TalkingPFAS

https://www.natlawreview.com/article/pfas-cosmetics-financial-and-insurance-companies-noticePFAS in Cosmetics: Financial and Insurance Companies on Notice – Monday, June 21, 2021John Gardella CMBG3 LawToday's Talking PFAS News Episode is a discussion with Boston Attorney John Gardella from CMBG3 Law in Boston. John has been a previous guest on the podcast in Episode 24 and I highly recommend a listen to that Episode too.Today we will be discussing PFAS in cosmetics in the US. We will be focusing our discussion on John's recent article published 21/6/21 in The National Law Review "PFAS in Cosmetics: Financial and Insurance Companies on Notice." In this article he writes about a recent Bill that was introduced into the Senate on the 15/6/21, called the "No PFAS in Cosmetics Act 2021." John also wrote about a recent study published in the Environmental Science & Technology Letters by Whitehead et al (corresponding author Graham F. Peaslee) called "Fluorinated Compounds in North American Cosmetics." John writes in his article "This study examined 231 cosmetic products sold in the United States and Canada. 52% of the products contained some degree of PFAS."https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acs.estlett.1c00240Study “Fluorinated Compounds in North American Cosmetics” Environmental Science & Technology Letters Whitehead et al – Corresponding author Graham F. PeasleeAt the time of publishing today’s episode of Talking PFAS News, this article has had 47219 views.Listeners you might remember in Episode 22 I discussed the use of PFAS in cosmetics with Juliane Gluge from Zurich Switzerland, as we discussed her paper “An Overview of the Uses of PFAS” In the supplementary material link below she described many cosmetic and personal care products where PFAS have been used, and may still be used. I highly recommend a listen to that episode as well.https://www.rsc.org/suppdata/d0/em/d0em00291g/d0em00291g1.pdf2.28 Personal care products and cosmetics – Page 198“PFAS have been used in cosmetics as emulsifiers, lubricants, or oleophobic agents (Kissa 2001). PFAS in hair-conditioning formulations can enhance wet combing and render hair oleophobic (Kissa 2001). PFAS have been used in creams e.g. to make the creams penetrate the skin more easily, make the skin brighter, make the skin absorb more oxygen, or make the cosmetic product more durable and weather resistant (Brinch, Jensen, and Christensen 2018). PFAS have been identified in cosmetics and personal care products in general, but also in anti-aging, anti-frizz, bar soap, BB/CC cream/foundation, blush/highlighter, body lotion/body cream, body oil, brow products, concealer/corrector, cream/lotion, cuticle treatment, eye cream/eyeshadow, eye pencil/eyeliner, face cream, facial cleanser, hair creams and rinses/conditioner, hair spray/mousse, hair shampoo, hand sanitizer, highlighter, lip balm/lip stick/lip gloss, lip liner, manicure products, makeup remover, mask, mascara/lashes, moisturer, nail polish/nail strengthener/nail treatment, powder, primer/fixer, scrub/peeling, shaving cream/shaving foam/shaving gel, sunscreen, and sunscreen makeup.” Juliane GlugeSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

My special guest today is Garret Ellison, an investigative environment reporter, at MLive and Grand Rapids Press in Michigan who covers Michigan environment and The Great Lakes. Since 2016 he has specialised on reporting on PFAS and their impact on Michigan's people and environment. From 2017 to 2019 PFAS was about the only issue he was writing about, but he says he has lost count of how many PFAS articles he has written. As an investigative reporter he has broken many PFAS stories. His PFAS work has directly influenced State environmental policy and the creation of Michigan's first State specific drinking water standards for harmful chemicals. My discussion with Garret today will include the following 3M's lawsuit against the State of Michigan. We will also discuss PFAS contamination in the Wolverine Worldwide contamination in Rockford, where a nearby resident's blood test results returned at a staggering level of 5,000,000 ppt! We also discuss PFAS in Wurtsmith Air Force Base, in Oscoda. I highly recommend a listen to the previous episode 27 Talking PFAS News where Garret discusses two new bills just introduced into Congress this month, and if passed will directly affect the military regarding PFAS. Also in that episode we discuss some new preliminary research from Indiana, that reveals PFAS levels in a rain sample from Cleveland Ohio returned levels of 1000ppt. You can read many PFAS articles that Garret has written here:https://muckrack.com/garretellison/bioSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Today’s Talking PFAS News is focused on PFAS in Michigan, Great Lakes, and also some new pending legislation that could result in stricter rules for the US military regarding PFAS. My special guest is