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WTF! Eating Freshwater fish equal to drinking a month's worth of water laced with PFOS


crash_davis

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Not sure WTF this all means other than we eating and drinking our own manufacturing shit chemicals. Study was conducted around Great Lakes region. I don't know what PFAS do to your body but I guess nothing good?

 

Article: https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/976367

Source: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0013935122024926#fig1

EWG study: Eating one freshwater fish equals a month of drinking ‘forever chemicals’ water

PFAS found at high levels in freshwater fish, with most concern for vulnerable communities

Peer-Reviewed Publication

ENVIRONMENTAL WORKING GROUP

WASHINGTON – A new study by Environmental Working Group scientists finds that consumption of just a single serving of freshwater fish per year could be equal to a month of drinking water laced with the “forever chemical” PFOS at high levels that may be harmful.

Researchers calculated that eating one fish in a year equated to ingesting water with PFOS at 48 parts per trillion, or ppt, for one month.


The study bolsters EWG’s long-running calls for strict regulation of PFOS and the other toxic “forever chemicals” known as PFAS, in addition to more tests of food such as fish, since diet is thought to be a major source of PFAS exposure for Americans.

EWG found the median amounts of PFAS in freshwater fish were an astounding 280 times greater than forever chemicals detected in some commercially caught and sold fish. The testing data, from the Environmental Protection Agency and Food and Drug Administration, showed that consuming a single meal of freshwater fish could lead to similar PFAS exposure as ingesting store-bought fish every day for a year.


“People who consume freshwater fish, especially those who catch and eat fish regularly, are at risk of alarming levels of PFAS in their bodies,” said David Andrews, Ph.D., EWG senior scientist and one of the study’s lead authors. “Growing up, I went fishing every week and ate those fish. But now when I see fish, all I think about is PFAS contamination.”


The forever chemical found at greatest concentrations in freshwater fish was PFOS, formerly an ingredient in 3M’s Scotchgard, averaging roughly three in four of total PFAS detections. 

Consumption of PFOS-contaminated freshwater fish can cause significant increases in peoples’ blood serum levels of the forever chemical, creating potential health risks. Even infrequent consumption of freshwater fish can raise PFOS levels in the body.

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Yeah they’re pretty bad for you. In least surprising news, the Houston area was in the worst cohort for those levels. 
 

What was surprising was the one terrible sample in the middle of Montana. Most of the rural areas were lower, as you’d expect. 

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We're born dying.  Just do the best with the time you get.

And, an alligator gar laughs at your PFAS and ask for another serving.  If that article is true, I can't imagine the contaminants locked away in the flesh of a 40 yr old dinosaur of the bayou.

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22 minutes ago, Reagan1k said:

We're born dying.  Just do the best with the time you get.

And, an alligator gar laughs at your PFAS and ask for another serving.  If that article is true, I can't imagine the contaminants locked away in the flesh of a 40 yr old dinosaur of the bayou.

Tough to gauge sarcasm on the internets. Do you eat gar?

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1 hour ago, crash_davis said:

Tough to gauge sarcasm on the internets. Do you eat gar?

Gar “balls” aren’t an uncommon meal for coon ass country folk.  Sweet white meat.

Been years since I’ve had them, but I’d be lying if I said they weren’t good.  I wouldn’t ever turn them down. 

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On 1/18/2023 at 9:40 AM, drt said:

Yeah they’re pretty bad for you. In least surprising news, the Houston area was in the worst cohort for those levels. 
 

What was surprising was the one terrible sample in the middle of Montana. Most of the rural areas were lower, as you’d expect. 

The montana stuff makes sense from all the mining that went on there. Hell.... you eat fresh water fish from butte or anaconda and you will probably shit pennies. 

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So I live in a suburb of Dallas, Rowlett.  There's a nasty-ass river that somewhat divides Rowlett from Garland.  At any given time, there are 10+ vehicles parked along 66 due to folks fishing.  They're not releasing.  I mean, Lake Ray Hubbard is bad enough.  I don't understand how anyone can even think about eating anything from either of these locations.

@TwiceHorn can confirm.  :)

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3 hours ago, Knoxtnhorn said:

So I live in a suburb of Dallas, Rowlett.  There's a nasty-ass river that somewhat divides Rowlett from Garland.  At any given time, there are 10+ vehicles parked along 66 due to folks fishing.  They're not releasing.  I mean, Lake Ray Hubbard is bad enough.  I don't understand how anyone can even think about eating anything from either of these locations.

@TwiceHorn can confirm.  :)

Actually, I have never seen anyone carry a stringer of fish away but there are a shit ton of people fishing.  And that's right by the Garland Water Treatment plant.  The creek is shitty looking and the whole place smells like shit a lot of the time.  Dose nasty.

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On 1/19/2023 at 1:00 PM, Bateshorn said:

I had a PFOS/PFAS chemist once describe our use of the chemical as we live in a bathtub with the plug in, and it just continues to build up in our environment. 

The refinery I'm at has started treating our effluent for PFOS/PFAS. They just run in through big activated carbon vessels. The problem is that they don't currently have a way to degrade it or remove it from the carbon. It gets buried in a haz waste landfill. 

