With all of the discussion regarding the rampant PFAS contamination worldwide, we never touched on Japan. The entire country has HUGE issues with PFAS... and this is an older report already. I lifted just several of the points in the report. I encourage you all to read the entire report, it is pretty scary.
PFAS substances impact Japanese infants A 2018 Japanese government review based on studies of a large cohort of pregnant women and their infants found that prenatal exposures to PFAS, such as PFOS and PFOA, may affect birth size, disrupt the homeostasis of several hormones (thyroid, steroid, sex hormones et al.), and affect the development of the nervous system, allergies, and infectious diseases. In males, there are negative correlations between prenatal exposure of PFAS and production of testosterone, estradiol, inhibin B, and insulin-like factor 3. In females, there are negative correlations between prenatal exposures to PFAS and production of progesterone, prolactin, and sex hormone-binding globulin (SHBG). A study of this same cohort noted that, “even low levels of PFOS and PFOA exposure can disrupt reproductive hormone imbalance in the fetus.” A 2017 study found prenatal exposures to PFHxS and PFOS through the mother, were associated with a higher risk of infectious diseases in their children.
Breast milk is contaminated with PFAS substances A 2008 study found PFAS in breast milk in women from Ehime Prefecture. PFOS was found in 100% of the samples from Japan. PFOA and PFHxS were found in 92% of the samples; PFNA in 13% of them; and PFHpA in 25% of them. The results showed significant PFAS levels for PFOS, PFOA, PFHxS, PFNA, and PFHpA. Overall, average PFOS levels in Japanese breast milk averaged 232 ppt – more than 10 times higher than the drinking water health advisory limit of 20 ppt for PFOA, PFOS, PFHxS, PFHpA and PFNA combined in the US State of Vermont. Average levels of PFOS in Japanese breast milk were the highest in all countries examined. The highest level of PFOS in Japanese breast milk (523 ppt) was more than 26 times higher than this drinking water health advisory limit.
Wastewater treatment plants are PFAS pollution sources Wastewater treatment plants receive a mixture of domestic and industrial wastewater and the PFAS removal rate is less than 50% but increases with frequent changes of activated carbon. A study of the processes found that sand filtration and ozonation did not remove PFOS or PFOA and that PFOS (0.51 – 7.6 ng/L) and PFOA (0.78 – 72 ng/L) were also found in activated carbon filter samples. The authors noted that older activated carbon was not effective at PFOS or PFOA removal. This raised concerns since activated carbon at water treatment plants is commonly used for several years At some plants, the effluent has even higher PFAS levels than the influent and they drain into rivers that serve as drinking water supplies. A 2010 study estimated daily 4 discharges of PFAS from individual sewage treatment plants to range from 0.35–55.9 g/d. A sewage treatment plant discharge site on the Ina River near Osaka led to a level of 67,000 ng/L PFOA with an estimated 18 kg of PFOA discharged daily. Another plant discharging into the Tsurumi River released PFOS (78.7-689.9 ng/L), PFHxA (3.5 – 9.4 ng/L), PFHpA (5.5 – 7.2 ng/L), PFOA (17.8 – 24.9), PFNA (27.5 – 41.8), and PFDA (3.0 – 4.5 ng/L). Sampling at discharge sites in other rivers indicated that sewage effluent was the likely source of PFOS, PFHpA and PFNA. The total fluxes of sewage-derived PFAS were estimated to be: PFOS (3.6 t/year), PFHpA (2.6 t/year), PFOA (5.6 t/year), and PFNA (2.6 t/year). The authors note that these fluxes, especially for PFNA were remarkably high in Japan compared to rivers in Europe
CNQ Price at posting:
34.0¢ Sentiment: Buy Disclosure: Held
(20min delay)