The High Seas Treaty aims to help place 30% of the seas into protected areas by 2030, to safeguard and recuperate marine nature. More:

• Ocean treaty: Historic agreement reached after decade of talks  –  BBC

• Human activity devastating marine species from mammals to corals - IUCN Red List  –  IUCN
• Deep-sea mining  –  IUCN

The gas, which is used to put patients to sleep safely during surgery, has a global warming potential 2,500 times greater than carbon dioxide, according to the UK’s National Health Service (NHS). More:

• Scotland becomes the first country to ban the high-emissions anaesthetic desflurane  –  Euronews

• 'Fantastic news': Ozone layer on track to recover within decades, UN reports  –  Euronews

• If healthcare was a country, it would be the world’s fifth largest emitter: What needs to change?  –  Euronews

Experts from the University of Florida warn that your toilet paper could contain toxic “forever chemicals,” also known as per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAs), which have previously been linked to certain cancers and even low sperm count. More:

• ‘Forever chemicals’ in your toilet paper might give you cancer: study  –  New York Post

• Now We Need to Worry About Harmful 'Forever Chemicals' in Our Toilet Paper Too  –  Time
• Study: Toilet paper adds to ‘forever chemicals’ in wastewater  –  The Hill
• Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances in Toilet Paper and the Impact on Wastewater Systems (Research abstract)
• Underestimation of Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances in Biosolids: Precursor Transformation During Conventional Treatment (Research abstract)

• Eating just 1 portion of freshwater fish may expose people to toxic chemicals  –  New York Post

• Use of toxic PFAS chemicals in cosmetics is ‘widespread’: study  –  New York Post
• Too many kids use ‘extremely toxic’ toy cosmetics: public health experts  –  New York Post
• Cancer-causing ‘forever chemicals’ found in kids’ school uniforms  –  New York Post
• Thinx ‘non-toxic’ period panties settles $5M lawsuit over harmful chemicals  –  New York Post
• Teflon non-stick pans could release millions of microplastic particles in ‘health concern’: study  –  New York Post

• Toxic PFAS are everywhere — here’s how to avoid them  –  New York Post

• Chemicals in household products could cause cancer, diabetes in kids: study  –  New York Post
• Moms exposed to ‘forever chemicals’ at home linked to low sperm count in sons  –  New York Post
• ‘Forever’ chemicals in cookware linked to liver cancer in first human study  –  New York Post
• Perfluorooctanoic Acid (PFOA), Perfluorooctane Sulfonate (PFOS), and Related Chemicals  –  American Cancer Society

A group of scientists from the Global PFAS Science Panel responds to Le Monde's revelations on Europe's widespread contamination by PFAS, also known as 'forever chemicals' because of their toxicity and persistence in the environment. More:

• 'It is crucial that a strong and effective PFAS restriction enter into force as soon as possible'  –  Le Monde

• Revealed: The massive contamination of Europe by PFAS 'forever chemicals'  –  Le Monde
• 'Forever pollution': Explore the map of Europe's PFAS contamination  –  Le Monde

• 'Forever chemicals': In France, nearly 1,000 PFAS-contaminated sites are largely ignored  –  Le Monde

• 'Forever chemicals': Industrialists lobby to avoid ban on toxic substances  –  Le Monde

The government is investigating and mapping out the sources of dangerous “forever chemicals” present in our waterways. But England will not meet its targets for waterways having good chemical status by 2027, the government admits, in part because of the PFAS “forever chemicals” in our rivers. More:

• ‘Forever chemicals’ mean England’s waters will miss pollution targets for decades  –  The Guardian
• Is the UK absent from the fight against PFAS ‘forever chemical’ pollution?  –  ENDS Report

• Shocking state of English rivers revealed as all of them fail pollution tests  –  The Guardian
• Toxic substances from chemicals firm site found polluting protected river  –  The Guardian

• Poly- and perfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS): sources, pathways and environmental data: summary  –  Environmental Agency UK
• Perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) and related substances: sources, pathways and environmental data (Report) (download PDF)  –  Environmental Agency UK

• Revealed: scale of ‘forever chemical’ pollution across UK and Europe  –  The Guardian

• What are PFAS, how toxic are they and how do you become exposed?  –  The Guardian

A new study reports on a worrying link between higher levels of air pollution and faster bone loss through osteoporosis, a chronic skeletal condition that makes bones more fragile, and likely to break. More:

