"Forever Chemicals" Found in Straws, Chesapeake Bay

'Dangerous' paper straw

From UPI, Harmful 'forever chemicals' found in 'eco-friendly' paper straws

Paper straws, meant to be an eco-friendly alternative to plastic, may not be better for the environment, a new study concludes, warning that they also contain "forever chemicals" that can harm human health.

"Straws made from plant-based materials, such as paper and bamboo, are often advertised as being more sustainable and eco-friendly than those made from plastic," said researcher Thimo Groffen, an environmental scientist at the University of Antwerp in Belgium. "However, the presence of PFAS in these straws means that's not necessarily true."

For this study, published Thursday in the journal Food Additives and Contaminants, Groffen and colleagues tested 39 straw brands in a variety of materials for poly- and perfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS).

Turtle murdering plastic straw

Straws were paper, bamboo, glass, stainless steel and plastic. Each straw went through two rounds of testing for PFAS.

PFAS were found in 69% of the straws. Testing detected 18 different PFAS. These chemicals were found in 90% of paper straws; about 80% of bamboo straws; 75% of plastic straws, and 40% of glass straw brands. PFAS were not detected in any of the five types of steel straws tested.

The finding for glass straws really surprises me. The high temperatures involved in making glass should either destroy or at least evaporate any organo-fluorine compound. It must come from subsequent handling or packaging. 

Expensive, reusable steel straw

The most commonly found PFAS was perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), which has been banned worldwide since 2020.

Testing also detected trifluoroacetic acid (TFA) and trifluoromethanesulfonic acid (TFMS). These "ultra-short-chain" PFAS are highly water soluble and so might leach out of straws into drinks, according to the study.

These all may pose limited risk to human health because people tend to use straws only occasionally and chemical concentrations were low, researchers said. But the chemicals can build up in the body for years.

Is that a glass straw?

 

"Small amounts of PFAS, while not harmful in themselves, can add to the chemical load already present in the body," Groffen said in a journal news release.

It's not known if the straws contained the PFAS to waterproof them or because of contamination from soil used to grow materials or water used in manufacturing.

PFAS are used in many everyday products, including nonstick pans and outdoor clothing. They make these items resistant to water, heat and stains, but break down very slowly over time and can persist in the environment for thousands of years.

They're associated with health problems, such as lower response to vaccines, lower birth weight, thyroid disease, increased cholesterol levels, liver damage, kidney cancer and testicular cancer.

Researchers said the prevalence of PFAS in the straws suggests they were added as a waterproof coating.

"The presence of PFAS in paper and bamboo straws shows they are not necessarily biodegradable," Groffen said. "We did not detect any PFAS in stainless steel straws, so I would advise consumers to use this type of straw -- or just avoid using straws at all."

PFAS laden Smallmouth Bass

Chesapeake Bay Program,  Bay scientists turn attention to ecological impacts of "forever chemicals"

When it comes to how PFAS impacts the health of wildlife in the Bay, there was a variety of data presented at the workshop. Heather Walsh, a fish biologist from the United States Geological Survey (USGS), shared findings on PFAS accumulation in blood plasma from smallmouth bass in the Potomac and Susquehanna River watersheds. Four PFAS chemicals were detected in every bass, including PFOS, PFUnA, PFDoA, and PFDA, and concentrations of PFDoA and PFUnA were higher in males than in females. Future studies are being conducted to determine the health effects of PFAS alone and in combination with other factors that have the potential to impact fish health like rising temperatures, increasing nutrients, exposure to other chemicals like pesticides and mercury, and disease.

PFAS laden oysters

Additionally, Marie DeLorenzo of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) presented on how PFAS accumulates in ocean life, which impacts food chains in the Bay. Preliminary results from NOAA studies indicated that the most sensitive species were larval mud snails, followed by sheepshead minnows, grass shrimp and oysters. Through NOAA’s Mussel Watch Program, the federal agency is monitoring 28 PFAS compounds in sediment and bivalves, helping to develop a national database for PFAS in coastal environments that resource managers can use.

Scientists at the workshop also investigated the question of how much PFAS has already accumulated in the Bay’s wildlife. Since 2020, the Maryland Department of the Environment (MDE) has been studying PFAS occurrence in water, fish tissue and oysters in locations that include the St. Mary’s River, Piscataway Creek and tributaries on Maryland’s Eastern Shore. In fall 2021, MDE began its strategic sampling of fish tissue for PFAS in harbors, bays and metro regions. Data appear to indicate certain PFAS, especially PFOS (a particularly hazardous PFAS chemical that has been voluntarily phased out in the US), have substantial variability between fish species and do not appear to accumulate in certain mollusks and crustaceans. Channel catfish, for example, were found to have significantly less PFAS than largemouth bass, sunfish and perch, but questions on species diet and food chain dynamics exist. To date, PFAS have not been identified in mollusks in the Chesapeake Bay.

We see lots of studies of distribution of PFAS, and indeed, they are ubiquitous, and given their very long life span in the environment, they're going to be found there for a very long time. I've seen lots of talk about them being associated with health effects, but little evidence of direct effects.

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