How can humans say goodbye to invulnerable fluoride? A study analyzed the breast milk of 110 mothers in Shanghai and found that the samples had been contaminated by two high-fluoride compounds that reached alarming levels. According to existing health advisory standards in the United States, if such high levels were found in drinking water, it should be classified as unsafe. But even so, experts still recommend breastfeeding because the benefits outweigh the risks. For more than 50 years, the West has been producing both compounds for its own and global use. After their toxicity became known, companies voluntarily stopped production, and these two compounds gradually withdrew from the stage of consumer products. However, their production has been transferred from the West to countries that lack environmental protection. In these countries, fluoride plants continue to release both substances into rivers, land and oceans. Today, China not only still produces both substances, but is considered the world's largest emitter of perfluorooctanoate (PFOA) and the sole producer of perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS). PFOA and PFOS are the best-known members of the per- and polyfluorinated compounds (PFAS) family. These highly fluorinated compounds are extremely versatile because their carbon-fluorine bonds rarely break apart under natural conditions. When these carbon-fluorine bonds are connected into chains, they can form a waterproof and oil-proof coating on clothing, carpets and kitchenware that will not decompose or fade when exposed to water, extreme heat, or long-term exposure to the sun. This property can also be used to produce strong fire-resistant products that can withstand and even extinguish high-temperature flames on aircraft. But this exceptional durability makes these compounds both versatile and dangerous. They persist in the environment for thousands of years, affecting us and future generations in the long term. Scientific research in America's most polluted communities has linked PFOA and PFOS contamination to a host of health problems, including testicular and kidney cancer, high cholesterol, ulcerative colitis, thyroid disease and pregnancy-induced hypertension. The trace amounts of PFOA and PFOS we consume from drinking water and food accumulate in the body day after day, year after year. They are stubbornly entrenched in blood proteins and key organs. Even small amounts of daily exposure can have profound effects on health. Influence. Now, researchers have discovered high-fluorine compounds in the blood of 98% Americans. No similar studies have been conducted in China, but a small-scale study in Fuxin, Liaoning Province, where a fluoride factory is located, showed that local residents had blood levels of PFOA that were comparable to those in the United States. In view of the toxicity and bioaccumulation characteristics of PFOA and PFOS, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has set a recommended upper limit for drinking water of 70 ppt. This concentration is equivalent to four small drops in an Olympic swimming pool. In 2016, more than 6 million Americans' drinking water did not meet this standard. Their water sources are commonly contaminated by emissions from fluoride factories and waste disposal sites, and the use of fluorinated refractory products. Fluoride pollution treatment in the United States is costly. For example, the U.S. Air Force spent $137 million to investigate contamination from fluorinated refractory products at military bases, and the cost of comprehensive remediation of contamination at these sites was much higher. Contamination of the Ohio River Valley by a chemical plant triggered more than 3,500 lawsuits, with a total settlement of $670 million. Affected communities purchased activated carbon filtration systems to keep their drinking water safe, a temporary solution that cost them millions of dollars. After decades of production, the largest U.S. producers agreed in 2000 to phase out production of PFOS. Shortly thereafter, other major fluoride manufacturers joined the PFOA reduction plan, agreeing to reduce PFOA plant emissions and product content by 95% by 2010, and to completely cease production in 2015. From 1999 to 2014, the concentration of PFOS in the blood of Americans decreased by 84%, and the above actions are indispensable. China's drive to reduce the use of these two fluorides has only just begun. In 2017, the World Bank approved an allocation of US$24 million to support China’s actions to reduce PFOS. In the Madrid Statement, 252 scientists from 44 countries called for reducing the use of PFAs and developing safe fluorine-free alternatives. They also proposed an essential trinity approach: first, implement safety safeguards to reduce fluoride emissions from factories; second, reduce fluoride use when appropriate; and third, develop safer fluoride-free alternatives. Source: Chinadialogue (2017-08-21) (compiled by PIDC)