• Air Pollution Is Making Human Bones More Brittle, Study Suggests  –  ScienceAlert

• Air pollution and decreased bone mineral density among Women's Health Initiative participants (Research article) (download PDF)
• Association of air particulate pollution with bone loss over time and bone fracture risk: analysis of data from two independent studies (Research article) (download PDF)
• Long-term exposure to air pollution might increase prevalence of osteoporosis in Chinese rural population (Research abstract)

Issue d’un travail inédit d’agrégation de données, cette carte permet de visualiser pour la première fois l’ampleur de la contamination de l’Europe par ces substances toxiques et persistantes. More:

• « Polluants éternels » : explorez la carte d’Europe de la contamination par les PFAS  –  Le Monde

• Révélations sur la contamination massive de l’Europe par les PFAS, ces polluants éternels  –  Le Monde
• Quelque 17'000 sites européens contaminés aux PFAS  –  RTS

• Methodology: The Map of Forever Pollution (download PDF)  –  The Forever Pollution Project
• Presumptive Contamination: A New Approach to PFAS Contamination Based on Likely Sources (Research article) (download PDF)

At least 17,000 sites all over Europe are polluted with PFAS – more than 2,100 contain levels so high that they are deemed hazardous to human health. Meanwhile, industry associations and major chemical companies are working hard to water down the upcoming EU ban on PFAS. More:

• Europe is riddled with PFAS – but producers refuse to let go of their cash cow  –  ChemSec

• Journalists tracking PFAS across Europe  –  The Forever Pollution Project
• 'Forever pollution': Explore the map of Europe's PFAS contamination  –  Le Monde

• Studying Social, Scientific, and Political Factors of Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances  –  The PFAS Project Lab
• The Cost of Inaction-environmental and health impacts linked to exposure to PFAS (download PDF Report)   –  Nordic Council of Ministers

The EU’s plans to ban PFAS will have a huge impact on companies globally. Perhaps even more than expected, as many manufacturers are unaware that they may have PFAS chemicals in their product line. ChemSec’s new online tool — PFAS Guide — helps solve this problem. More:

• ChemSec helps businesses map PFAS hotspots ahead of EU ban  –  ChemSec

• Emerging chemical risks in Europe — ‘PFAS’  –  European Environment Agency
• PFAS Guide - Find PFAS chemicals in your products  –  ChemSec

• Investors launch initiative to tackle chemical pollution crisis  –  ChemSec
• Investors with $8 trillion call for phase-out of dangerous “forever chemicals”  –  ChemSec

Over several months, the journalists in the Forever Pollution Project collected and aggregated hundreds of databases to establish the first map of the dissemination throughout Europe of these extremely toxic and persistent substances. More:

• Forever Pollution Project: How 'Le Monde' traced PFAS chemicals across Europe  –  Le Monde
• Revealed: scale of ‘forever chemical’ pollution across UK and Europe  –  The Guardian

• 'Forever pollution': Explore the map of Europe's PFAS contamination  –  Le Monde
• PFAS in Flanders  –  Flanders.be
• Presumptive Contamination: A New Approach to PFAS Contamination Based on Likely Sources (Research article) (download PDF)

• Staff Working Document - Impact Assessment Report accompanying the Proposal (download PDF)  –  European Commission

• 'Forever chemicals:' The hidden toxins in your body  –  DW

• Studying Social, Scientific, and Political Factors of Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances  –  The PFAS Project Lab

Exposure to “forever chemicals” interferes with several critical biological processes — including the metabolism of fats and amino acids — in children and young adults, a new study has found. More:

• ‘Forever chemicals’ disrupt key metabolic processes in children and teens: study  –  The Hill
• Metabolic Signatures of Youth Exposure to Mixtures of Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances: A Multi-Cohort Study (Research article)

To restore fragile ecosystems and protect people’s health, we must address the use of synthetic pesticides. But as EU-level discussions on these intensify, is something more fundamental also at stake? Does widespread and long-term pollution of our soil, air and water with pesticides sound like a good idea? More:

• Real pesticide action: Our moment to ally politics, people and nature  –  META

• Pesticides: a model that’s costing us dearly  –  Basic
• The Story of Silent Spring  –  NRDC

• Land and soil in Europe (Report) (download PDF)  –  European Environment Agency
• Ríos hormonados: Contamination of Spanish Rivers with Pesticides  –  PAN Europe
• Brussels confronts EU countries over pesticides and animal welfare  –  POLITICO
• Pesticides spark broad biodiversity loss (download PDF) (Research article)

