Harmful "forever" chemicals are widespread in the environment, and new research hints they pose a particular health risk to women.
Women exposed to several widely used chemicals appear to face increased odds for ovarian and other types of cancers, including a doubling of odds for melanoma, according to new research funded by the US government.
Women exposed to several widely used chemicals appear to face increased odds for ovarian and other certain types of cancers, including a doubling of odds for melanoma, according to new research funded by the US government.
September 18, 2023Press Release
A new study shows a clear association between exposure to certain PFAS (per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances) and phenol (including BPA) chemicals and a previous cancer diagnosis in women from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES). The study was conducted by researchers in NIEHS-funded P30 centers from UC San Francisco (UCSF), University of Southern California (USC), and University of Michigan.
Academics including a former EPA scientist are touting what they say is a novel study that used non-targeted analysis (NTA) to identify previously untested chemicals and show at least “potential” links to health harms in pregnant women -- a step they say shows that the discipline could aid research on data-poor chemicals, a persistent hurdle for TSCA.
For decades, it was the secret behind the magic show of homemaking across the US. Applied to a pan, it could keep a fried egg from sticking to the surface. Soaked into a carpet, it could shrug off spills of red wine. Sprayed onto shoes and coats, it could keep the kids dry on a rainy day.
A coalition of academics that includes former EPA scientists says the agency’s long-awaited draft guide for crafting cumulative risk assessments (CRAs) examining the combined dangers of chemical hazards and other health stressors does not meet TSCA’s “best available science” standard and must be rewritten to be fit for regulatory use.
Environmentalists and their allies are pressing EPA to tighten its proposed TSCA risk-management rule for perchloroethylene (PCE) in part by banning more uses of the solvent or even phasing it out entirely, arguing the current approach that focuses on worker-safety measures fails to protect fenceline communities from exposure.
PFAS lurk in so much of what we eat, drink and use. Scientists are only beginning to understand how they’re impacting our health — and what to do about them.
An academic center that supports more stringent TSCA chemical reviews is pushing EPA to incorporate several key steps toward that goal in pending revisions to the “framework” for risk evaluations of existing chemicals, including a new approach to systematic review, a redone model for gauging non-cancer health risks and a structure for cumulative risk assessments.
Forever chemicals are everywhere, including in period and incontinence products—even in some that companies claim are free of such substances.
Environmentalists and academics are urging EPA to bolster the exposure data it uses to inform chemical risk assessments under TSCA and other laws, arguing that the agency needs “new approaches” to close what they say are serious gaps in the information it receives on toxic substances.
High levels of a cancer-causing chemical have forced evacuations at two Milwaukee apartment developments this year. Here’s what you need to know about the chemical and its health hazards.
‘Forever chemicals’ and acids used in plastic production connected to poor pregnancy outcomes: study
Cancer-linked “forever chemicals” and certain compounds used in plastic production may be associated with a heightened risk of adverse pregnancy outcomes, according to a study from researchers at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF).
California researchers have found new evidence that several chemicals used in plastic production and a wide array of other industrial applications are commonly present in the blood of pregnant women, creating increased health risks for mothers and their babies.