Alarming levels of PFAS in Norwegian Arctic ice pose new risk to wildlife

[UngulateNerd92]

Oxford University-led study detects 26 types of PFAS compounds in ice around Svalbard, threatening downstream ecosystems.


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, new 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.

The meltwater can contain a cocktail of contaminants that includes PFAS and affects the entire food web, including plankton, fish, seal and apex animals like polar bears, which have previously been found to have high PFAS levels in their blood.

https://amp-theguardian-com.cdn.amp...s-norwegian-arctic-ice-wildlife-risk-stressor

 

[UngulateNerd92]

Here is another relevant article.

‘Forever Chemicals’ Found in Wildlife Around the World

• Pandas, sea lions, tigers and over 330 species across the globe are at risk of harm from exposure to “forever chemicals” known as PFAS.
• No matter the country or continent, if species are tested for PFAS contamination, these harmful chemicals show up – where you look for PFAS, you’ll find it.
• This first-time analysis of massive amounts of data shows the global scope of the PFAS problem, and just because a location isn’t listed on this map doesn’t mean there’s no contamination.

The toxic "forever chemicals" known as PFAS pollute the air, water and soil, exposing people and animals alike to potential health harms. This first-of-its-kind map provides a window into the extent globally of the contamination crisis facing wildlife, – and suggesting PFAS likely pose a risk to wildlife everywhere.

To create the map, EWG undertook a landmark effort to catalog 125 peer-reviewed scientific studies documenting PFAS contamination of wildlife. Hundreds of other studies of PFAS contamination of wildlife have been completed and not yet cataloged.

This work builds on a previous map, released in January, that for the first time showed how PFAS are contaminating U.S. freshwater fish from coast to coast. Our research showed that PFAS levels are so high in most freshwater fish that even infrequent consumption would increase the amount of PFAS in a person.

The fact scientists are finding PFAS in species sampled everywhere should concern anyone – wherever we look for these forever chemicals, we find them. Further testing would likely reveal similar exposure for wildlife in locations not highlighted on this map, since the PFAS pollution is a truly global crisis.

Global danger: Threatened and endangered species at risk from PFAS exposure

 

[UngulateNerd92]

Here is another relevant article.

Are Forever Chemicals Harming Ocean Life?

Here’s what we know (and don’t know) about how dangerous PFAS chemicals travel ocean currents and harm wildlife — and what that could mean for humans.

In seabird after seabird, Anna Robuck found something concerning: per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS, lurking around vital organs.

“Brain, liver, kidney, lung, blood, heart,” Robuck says, rattling off a few hiding spots before pausing to recall the rest. Robuck, a Ph.D. candidate in chemical oceanography at the University of Rhode Island, quickly settles on a simpler response: She found the chemicals everywhere she looked.

PFAS — a group of synthetic chemicals — are often called “forever chemicals” due to their quasi-unbreakable molecular bonds and knack for accumulating in living organisms. That foreverness is less of a design flaw than a design feature: The stubborn, versatile molecules help weatherproof clothing; smother flames in firefighting foam; and withstand heat and grime on nonstick pans.

Are Forever Chemicals Harming Ocean Life? • The Revelator