• Pesticides in our bedroom (Report) (download PDF)  –  PAN Europe
• Residents exposed to pesticides. The failures in risk assessment (Report) (download PDF)  –  Generations futures
• Current pesticide reduction measures fail to protect vulnerable groups from pesticide pollution, new study from Italy shows  –  PAN Europe

• The effects of pesticides on health (Report) (download PDF)  –  INSERM
• Cancer incidence in the AGRICAN cohort study (2005-2011) (download PDF) (Research article)

• Directive on the sustainable use of pesticides  –  European Parliament
• Sustainable use of pesticides  –  European Commission
• Sustainable use of plant protection products: limited progress in measuring and reducing risks (Report) (download PDF)  –  European Court of Auditors
• Delay in new pesticides law publication risks derailing Farm to Fork  –  European Environment Bureau

• A loud lobby for a silent spring (Report) (download PDF)  –  Corporate Europe Observatory
• Pesticide Paradise: How industry and officials protected the most toxic pesticides  –  PAN Europe
• Sowing Doubt: How Big Ag is Delaying Sustainable Farming in Europe  –  DeSmog-Sowing Doubt
• Press Conference: EU pesticide reduction under fierce attack  –  IFOAM Organics Europe

Stacks of boxes line the front hall of Wendy Thomas’ house in Merrimack, New Hampshire, not far from the Massachusetts border. Inside each box are jugs of water that she relies on daily. Thomas, age 64, uses the bottled water for cooking and drinking because her well water is contaminated with high levels of PFAS. More:

• Tracing the path of toxic ‘forever chemicals’ inside the body  –  WBUR News

They stop your food from sticking to the pan. They prevent stains in clothes and carpets. They help firefighting foam to extinguish fires. But the very thing that makes “forever chemicals” so useful also makes them dangerous. More:

• ‘Forever chemicals’ have made their way to farms. For now, levels in your food are low – but there’s no time to waste  –  The Conversation

• Fury over ‘forever chemicals’ as US states spread toxic sewage sludge  –  The Guardian
• Assessment of Emergent Contaminants in Biosolids (download PDF)  –  Australian and New Zealand Biosolids Partnership
• Legacy and emerging per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) in Australian biosolids (Research abstract)
• Uptake of Perfluoroalkyl Acids into Edible Crops via Land Applied Biosolids: Field and Greenhouse Studies (Research abstract)
• Managing Cadmium in Vegetables  –  Vege Notes

• Chemicals are 'overwhelming' food chains  –  Shepparton News
• Human exposure to per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) through drinking water: A review of the recent scientific literature (Research abstract)

• Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substance Toxicity and Human Health Review: Current State of Knowledge and Strategies for Informing Future Research (download PDF) (Research article)

• Managing PFAS-support for Australia's water authorities (Factsheet) (download PDF)  –  CRCCare
• How well do product labels indicate the presence of PFAS in consumer items used by Children and Adolescents (download PDF) (Research article)
• WEF, partners explore option to destroy PFAS with heat  –  WaterWorld

• $58 billion day of reckoning looms for 3M over toxic ‘forever chemicals’  –  The Sydney Morning Herald

Norwegian Arctic ice is contaminated with alarming levels of toxic PFAS, and the chemicals may represent a major environmental stressor to the region’s wildlife, research finds. The Oxford University-led study’s measurements of ice around Svalbard, Norway, detected 26 types of PFAS compounds, and found when ice melts, the chemicals can move from glaciers into downstream ecosystems like Arctic fjords and tundra. More:

• Alarming levels of PFAS in Norwegian Arctic ice pose new risk to wildlife  –  The Guardian

• Levels and distribution profiles of Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) in a high Arctic Svalbard ice core (download PDF) (Research article)
• Choose Your Poison—Space-Use Strategy Influences Pollutant Exposure in Barents Sea Polar Bears (Research abstract)

How do you destroy pollution so stubborn, it’s nicknamed “forever chemicals”? That’s a question researchers and companies across the country are eager to answer, as regulation tightens on PFAS, or per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, and the chemicals’ producers face a mountain of lawsuits. More:

• Destroying ‘forever chemicals’ is a technological race that could become a multibillion-dollar industry  –  Grist
• Temporary Prohibition on Incineration of Materials Containing Pre- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) (download PDF)  –  US Office of the assistant secretary of defense
• Minnesota tries new technologies to remove 'forever chemicals' from water  –  StarTribune