Award Winning investigative/enterprise environment reporter Garret Ellison from MLive and Grand Rapids Press in Michigan. Today we discuss three of his recent stories, and because of Garret’s extensive PFAS reporting, he will also be the special guest in the next Talking PFAS Feature which will publish on June 17, 2021. In today’s episode we only have time to briefly mention that in April, 2021 3M filed a lawsuit against the State of Michigan which seeks to invalidate their new drinking water and groundwater clean-up limits for PFAS. In Talking PFAS Feature Garret talks much more about the 3M lawsuit as well as many other PFAS contamination issues in the Michigan and Great Lakes area.For today’s show notes I am publishing links to three of Garret’s articles (with short excerpts) published by MLive and used with Garret’s permission. It might be useful to have Garret's articles open as you listen today.Links & Excerpts to articles in today’s discussion by Garret Ellison, content used with permission“It’s literally raining PFAS around the Great Lakes, say researchers.” June 8, 2021“CLEVELAND, OH — Rain that fell on Ohio this spring contained a surprisingly high amount of toxic “forever chemicals” known as PFAS, according to raw data from a binational Great Lakes monitoring program that tracks airborne pollution.Rainwater collected in Cleveland over two weeks in April contained a combined concentration of about 1,000 parts-per-trillion (ppt) of PFAS compounds. That’s according to scientists at the Integrated Atmospheric Deposition Network (IADN), a long-term Great Lakes monitoring program jointly funded by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and Canada.” Source Garret Ellison MLive gellison@mlive.comhttps://www.mlive.com/public-interest/2021/06/its-literally-raining-pfas-around-the-great-lakes-say-researchers.html“Two Michigan air bases on “Filthy Fifty” Senate PFAS priority list.” June 9, 2021https://www.mlive.com/public-interest/2021/06/two-michigan-air-bases-on-filthy-fifty-senate-pfas-priority-list.html“WASHINGTON, DC — Two former Air Force bases in Michigan are on a “Filthy Fifty” list of sites where the U.S. Defense Department would have to expedite cleanup of toxic “forever chemical” contamination under new Congressional legislation.Wurtsmith Air Force Base in Oscoda and K.I. Sawyer Air Force Base in the Upper Peninsula are among priority installations with toxic PFAS pollution marked for speedier cleanup under the bill package, which allocates $10 billion for remedial work nationwide and puts the Pentagon under a deadline schedule to complete construction.“Filthy Fifty Act” and “Clean Water for Military Families Act” were introduced in the U.S. Senate on Tuesday, June 8. The bills were introduced by Democratic Sens. Alex Padilla of California and Kirsten Gillibrand of New York, representing the two states with the most bases on the list.” Source credit Garret Ellison MLive gellison@mlive.comhttps://www.mlive.com/public-interest/2021/05/3m-sues-michigan-seeks-to-invalidate-pfas-drinking-water-rules.html“3M sues Michigan, seeks to invalidate PFAS drinking water rules” May 7, 2021“LANSING, MI — Minnesota chemical manufacturing giant 3M has sued the state of Michigan, claiming the state’s new drinking water limits for the toxic “forever chemicals” known as PFAS are flawed because they were created through a “rushed and invalid regulatory process.”The lawsuit, filed in the state Court of Claims on April 21, seeks to invalidate the state’s drinking water limits and groundwater cleanup criteria for seven different per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS, that went into effect last summer.”See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Today's extended Talking PFAS News edition is discussing the use of firefighting foams containing PFAS in Tasmania. Primarily this episode focuses on the use of PFAS firefighting foams by the Tasmanian Fire Service (TFS). PFAS became an issue of focus during the recent State election in May. My guests today are journalist Rob Inglis from The Examiner and Advocate Newspapers in Hobart, and Sharon McLay who was a candidate for the Animal Justice Party in the recent election. Sharon also has a 30 year history of previously being a professional firefighter for the MFB in Victoria. Rob Inglis wrote some recent articles about PFAS foams in Tasmania after firefighters refused to use foams which contain PFAS. The United Firefighters Union have also shared their opinion with Rob Inglis and at a press conference (prior to the May State election) in Hobart. Today's episode also will include statements from AirServices and TasPorts regarding their use of firefighting foams containing PFAS or actions to remove them. In 2018 the Tasmanian EPA published a PFAS Action Plan for Tasmania, which was updated in August, 2019. This update provides a record of actions taken so far by TFS, Airservices and Tasports. Plus I received updated