I want to finish this year’s Letters with a very sobering update on PER and polyfluoroalkyl substrates. I have written about these “forever chemicals” in the past, but new information suggests none of us as individuals, as businesses, as both local and federal governments, none of us, have realized the seriousness and degree of contamination. Further, none of us have understood the consequences of how these chemistries may be affecting our lives.

I don’t want to be an alarmist and this update isn’t supposed to be scary, but this is serious stuff. Just remember, PER and polyfluoroalkyl, PFAS chemicals, are already part of our world, whether in barrier coatings, drinking water or any kind of fluorinated chemistry.  Not only do we find PFAS in our drinking water, but these noxious chemicals are in air emissions and some of the materials we use to build our products.  Just think about our food chain that uses fertilizer to grow crops faster and bigger. Yup, PFAS is in the fertilizer. PFAS chemistry is everywhere.

So, what are PFAS chemicals? In 1946, DuPont introduced non-stick cookware coated with Teflon. Today, literally thousands of products, including Teflon’s non-stick coating, contain fluorinated chemicals. These forever chemicals are all identified by their “signature elemental bonds of fluorine and carbon.” 

These bonds are strong – really strong. They are so strong they don’t break down. They end up in the environment and, at the very worst, in our bodies. PFAS technology grew for 60 years and, until a scandal developed in the early 2000s, PFAS chemistry was added to everything. The scandal identified PFAS as contamination of water and soil, and eventually was found in the blood of humans and animals.

In 2001 the above-referenced scandal happened in Parkersburg, WV. The Teflon chemical was discovered in the drinking water of tens of thousands of people near a DuPont plant. The story is documented in the film, “The Devil We Know.” A class-action lawsuit uncovered evidence that DuPont knew that PFAS was hazardous and had contaminated tap water. However, DuPont didn’t tell its workers or local communities or environmental authorities. All of this caused additional legal actions and studies that linked Teflon to cancer.

The most noxious, and maybe the most well-known PFAS chemicals, PFOA and PFOS, used in 3M’s Scotchgard, were eventually phased out in the US under pressure from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) after evidence pointed to their hazards. PFOA and PEOS, and their “long chain chemical compounds,” have been phased out. 

But here’s the kicker: the EPA and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) have allowed shorter chain compounds. The only difference between long and short chain is two atoms – long having eight carbon atoms and short having six. This is alarming to me and should be to you, as DuPont admits that the short-chain chemical GenX causes cancerous tumors in lab animals. Just a bit more on long and short chain, which will give you cause to wonder: a 2019 Auburn University study found that “short chains may pose even worse risks than long-chains, which supports scientists’ growing agreement that the entire class of PFAS are hazardous!” Do you think I am still an alarmist? 

Just a bit more:

The Social Science Health and Environmental Health Research Institute tracked PFAS contamination by Federal and State authorities. “As of 2019, that tracking shows PFAS contaminates public drinking water systems serving 19 million people in 49 States.” It is no surprise to hear that Michigan (shades of Lansing) has the most PFAS sites. That’s largely because most states have not tested as extensively. “Unreleased Federal data suggest that up to 110 million Americans could have PFAS contaminated drinking water.”

I read a magazine called Water & Waste Digest.  What really adds to the PFAS problem was outlined in an article in the August issue, titled “Communication & Education Vital for PFAS.” Author Bob Crossen explains that EPA needs to clarify health advisory level nuances, and that is vital for public understanding.

Crossen writes:
The US EPA per-and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) health advisory requirements are at levels the agency cannot yet detect.

I’d say this is a serious issue. We know we have PFAS chemicals in our drinking water but can’t identify the level that is acceptable for clean drinking water. To my mind, this says we don’t know what level is gonna kill us. But, I don’t want to alarm you.

In the September 11 issue of the Chicago Tribune, Michael Hawthorne writes a terrific report on materials handed out to gardeners as compost that are known to be contaminated with PFAS chemicals:

Bags of the earthy muck are labeled organic or natural. Sometimes it is billed as exceptional quality compost. Industry held a nationwide contest years ago and decided to call it biosolids, a euphemism that beat out black gold, geoslime and humanure. No matter how it is described, the humus-like material distributed to gardeners, neighborhood groups and landscapers by the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District is still sewage sludge – a byproduct of human excrement and industrial waste from Chicago and the Cook County suburbs.

Michael goes on to describe gardens being grown in sludge-based compost. Following the Mother Jones style of investigative reporting, Michael notes that district officials “donate truckloads of this compost to low-income neighborhoods” and have repeatedly failed to tell recipients that “every scoop of sludge is contaminated with toxic forever chemicals linked to”:

• Testicular, kidney, liver, and pancreatic cancer
• Reproductive problems
• Low birth weight
• Weakened childhood immunity
• Endocrine disruption
• Increased cholesterol
• Weight gain in children and dieting adults

Need I say more!

Government officials and non-profits offer some suggestions about how you can reduce your exposure to PFAS that include:

• Test your drinking water
• Use HEPA filters when vacuuming to reduce dust
• Cut back on fast food packaged in treated paper
• Choose cosmetics that don’t contain PTFE or fluoro ingredients
• Look for untreated products
• Look for clothing that hasn’t been treated with chemicals

(like Patagonia!)

We are hearing more and more about barrier coatings that are alternatives to traditional OGR (oil, grease resistant) coatings. Paper and board packaging, while renewable, are quite porous and must be coated to reduce porosity. The traditional OGR coating used in fast food packaging contains PFAS chemistry. There are now renewables and biodegradable coatings that are more sustainable and friendly. Royal Avebe, a Dutch company, has developed a more sustainable barrier coating. It is derived from amplopectin potato starch and eliminates the need to use fluoro chemistry in oil and grease resistant paper and board applications.

At the end of the day, we first have to admit there is a problem, e.g., DuPont and 3M.  Then ingenuity and creativity are needed to develop alternatives that are responsible and perform in a competitive fashion. As I said in my last column, we need leaders in our industry who recognize that habits of today are unacceptable for tomorrow. May 2023 bring us alternatives that respond to the growing demand for improvement.

Happy New Year to all.

Another Letter from the Earth.


Calvin Frost is chairman of Channeled Resources Group, headquartered in Chicago, the parent company of Maratech International and GMC Coating. His email address is [email protected].