t a practice that should be allowed anywhere. It’s not like they can’t grow crops without it, they’re just gaming costs.

That's the challenge. The human waste stream is not just biological waste. It is PFAS, it is residual pharma and hormones the human body passes, it is recreational drugs, etc. It is not fit for reuse imho (as a layman, of course, but I believe the evidence strongly supports this assertion), it should be processed with plasma gasification to be made inert and the slag used in road/tarmac applications or landfilled. Why do we do not do that? Well, that costs money, money we are unwilling to spend (versus dumping a hazmat product onto ag land, because it is cheaper).

We learned this with BSE (why you don't feed cows to cows, prion contamination), we learned this with PFAS, we learn this a lot (ag supply chain weaknesses due to prioritizing cost over safety). We just don't seem to care enough to change the system. Caveat emptor.

InEnTec says its plasma technology effectively destroys PFAS - https://www.wastetodaymagazine.com/news/inentec-says-its-pla... - August 23rd, 2024

Biosolids: mix human waste with toxic chemicals, then spread on crops - https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/oct/05/biosolid... - October 5th, 2019

https://hn.algolia.com/?dateRange=all&page=0&prefix=true&que...

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bovine_spongiform_encephalopat...

Re: FDA rejects petition to set PFAS limits in food

#49

Post by josefritzishere »

hombre_fatal wrote: post #5
seethishat wrote: post #4

Doing whole blood donations seems to significantly reduce PFAS in the blood. Here's one paper: https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/fullarticle... Edit: This also helps others who are in accidents, car wrecks, have Cancer, etc. Yes, we pass on the PFAS to others, but the immediate need for blood is more urgent than the potential long term impacts of PFAS.

My girlfriend accidentally told the donation center she went to Mexico, and they banned her from donating for four years. Apparently you'd only go to Mexico to eat brain tacos and share needles with cows. Surely there's a better way to filter out risky blood.

Sounds like a wild party.
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