comments from these organisations which are read throughout today's episode.SHOW NOTES:Rob Inglis Journalist - Recent PFAS Articles discussed today:https://www.examiner.com.au/story/7219762/really-nasty-firies-ablaze-over-use-of-toxic-foam-in-tasmania/https://www.examiner.com.au/story/7233142/tasmanian-firefighters-refuse-to-use-pfas-foam-linked-to-cancer/Remediation of PFAS-related impacts ongoing scrutiny and review - Australian PFAS Inquiry JSCFADT https://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Committees/Joint/Foreign_Affairs_Defence_and_Trade/PFASRemediationTasmania PFAS Action Plan - Progress Update August 2019:https://epa.tas.gov.au/Documents/PFAS%20Action%20Plan%20for%20Tasmania%20Progress%20Update%20Aug%202019.pdfSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

My special guest today is Environmental Lawyer Claire Smith from Clayton UTZ in Sydney, Australia to discuss and explain the NSW EPA PFAS Firefighting Ban,Below is a portion of her written commentary on 18 March, 2021."The Environmental Operations (General) Amendment (PFAS Firefighting Foam) Regulation 2021 has been introduced and will impose a ban on the use of PFAS-containing firefighting foam in NSW, subject to some exceptions.On 1 March 2021, The NSW Government Introduced the Environmental Operations (General) Amendment (PFAS Firefighting Foam) Regulation 2021. The Regulation will amend the Protection of the Environment Operations (General) Regulation 2009 and impose a ban on the use of per- and poly- fluoroalkyl substances (PFAS).NSW is the third jurisdiction in Australia to regulate PFAS use, and the second jurisdiction to introduce a ban, after Queensland began regulating PFAS-containing firefighting foams in 2016 and South Australia introduced a similar ban in 2018.The Ban on the use of PFAS firefighting foam for the purposes of training and demonstrations came into effect on 1 April, 2021 with other restrictions operating from 26 September, 2022 onwards.The Regulation will make it a criminal offence to:Use PFAS firefighting foam for the purposes of firefighting training or demonstrationsUse PFAS except to extinguish a "catastrophic" fire, or fire that has the potential to be catastrophic (a catastrophic fire is defined in the Regulation to mean a fire involving a combustible accelerant, including petrol, kerosene, oil, tar, paint or polar solvents including ethanol) or to extinguish a fire on a watercraft in State or prescribed watersSell a portable fire extinguisher containing the precursor to PFAS firefighting foam.The maximum penalty for any of these offences will be $44,000 for a corporation and $22,000 for an individual."Written by Claire Smith & Cloe Jolly Clayton UTZhttps://www.claytonutz.com/knowledge/2021/march/nsw-introduces-ban-to-prevent-pfas-contaminationhttps://www.epa.nsw.gov.au/your-environment/contaminated-land/regulation-of-pfas-firefighting-foamsCopyright Kayleen Bell JournalistSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Today's 'Talking PFAS Feature' (recorded 30/4/2021) is a very open and insightful discussion with Boston Attorney, John Gardella, from CMBG3 Law. If you have any interest at all in PFAS Litigation, you don't want to miss this episode. In this episode we discuss litigation in detail in Michigan, Alaska, and we touch on recent litigation in Sweden. This episode will be of interest to a very broad audience.John says currently 550 lawsuits sit on a docket in South Carolina related to PFAS in AFFF, but there are hundreds of PFAS litigation matters in the US that do not relate to AFFF.John Gardella is a Shareholder at CMBG3 Law in Boston, a law firm specialising in the regulatory, litigation, and compliance aspects of numerous environmental and toxic torts issues. He is a member of the firm’s PFAS Team, which counsels clients on PFAS related issues ranging from state violations to remediation litigation. Mr. Gardella has over 15 years of experience litigating environmental and toxic torts matters, including asbestos, PFAS, benzene, lead paint, mold, talc, hazardous waste and pollution matters.John has written two articles recently for The National Law Review (see show notes for Ep 23) about a recent PFAS suit against a paper mill and associated landfill, that settled for 11.9 million in Michigan and a very recent litigation action filed by the Attorney in Alaska against 30 companies for PFAS contamination of the environment. We discuss these today, see links below. The state is looking to collect costs for any past, current or future costs it has or will need to expense to clean up PFAS. Alaska also seeks triple damages, John explains how this works.John says "CMBG3 Law has handled several PFAS litigation cases but numerous compliance related questions (so a company that has not been sued but is looking to take steps to curb PFAS use, comply with regulations, or needs help figuring out where their risks are). We actually do not represent either DuPont