“ Garments and equipment treated with FluoroTechnology have a longer useful life, therefore reducing energy and water used to manufacture replacements. 3M’s ScotchgardTM was one of the best known PFOS-derived DWRs, bringing stain and water repellency to a wide range of consumer products including furniture, curtains, floor coverings and backpacking gear. PFOS helps keep outdoor fabrics water resistant as durable water repellents (DWR). PFOS is found within the many textiles used in making apparel, tents, sleeping bags and backpacks. The Benefits of PFCsĪs it turns out, the outdoor recreation industry has been using PFCs for almost as long as they have been around. Collectively, this group of PFCs includes C5, C6, C6 sulfonate, C7 and homologs (longer chains of the same base unit common to these particular PFCs) C9 through 12. Another widely used PFC is perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS), a powerful surfactant whose range of usefulness includes functioning like detergents, emulsifiers, dispersants and foaming agents. One of these compounds, PFOA, is also known by its contraction C8, is used as a building block in the production of fluoropolymers. Within this group, also referred to as perfluorocarbons (PFC), a class of industrial chemicals was created. The resulting fluoro-carbon bond is persistently stable in many environments. The secret to the functionality of this class of fluorocarbon compounds lies in the strong chemical bond between the fluorine atom (the fluorine in fluoro), the carbon atom and fluorine’s unique character. Yet its tenacious stability is the reason why PFOA and its family of like chemicals are so extremely useful. Its stick-to-it-iveness and endemic cast makes the associated problems formidable. The operative word here is persistent - it resists safely going away. It is persistent over time in both humans and the environment. Worse, it appears low levels of PFOA have been found throughout the environment and in 98% of the general human population. Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)Ī host of other problems have been linked to infants exposed, post and prenatally, to PFOA, including low IQ and learning disabilities.Known as the 2010/15 Stewardship Program, the Agency’s goal targeted 2010 with a 95% worldwide reduction of PFOA and to eliminate it by 2015’s end.ĮPA animal studies have shown relationships between PFOA and “developmental and other adverse effects in laboratory animals.”Īdditionally, The Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) lists the following potential side effects from PFOA exposure: The EPA’s aim was to eliminate PFOA from “facility emissions and product content” and other precursors or similar chemicals that could break down or function like PFOA. Johnson, EPA Administrator obtained commitments from eight major producers of perfluorooctanoatic acid (PFOA), to phase out its manufacture. In 2005 an EPA Science Advisory Board report found PFOA to be a likely human carcinogen.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |