Chuck DarwinOcean spray emits more PFAS than industrial polluters, study finds
Ocean waves crashing on the world’s shores emit more PFAS into the air than the world’s industrial polluters, new research has found, raising concerns about environmental contamination and human exposure along coastlines.
The study measured levels of PFAS released from the bubbles that burst when waves crash, spraying aerosols into the air.
It found sea spray levels were hundreds of thousands times higher than levels in the water.
The contaminated spray likely affects groundwater, surface water, vegetation, and agricultural products near coastlines that are far from industrial sources of PFAS, said Ian Cousins, a Stockholm University researcher and the study’s lead author.
“There is evidence that the ocean can be an important source [of PFAS air emissions],” Cousins said.
“It is definitely impacting the coastline.”
PFAS are a class of 15,000 chemicals used across dozens of industries to make products resistant to water, stains and heat.
Though the compounds are highly effective, they are also linked to cancer, kidney disease, birth defects, decreased immunity, liver problems and a range of other serious diseases.
They are dubbed “forever chemicals” because they do not naturally break down and are highly mobile once in the environment, so they continuously move through the ground, water and air.
PFAS have been detected in all corners of the globe, from penguin eggs in Antarctica to polar bears in the Arctic.
EPA has limited six ‘forever chemicals’ in drinking water – but there are 15,000
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2024/apr/19/ocean-spray-pfas-study?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other
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Sam Harrison