or 3M (the two primary makers of PFAS) so our corporate clients are other manufacturing or industrial companies using PFAS or considering doing so if they cannot find substitutes. In some instances it’s even just landowners who bought (unknowingly) polluted land and use it for things not having anything to do with PFAS."John believes when it comes to regulated drinking water levels in the US 'the writing is clearly on the wall that the EPA does intend to take action when it comes to PFAS'. He says 'it is going to happen' and he believes if it doesn't happen this year (2021) it will happen next year (2022). He says there is no doubt in his mind regarding this.https://www.natlawreview.com/article/pfas-paper-mill-settlement-reflects-growing-trendhttps://www.natlawreview.com/article/alaska-pfas-lawsuit-latest-state-action-pfas*The next Talking PFAS Feature episode will publish on 17/6/2021 - guest will be announced in Talking PFAS News on 14/6/2021.*The next Talking PFAS News episode will publish on 17/5/2021Copyright Kayleen Bell JournalistSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It is so good to be back after a long season break, for Season 4 of Talking PFAS podcast. There is some important changes this season, as you might have noticed. Today's episode includes a short recap of Season 3 guests and also incorporates the NEW There is so much PFAS news occurring that I decided to create news episodes to cover more PFAS information from Australia and around the world. These news episodes will publish every fortnight, on a Monday. But don't fret if you really love the old format I will still be doing longer interviews and putting these episodes up about every six weeks, these will be called Please feel free to let me know what you think of this change and send me leads at TalkingPFAS@gmail.com. The next Talking PFAS News will publish on 19/5/2021.Talking PFAS News.Talking PFAS Features. Today's Talking PFAS News features discussion about several PFAS litigation events that have occurred or are currently in motion, in Alaska, Michigan, and Sweden. I also include some of my recent interview with Environmental Attorney John Gardella from CMBG3 Law in Boston. He breaks down the current litigation action in Alaska which was filed by the Attorney General against 30 companies, and John also fills us in on the recent PFAS settlement, against a paper mill in Michigan, which settled for $11.9 million US dollars. I had a fabulous and very interesting talk with John Gardella who is the guest in the first Talking PFAS feature for the year which will publish on 6 May 2021, and you don't want to miss this one, if you have any interest in PFAS litigation. John Gardella wrote about both the Alaska and Michigan PFAS litigation in The National Law Review and I will include links in the show notes below.Also in this episode I was kindly given permission by Dave Russell, from Radio Sweden Weekly to play a portion of audio from his show which aired on 15/4/2021. Special thanks to Dave and his team for allowing me to do this. He explains a recent class action which settled in favour of 165 citizens in Kallinge, Ronneby Sweden.Show Notes:Radio Sweden Weekly: Triumph for David over Goliath in water poisoning case. 15/4/2021 -Produced by Dave Russell ( & audio used with permission)https://sverigesradio.se/avsnitt/1689181Articles by Attorney John Gardella - CMBG3 Law Boston - John is the special guest of the first Talking PFAS Featurewhich will publish this week Thursday, May 6, 2021.PFAS Paper Mill Settlement Reflects Growing Trend - The National Law ReviewWednesday, April 28, 2021 - Attorney John Gardella CMBG3 Law, Bostonhttps://www.natlawreview.com/article/pfas-paper-mill-settlement-reflects-growing-trendAlaska PFAS lawsuit - Latest State Action on PFAS - The National Law ReviewThursday, April 22, 2021 - Attorney John Gardella CMBG3 Law, Bostonhttps://www.natlawreview.com/article/alaska-pfas-lawsuit-latest-state-action-pfasSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is the last episode for 2020, and the podcast will be on a season break, as I take a break and am in production for a new season in 2021 (publishing end of April). Thank you to all my amazing guests in 2020, and to all the listeners who have continued to listen in a very challenging year.Today's discussion is a fascinating talk with my guest from Zurich, Switzerland. Juliane Gluge and her team spent over a year writing her PFAS Uses paper, "An Overview of the Uses of PFAS," and compiling very detailed extra material to go with her paper. The paper was peer reviewed and accepted for publication in the Environmental Science Processes and Impacts Journal on the 23rd of September, 2020. Juliane is a Senior Researcher in the Environmental Chemistry Group at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, called ETH Zurich and this is one of the largest universities in Switzerland. She has done her PhD under the supervision of Martin