giuliomagnifico

Penguin 'Toxicologists' Find PFAS Chemicals in Remote Patagonia

https://www.ucdavis.edu/health/news/penguin-toxicologists-find-pfas-chemicals-remote-patagonia

Penguin ‘Toxicologists’ Find PFAS Chemicals in Remote Patagonia

Penguins can serve as living monitors of their environment by using small, chemical-detecting leg bands, according to a study from UC Davis and SUNY-Buffalo.

UC Davis
Apr 10 at 6:15amWeb
Show threadgiuliomagnifico1d ago
They fitted some penguins with chemical-sensing silicone passive samplers.
Show threadalex435781d ago

Is this going to be like the micro-plastics-are-actually-contamination-from-lab-gloves news all over again?

I'm all for removing PFAS and similar chemicals from the many places and uses they aren't needed, but if people don't care about PFAS in their tap water, they certainly aren't going to care about penguin PFAS.

Show threadnslsm1d ago
Trust the science.
Show threadgiuliomagnifico1d ago

Yes, it could be (I posted the article about the gloves), but PFAS are different from microplastics, and not all the studies are contaminated by gloves.

The interesting part here is using the animals as “scientists” to collect samples in their habitats for years (2022-2024) instead of sending humans to collect samples. This is far more reliable in my opinion

Show threadhvb21d ago

> if people don't care about PFAS in their tap water

People don't? Sounds to me like they need to look at history a bit more.

To me, this looks very much like some of the other magical materials...

Lead in gasoline, asbestos as building material, tobacco etc

Show threadprogbits1d ago

No, they-are-not-actually-contamination. Some studies might have inaccurate numbers due to contamination. That's all.

Important to correct for, but doesn't invalidate the whole microplastics concern.