[CPEO-MEF] PFAS: "Birds Are Living Proof That ‘Forever Chemicals’ Pollute Our Water Supplies"

[Lenny Siegel]

Birds Are Living Proof That ‘Forever Chemicals’ Pollute Our Water Supplies
Decades of studies show avian eggs and tissues are chock-full of widely used PFAS. Now officials are finally taking action for public health. 
    
By Purbita Saha
Audubon Magazine 
Summer 2019

Splotchy and olive-brown, with a slight sheen to its shell, a contaminated Herring Gull egg on Lake Erie’s shores looks the same as any other. But under its delicate surface lies a host of toxins that could disrupt the young bird’s life before it begins.

Created from a byproduct of the Manhattan Project, per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) were engineered to be indestructible to water, oil, and heat. Today more than 4,000 forms can be found in products ranging from cooking pans and winter coats to burger wrappers and dental floss. For decades, however, these unregulated “forever chemicals” have also infiltrated lakes, streams, and hundreds of urban drinking supplies. Their pervasiveness doesn’t bode well for organisms that rely on these waters.

Fifty years of research has shown high PFAS levels amassed in the environment and food chain may increase the risk of developmental issues and cancers in fish, birds, and mammals—humans included. The compounds also funnel from mother to offspring, threatening infant survival.

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For the entire article, see
https://www.audubon.org/magazine/summer-2019/birds-are-living-proof-forever-chemicals-pollute

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Lenny Siegel
Executive Director
Center for Public Environmental Oversight
a project of the Pacific Studies Center
P.O. Box 998, Mountain View, CA 94042
Voice/Fax: 650/961-8918 
<lsiegel at cpeo.org>
http://www.cpeo.org