Edited by Schulz2.0
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On 1/19/2023 at 9:09 PM, TwiceHorn said:

Actually, I have never seen anyone carry a stringer of fish away but there are a shit ton of people fishing.  And that's right by the Garland Water Treatment plant.  The creek is shitty looking and the whole place smells like shit a lot of the time.  Dose nasty.

Do you see them with 5 gallon buckets? They don't call them bucket brigades for nothing.

Edited by Deej
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9 hours ago, Sawbonz said:

Not topo Chico though right?

Yep.  The worst offender.  Looks like I'm switching to San Pellegrino and Scwepps

 

TOTAL PFAS OVER 1 PPT
 
Perrier Natural Sparkling Mineral Water 1.1
La Croix Natural Sparkling Water 1.16
Canada Dry Lemon Lime Sparkling Seltzer Water 1.24
Poland Spring Zesty Lime Sparkling Water 1.66
Bubly Blackberry Sparkling Water 2.24
Polar Natural Seltzer Water 6.41
 
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Edited by dcbc
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11 hours ago, dcbc said:

Yep.  The worst offender.  Looks like I'm switching to San Pellegrino and Scwepps

 

TOTAL PFAS OVER 1 PPT
 
Perrier Natural Sparkling Mineral Water 1.1
La Croix Natural Sparkling Water 1.16
Canada Dry Lemon Lime Sparkling Seltzer Water 1.24
Poland Spring Zesty Lime Sparkling Water 1.66
Bubly Blackberry Sparkling Water 2.24
Polar Natural Seltzer Water 6.41
 
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Must be what keeps that shit fizzy several days after you open the bottle.

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Yep.  The worst offender.  Looks like I'm switching to San Pellegrino and Scwepps
 
TOTAL PFAS OVER 1 PPT   Perrier Natural Sparkling Mineral Water 1.1 La Croix Natural Sparkling Water 1.16 Canada Dry Lemon Lime Sparkling Seltzer Water 1.24 Poland Spring Zesty Lime Sparkling Water 1.66 Bubly Blackberry Sparkling Water 2.24 Polar Natural Seltzer Water 6.41 Topo Chico Natural Mineral Water 9.76   https://www.consumerreports.org/water-quality/whats-really-in-your-bottled-water-a5361150329/#:~:text=Consumer Reports found toxic PFAS,water brands%2C especially carbonated ones&text=CR recently tested 47 bottled,noncarbonated and 12 carbonated ones.  
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Well, it’s been a fun ride.
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  • 1 year later...

Grandview, Texas! Come on down!

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2024/mar/01/texas-farmers-pfas-killed-livestock

A Texas county has launched a first-of-its-kind criminal investigation into waste management giant Synagro over PFAS-contaminated sewage sludge it is selling to Texas farmers as a cheap alternative to fertilizer.

Two small Texas ranches at the center of that case have also filed a federal lawsuit against Synagro, alleging the company knew its sludge was contaminated but still sold it. Sludge spread on a nearby field sickened the farmers, killed livestock, polluted drinking water, contaminated beef later sold to the public and left their properties worthless, the complaint alleges.

The PFAS levels independent testing found on the farm were “shockingly high”, said Kyla Bennett, policy director for the Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility nonprofit, which is assisting in the analyses.

The farms’ drinking water was found to be contaminated at levels over 65m times higher than the federal health advisory for PFOS, one kind of PFAS compound, a Guardian calculation indicates, and meat was as much as 250,000 times above safe levels, the lawsuit alleges.

The complaint alleges the families will likely have to abandon their ranches from which they sell livestock that are later used for beef production.

“It’s devastating and terrifying,” said Mary Whittle, an attorney representing the farmers. “They have developed these properties to be the center of their world … and this is how they make their money.”

...

The sludge spread near the Grandview, Texas farms came from the city of Fort Worth’s wastewater treatment facility, about 30 miles north. Sludge was spread on a crop field across the street from the plaintiffs’ farms in late 2022, and the highly mobile chemicals migrated to their properties, the suit alleges.

Soon after, virtually all fish died in a pond from which the family ate what it caught. Testing showed catfish with PFOS levels in their blood as high as 74,000 ppt for PFOS – a level 30,000 times above the dosage at which humans may get sick from consuming.

Around 10 cows and several horses on one farm have died without explanation since the sludge was spread. Testing of a stillborn calf liver found levels as high as 613,000 ppt.

Among other health issues farmers say they have experienced since the sludge was spread are high blood pressure, respiratory problems, cardiac issues, generalized pain, skin irritations and one farmer grew a mass on her thoracic spine that threatens to leave her paralyzed.

Testing of drinking water in the two properties’ wells found levels as high as 268,000 parts per trillion (ppt), far above the .004 ppt limit for PFOS.

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4 minutes ago, smuggs said:

Topo Chico (Coca Cola) lowered the PFAS from 9.76 to 3.9 a year after that first CR test. I can't find any test results since 2021 though. Hopefully they have continued the downward trend.

https://www.consumerreports.org/water-quality/topo-chico-cuts-pfas-levels-by-more-than-half-a4286812129/

Holy shit I had no idea Topo had such a high level of PFAS in it. I think them taking care of it was in response to the new EPA legal limit that set it at 4 parts per trillion. The EPA does have non-enforceable “advisory health limits” of 0.02 ppt and 0.004 ppt for PFOA and PFOS, respectively so I'd say there's a way to go

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