Sharp drop in forever chemicals' in seabird eggs hailed as win for regulation

"Researchers looked at Pfas levels in the eggs of northern gannets in the St Lawrence Seaway basin over a 55-year period. Pfas levels shot up from the 1960s through the peak of the chemicals' use in the late 1990s and early aughts, then fell. The fall coincides with several developments facing regulatory scrutiny, the chemical giant 3M, which is one of the largest producers of Pfas, began moving away from Pfos, among its most common and toxic compounds."

"By 2015, major chemical makers reached an agreement with the US Environment Protection Agency to phase out Pfos and Pfoa, the latter a similarly problematic compound. Raphael Lavoie, a co-author and ecotoxicologist with Environment and Climate Change Canada, called the findings good news. We see this incredible rise to a peak where concentrations seem to be higher than toxicological threshold for those birds, then it really decreases in a nice way, Lavoie said. The regulations are having a good effect."

"Pfas are a class of at least 16,000 chemicals commonly used to make products resist water, stains and heat. They are called forever chemicals because they do not naturally break down, and they are linked to a range of health issues such as cancer, thyroid disease, kidney problems and decreased immunity. The eggs were collected from the remote Bonaventure Island, which holds North America's largest northern gannet colony."

"Data shows the levels of Pfos fell from a peak level in the eggs of 100 parts per billion (ppb) to a level of 26ppb by 2024, a 74% drop. Levels of Pfoa are down about 40% over this time, though they ticked back up in recent years. Meanwhile, PFHxS, another common, toxic Pfas compound fell from 0.69 to 0.19ppb, or about 72%."

PFAS concentrations in northern gannet eggs in Canada’s St. Lawrence Seaway basin rose from the 1960s through peak use in the late 1990s and early 2000s, then declined. The decline coincided with regulatory and industry actions, including 3M moving away from PFOS and a major agreement with the US Environmental Protection Agency to phase out PFOS and PFOA. PFAS are persistent chemicals used for water, stain, and heat resistance and are linked to health problems such as cancer, thyroid disease, kidney issues, and reduced immunity. Egg samples from remote Bonaventure Island show PFOS dropping from about 100 parts per billion to 26 parts per billion by 2024, a 74% reduction. PFOA fell about 40% overall, while PFHxS decreased by about 72%.

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