Feminine hygiene products may be among the most basic and essential purchases a consumer can make. The 72 million women and girls in the U.S. of child bearing age–broadly defined as ages 15 to 49–rely on industry to provide them a diverse range of sanitary products, from tampons to pads to period underwear to liners, and industry generally responds. But increasingly it seems that manufacturers are delivering these consumers a very bad thing as well–one that can pose a grave threat to their health and welfare. More:

• PFAS 'Forever Chemicals' Are Turning Up in Menstrual Products. Here's What You Need to Know  –  Time

• Do Your Tampons Contain PFAS "Forever chemicals"? They might  –  Mamavation
• PFAS "Forever chemicals" in Sanitary Pads & Incontinence Pads  –  Mamavation
• Report: 65% of Period Underwear Likely Contaminated with PFAS Chemicals  –  Mamavation
• New Independent Study Confirms PFAS in Thinx, Other Products  –  Sierra Club

• Our Current Understanding of the Human Health and Environmental Risks of PFAS  –  US EPA
• Immunotoxicity Associated with Exposure to Perfluorooctanoic Acid (PFOA) or Perfluorooctane Sulfonate (PFOS)  –  US NTP
• Learn about the Human Health Toxicity Assessment for PFBS  –  US EPA
• Human Health Toxicity Assessments for GenX Chemicals  –  US EPA

• Drinking Water Health Advisories for PFOA and PFOS (Factsheet) (download PDF)  –  US EPA
• Drinking Water Health Advisories for Four PFAS (PFOA, PFOS, GenX chemicals, and PFBS) (Factsheet) (download PDF)  –  US EPA
• Biomonintoring Perfluorochemicals  –  US CDC

• California Issues New PFAS Consumer Product Regulations  –  Exponent

The European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) published the much-awaited proposal aimed at restricting 10,000 synthetic substances hazardous to human health, with the evaluation process set to start in March. More:

• EU agency to start evaluation on ‘forever chemicals’ ban  –  EURACTIV

• ECHA publishes PFAS restriction proposal  –  ECHA
• Q&A The ins and outs of 'forever chemicals' as EU weighs complete ban  –  Reuters
• EU considers ban on 'forever chemicals', urges search for alternatives  –  Reuters

More than 30 years ago the Food and Drug Administration told the cosmetics industry that it could no longer use an artificial color called FD&C Red No. 3, also known as Red Dye No. 3 and Red Dye 3. That’s because high doses of it had been found to cause cancer in animals. More:

• Why Is Red Dye No. 3 Banned in Cosmetics but Still Allowed in Food?  –  Consumer Reports

• Color Additives Questions and Answers for Consumers  –  US FDA

• Exposure estimate for FD&C colour additives for the US population (download PDF) (Research article)
• Amounts of Artificial Food Colors in Commonly Consumed Beverages and Potential Behavioral Implications for Consumption in Children (download PDF) (Research article)

• Synthetic Food Dye Risk Assessment  –  Californian OEHHA
• Potential Neurobehavioral Effects of Synthetic Food Dyes in Children - Food Dyes Health Effects Assessment (download PDF)  –  Californian OEHHA
• IACM Statement on Final OEHHA Report (download PDF)  –  International Association of Color Manufacturers - IACM
• Effects of oral erythrosine (2',4',5',7'-tetraiodofluorescein) on thyroid function in normal men (Research abstract)

The topic of PFAS is more relevant than ever. Due to decades of relentless use, these harmful, persistent chemicals can now be found everywhere: from otters and crayfish to drinking water and teenagers. An ambitious and extensive EU proposal, aiming to ban the entire group of PFAS chemicals, is now – finally – about to be realised. More:

• Major PFAS ban on the horizon: This is what 53 brands think  –  ChemSec

• ECHA publishes PFAS restriction proposal  –  ECHA
• Why high levels of PFAS should be a personal injury by law  –  ChemSec

• European teenagers are high – on PFAS  –  ChemSec

• Toxic 'forever chemicals' found in British otters  –  BBC News
• Hell and gore: High levels of PFAS in crayfish yet another sign of an intoxicated world  –  ChemSec

• The odds of your takeaway food packaging containing intentionally added, harmful PFAS are 1 in 3  –  ChemSec Marketplace