Scheringer. She studied Biotechnology in Germany, so by training is an engineer in biotechology. She is an environmental scientist who has worked on sources, fate and transport of persistent organic pollutants, including PFAS. There are so many PFAS uses that I had no idea about until this discussion, including PFAS in ammunition, climbing ropes, guitar strings, contrast agents in MRI, and other medical applications. Juliane and her team provide three extra ESI - Electronic Supporting Information documents which are well worth a look, especially ESI-1 which expands on the uses listed in the Appendix of her main paper.I thoroughly enjoyed this conversation, and I know you will too, and there will be plenty of information for your to look at while Talking PFAS is on a break. Thank you again for listening.SHOW NOTES:Article: 2017, "A Breath of Fresh Perfluorocarbon" by Daniel Carroll with video presentation by PhD student Diane Nelson (Biomedical Engineering) - "Drug delivery to the lungs using Perfluorocarbon emulsions."https://engineering.cmu.edu/news-events/news/2017/11/20-nelson-perfluorocarbon.html"Deposition of PFAS 'forever chemicals' on Mount Everest" Kimberley Miner published 17 December 2020https://umaine.edu/news/blog/2020/12/17/miner-finds-outdoor-gear-forever-chemicals-in-snow-near-everest-summit/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

My guest today is Professor Ian Cousins, from the Department of Environmental Science and Analytical Chemistry (ACES), Stockholm University, Sweden. He has been studying PFAS chemicals for over 20 years, and is well known in the field for his PFAS research. The focus for today's discussion is his paper published in 2019 called "The concept of essential use for determining when use of PFASs can be phased out." Ian and his colleagues state in their paper that "A phase-out of many uses of PFASs can be implemented because they are not necessary for the betterment of society in terms of health and safety, or because functional alternatives are currently available that can be substituted into these products or applications. Some specific uses of PFASs would be considered essential because they provide for vital functions and are currently without established alternatives. However, this essentiality should not be considered as permanent; rather, constant efforts are needed to search for alternatives."Ian also gives some detail about his latest PFAS project Perforce3, a large European funded project focusing on PFAS called Perforce3. The project will be training 15 PhD's in a wide range of aspects of PFAS science including understanding exposure and toxicology of PFAS, and solutions to remove PFAS from the environment. The project started on 1/1/2020 and . It is a collaboration between different organisations in Europe from 6 different countries and 9 Universities and 4 independent research centres. The project will continue until the end of 2023.SHOW NOTES:." Ian T Cousins et al 2019"The concept of essential use for determining when uses of PFASs can be phased outhttps://doi.org/10.1039/C9EM00163H"" Rainer Lohmann, Ian T. Cousins et al 2020Are Fluoropolymers really of low concern for human and environmental health and separate from other PFAS?DOI: 10.1021/acs.est.0c03244"" Juliane Gluge et al 2020An overview of the uses of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS)DOI: 10.1039/D0EM00291GPerforce3 & Webinar on PFAS and the essential use concepthttps://perforce3-itn.eu/events/perforce3-webinar-on-pfas-and-the-essential-use-concept/Madrid Statementhttps://www.researchgate.net/publication/275663380_The_Madrid_Statement_on_Poly-_and_Perfluoroalkyl_Substances_PFASsMontreal Protocol Factsheet Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environmenthttps://www.environment.gov.au/protection/ozone/publications/montreal-protocol-factsheetStockholm Convention & POPShttps://www.agriculture.gov.au/ag-farm-food/ag-vet-chemicals/international/stockholm#:~:text=Australia%20ratified%20the%20Stockholm%20Convention,disposal%20and%20use%20of%20POPsSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Dr Paul Bertsch is the Science Director of Land and Water at CSIRO Ecosciences Precinct in Dutton Park, Brisbane, QLD. "Well the big turning point for the whole scientific community, and I know my colleague in CSIRO really took notice as well, would be 2001." Paul says the CSIRO has been mainly involved in looking at the fate and transport of PFAS contaminants in the environment. CSIRO are interesting in developing models to predict the transport. Developing models to predict how it's partitioned in soil, how it moves in groundwater, and then how it is taken up by eco receptors. He says PFAS is a significant global challenge. Paul said he "would really like to see a future where science would inform policy in a way that is transparent to not only to government but also to community."See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.