A laboratory certified by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has detected signs of “eternal chemicals” of PFAS in 18 popular brands of contact lenses.
The results were published by a blog called mamavationwhich markets itself as a “trusted source for moms looking for non-toxic product recommendations.”
According to the site, all of the contact lenses they tested contained trace amounts of organic fluorine, a marker for PFAS, ranging from 105 parts per million (ppm) to 20,700 ppm.
It is not known whether this is harmful to the health of consumers. The EPA only monitors PFAS levels when they end up in drinking water. Federal agencies regulate or monitor the actual manufacture of most chemicals forever or study their health effects.
Pete Myers, chief scientist for environmental health sciences, reviewed the findings. Environmental Health Services is a non-profit organization promoting a better understanding of human health and the environment.
Although comparing safe intake levels of PFAS to contact lens absorption is inherently flawed, “it should be noted that all contact lenses tested exceeded 100 ppm, which is equivalent to 100,000,000 ppt ( parts per trillion), which is 50,000 times higher than the highest level deemed safe in drinking water by the EPA,” Myers said. mamavation.
PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyls) are a group of widely used synthetic chemicals that are stain, water and oil resistant. It also means that they don’t break down easily in nature.
Regularly used for more than half a century in non-stick cookware, water-resistant cosmetics, water-repellent clothing or stain-resistant fabrics, PFAS have found their way into water sources around the world. , rain, floor, animalsand U.S.
As with microplastics, scientists are working to determine the risk these chemicals might pose to our health.
The big questions that need to be answered are twofold: Of the more than 10,000 PFAS, which ones are dangerous? And at what concentration?
Unfortunately, we lack complete answers to both, although recent studies have linked some PFAS to cancer And immune system problems. The results prompted the European Union to consider a sweeping ban on most PFASs.
Meanwhile, the U.S. EPA recently reduced its safety limits for certain chemicals forever in drinking water, from 70 ppt to between 0.004 and 0.02 ppt.
It’s a huge adjustment that could mean that potentially half of the US population is now considered to be exposed to harmful levels of chemicals forever.
In 2022, Maine became the first jurisdiction in the United States to mandate that manufacturers report PFAS levels in non-essential products. Other states are following suit.
But contact lenses do not fall into the non-essential category.
Mamavation’s report is concerning not only because it suggests that potentially harmful chemicals can come into contact with millions of eyes daily, but also because it took an online blog to reveal this information, and not a government agency.
Terrence Collins, a chemist at Carnegie Mellon University, explain to Mamavation that fluoropolymers like PFAS are cheap and effective materials that manufacturers can use for contact lenses. But he’s frustrated with the lack of federal requirements for chemical disclosure and testing.
“No one today can tell you that fluoropolymer exposures are safe because no jurisdiction has required the development and review of appropriate safety tests,” said Collins.
“I advise strict avoidance of such contact lenses.”
At this point, however, asking the average person to avoid PFAS is next to impossible, especially when there are so few alternatives. You can stop using nonstick cookware and other products known to contain high levels of PFAS, especially on parts of the body that can absorb them. Yet without transparent reports from manufacturers, you will likely be exposed to chemicals forever against your will.
In August 2022, scientists warned that the world had passed a critical safety threshold for synthetic chemicals with potentially dangerous effects. If even some of these chemicals are dangerous, it could have disastrous results.
The only way to fight the threat would be to clean the Earth’s rain, soil, animals and plants. And we don’t know how to do that yet.