In this video, Roger Seheult, MD of MedCram discusses a topic coined “forever chemicals.” What are “forever chemicals?” This is a term that was coined by Professor Joseph Allen to describe technologically advanced substances that are used in a multitude of areas including in nonstick pans, fire retardant clothing, and other products that “don’t break down.” Essentially it relates to chemicals in products that allow our society to have better living through chemicals.
Polyfluoroalkyl substances and bisphenols
He discusses the two main types of chemicals known as polyfluoroalkyl substances or PFAS and better known as PFOA and PFOS and bisphenols or BP and better known as BPA and BPB. However, it must be noted that these compounds are only a few out of hundreds of similar types of chemicals. These compounds are used in plastics often to improve the material but unfortunately, it has been increasingly noted that they can also disrupt hormone regulations in the body.
What does the EPA think?
The EPA recently released a statement that they have not been able to find any safe levels for these above chemicals. Furthermore, many of these chemicals are turning up in municipal water systems in the U.S. PFOA and PFOS are now being linked to cancer, low birth weights, and thyroid disease. While PFOA and PFOS themselves have been banned from industrial use, there are still hundreds of similar chemicals from the same group that can still be used.
Possible interference with the immune system
There was an article in JAMA that discussed how these substances could potentially interfere with the immune system. It found that children who had higher levels of these substances in their blood had a reduction in antibody levels after vaccination. The study concluded with the suggestion that elevated exposure to PFACs was associated with a reduced humoral immune response to routine childhood immunization in children aged 5 and 7 years, meaning the children’s antibodies levels were lower than other kids who didn’t have as high levels of PFAS in their blood.
Although today some of these chemicals have been banned, there are dozens of look-a-like chemical compounds that have replaced them instead. MedCram has addressed this in the past and it is best summed up as previously discussed in this video clip with Professor Joseph Allen.
LINKS / REFERENCES:
Healthy Buildings: Optimize Health and COVID 19 Ventilation (MedCram) | https://youtu.be/OQ6DhgwgtGw
These toxic chemicals are everywhere — even in your body. And they won’t ever go away. (Washington Post) | https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinio…
2 years ago today I wrote the op-ed that branded PFAS as ‘Forever Chemicals’ (Joseph Allen Twitter) | https://twitter.com/j_g_allen/status/…
EPA finds no safe level for two toxic ‘forever chemicals,’ found in many U.S. water systems (USA Today) | https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2…
How “forever chemicals” might impair the immune system (PNAS) | https://www.pnas.org/doi/pdf/10.1073/…
Serum vaccine antibody concentrations in children exposed to perfluorinated compounds (JAMA) | https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22274…
Forever Chemicals Are Widespread in U.S. Drinking Water (Scientific American) | https://www.scientificamerican.com/ar…
Not All In-Home Drinking Water Filters Completely Remove Toxic PFAS (Duke) | https://nicholas.duke.edu/news/not-al…
Assessing the Effectiveness of Point-of-Use Residential Drinking Water Filters for Perfluoroalkyl Substances (ACS) | https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acs….
PFOA & PFOS Drinking Water Health Advisories (EPA) | https://www.epa.gov/sites/default/fil…
Aquaperform NSF Performance Data (MultiPure) | https://www.multipure.com/content/mp-…
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