<
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2024/apr/19/ocean-spray-pfas-study>
"Ocean waves crashing on the world’s shores emit more PFAS into the air than
the world’s industrial polluters, new research has found, raising concerns
about environmental contamination and human exposure along coastlines.
The study measured levels of PFAS released from the bubbles that burst when
waves crash, spraying aerosols into the air. It found sea spray levels were
hundreds of thousands times higher than levels in the water.
The contaminated spray likely affects groundwater, surface water, vegetation,
and agricultural products near coastlines that are far from industrial sources
of PFAS, said Ian Cousins, a Stockholm University researcher and the study’s
lead author.
“There is evidence that the ocean can be an important source [of PFAS air
emissions],” Cousins said. “It is definitely impacting the coastline.”
PFAS are a class of 15,000 chemicals used across dozens of industries to make
products resistant to water, stains and heat. Though the compounds are highly
effective, they are also linked to cancer, kidney disease, birth defects,
decreased immunity, liver problems and a range of other serious diseases.
They are dubbed “forever chemicals” because they do not naturally break down
and are highly mobile once in the environment, so they continuously move
through the ground, water and air. PFAS have been detected in all corners of
the globe, from penguin eggs in Antarctica to polar bears in the Arctic.
The Stockholm researchers several years ago found that PFAS from ocean waves
crashing are released into the air around shorelines, then can travel thousands
of kilometers through the atmosphere before the chemicals return to land.
The new research looked at levels in the sea spray as waves crash by testing
ocean samples between Southampton in the UK and Chile. The chemicals’ levels
were higher in the northern hemisphere in general because it is more
industrialized and there is not much mixing of water across the equator,
Cousins said.
It is unclear what the findings mean for human exposure. Inhalation of PFAS is
an issue, but how much of the chemicals are breathed in, and air concentrations
further from the waves, is still unknown."
Well that doesn't sound good.
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
