Study Details How ‘Forever Chemicals’ Disrupt Liver Function + More

Study Details How ‘Forever Chemicals’ Disrupt Liver Function

The Hill reported:

Toxic “forever chemicals” are altering human liver function at a fundamental level by triggering both fat accumulation and cancer-linked cell damage, a new study has found.

Several of these compounds, also known as perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), interrupt liver cell signaling and immune functions but do so via unique mechanisms, scientists observed in the study, published in Environment International.

The disruptions were also sex-specific — affecting donor liver cells of males and females in different ways, according to the research. “These chemicals change our bodies,” said senior author Ana Maretti-Mira, an assistant professor of research medicine at the University of Southern California’s Keck School of Medicine, in a statement.

Notorious for their ability to persist both in the human body and in the environment, PFAS are present in numerous household products, as well as in certain types of firefighting foam.

What ‘Chimney Sweep Testicle’ Can Teach Us About Fossil Fuels’ Staggering Health Consequences

DeSmog reported:

Of the many health impacts linked to fossil fuels perhaps the most gruesome is chimney sweep testicle. Following the Great Fire of London in 1666, chimneys were required by law to be regularly cleaned to avoid another catastrophic conflagration. Coal was the common fuel in the 1700s and boys as young as four years old were forced to climb inside narrow chimneys to scrape away the accumulated residue containing a variety of carcinogenic chemicals.

Decades later, large and painful testicle tumours would appear. “It is a disease…makes it first attack on the inferior part of the scrotum where it produces a superficial, painful ragged ill-looking sore with hard rising edges,” noted Dr. Percivall Pott in 1775. Pott discovered the link between the condition and toxic coal chemicals. “In no great length of time it pervades the skin … and the membranes of the scrotum, and seizes the testicle, which it enlarges, hardens and renders truly and thoroughly distempered.”

So painful was the condition that the afflicted would sometimes resort to cutting off sensitive parts of their own bodies to try to seek relief. Chimney sweep carcinoma was the first-ever identified occupational cancer, and the first cancer linked to a fossil fuel.

G.O.P. Plan on Pesticides Faces Revolt From MAHA Moms

The New York Times reported:

For years, the pesticide manufacturer Bayer has battled thousands of lawsuits claiming that its weed killer Roundup causes cancer in people who use it frequently. Now, the Republican-controlled Congress could deliver the company a crucial victory. A provision tucked into a government spending bill could shield Bayer and other pesticides makers from billions of dollars in payouts to plaintiffs.

The proposal follows intense lobbying by Bayer and other industry interests over the past year. But it has sparked outrage from a new force in Washington: followers of the “Make America Healthy Again” movement. The controversy highlights tensions within President Trump’s political base over the pesticides in the nation’s food supply. Tensions flared this month after Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. released a report on childhood health that disappointed many MAHA activists who felt it didn’t go far enough to rein in pesticides. The divisions within the president’s base could resurface ahead of the midterm elections next fall.

If Republican lawmakers vote for the spending bill in its current form, “they are going to face the wrath of MAHA in the midterm elections,” said Vani Hari, a MAHA influencer who is known as the Food Babe to her 2.3 million Instagram followers. Among MAHA influencers, glyphosate, the key ingredient in certain formulations of Roundup, is so singularly spurned that the activist Kelly Ryerson goes by “the Glyphosate Girl” on social media. In recent weeks, Ms. Ryerson has urged her nearly 84,000 Instagram followers to call lawmakers about the proposal.

Inside the Plastics Industry Playbook: Delay, Deny, and Distract

Yale E360 reported:

Over the decades, scientific studies have highlighted the environmental and human toll of making, using, and discarding disposable plastics, and yet activist campaigns, international treaty negotiations, and government regulations have done very little to curb its use. The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development expects plastic production and waste to triple by 2060.

In Saabira Chaudhuri’s recently published Consumed: How Big Brands Got Us Hooked on Plastic, the London-based journalist explains how consumer goods companies have for decades dodged regulation in their efforts to maintain the status quo.

In an interview with Yale Environment 360, Chaudhuri talks about the plastics industry playbook, which she says stokes fears that a curb on disposables will raise consumer prices and presents false solutions that shift responsibility for plastic litter from producers onto municipalities. She explores the history of manufacturing demand for disposables and offers hope that a critical mass of concerned individuals can turn the plastics tide.

California Voted to Ban ‘Forever Chemicals’ in Cookware. Some Celebrity Chefs Aren’t Happy

Time reported:

California lawmakers voted to ban “forever chemicals” in cookware and other products this week, but not everyone is happy about the move. A group of celebrity chefs — some of whom sell or endorse nonstick pots and pans that use chemicals covered by the ban — want to stop it from taking effect.

The new law targets PFAS — short for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances — in cookware, cleaning products, dental floss, ski wax, food packaging and certain children’s products. The bill was overwhelmingly approved late Friday by the California legislature and will now head to Gov. Gavin Newsom’s desk.

The man-made chemicals are known by their “forever” moniker because they are some of the most persistent class of chemicals ever made, says Scott Belcher, professor of environmental toxicology and director of North Carolina State’s Oceans and Human Health Center.

“[PFAS] are highly fluorinated, purely synthetic chemicals, and have a chemistry that had never existed on the planet until towards the end of World War II. That is partially why they’re so difficult to break down and so challenging to remove,” Belcher tells TIME. “They’re really in absolutely everything globally at this point.”

Trump Asks Federal Court to Let It Drop Regulations on Some PFAS Chemicals in Drinking Water

KJZZ reported:

Federal attorneys are asking a court to allow the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to drop a series of regulations on PFAS in drinking water. The chemicals are used in a range of products and are tied to health issues like cancer. The EPA introduced the first federally enforceable limits on six different types of PFAS in drinking water last year, under the Biden administration.

The Trump administration’s EPA announced plans to undo regulations on four of those in May. Now it’s asking a federal court to make it official. Jared Thompson is an attorney with the Natural Resources Defense Council, one of the groups challenging the change.

“In general, agencies have to follow the same process to undo a regulation that they have to follow to create a regulation. They have to announce what they’re going to do, solicit public comment on it,” he said.

Toxic Jet Engine Fumes Sickening Crews, Passengers: Report

The Hill reported:

The Federal Aviation Administration has received thousands of reports since 2010 about toxic fumes from jet engines leaking into the cockpit and cabin of airplanes, according to an investigation done by The Wall Street Journal. The leaks are due to a commonly used airplane design known as “bleed air” that pulls air from the engine into airplanes so those onboard can breathe.

The increase in reports is largely driven by Airbus A320s, which the three largest U.S. airlines use. The aircraft reported seven times the rate of fume events than their Boeing 737, which does not use the “bleed air” design. For JetBlue and Spirit, both of which primarily use Airbus aircraft, the number of fume incidents saw a combined 660 percent surge between 2016 and 2024.

The fumes, often described as smelling of “wet dog” and “nail polish,” have led to emergency landings and passengers and crew members falling ill, according to reports obtained by the Journal. The airline industry has funded studies to disprove claims that fume leakage in aircraft cause significant harm, while opposing legislation calling for increased safety measures to avoid fume leaks, according to the Journal.

Congress has attempted to introduce legislation at least 19 times about fume contamination for over two decades, according to a deposition transcript obtained by the Journal of Boeing’s 737 chief product engineer, Julie Brightwell.