A chemical that scientists worry might have an impact on human reproduction has been found in rivers across the UK, including five rivers in Wales.

by GDW312

3 comments

  2. I really think we need to adopt a more conservative approach to things like this – conservative towards health, that is, not “a conservative policy.” As soon as there is a realistic chance that something is really bad for us, legislation needs to come in that limits and/or phases out and/or bans it. At the moment it seems like the burden is on science to prove that something is bad and exactly how bad before anything is done about it.

    Like, worst case scenario if we completely ban PFAs is that companies that produce and use them suffer before R&D allows them to continue with something sustainable that does the same thing, or another workaround. Worst case scenario if we think we maybe should ban them but don’t until we have proof is that we lose whole generations of healthy people – people with health problems related to PFAs which go unconnected, people who can’t have kids, kids with birth defects, animals possibly heading towards extinction… the potential downsides (I’m not claiming that PFAs will do all that) are so much more catastrophic and permanent than being cautious as soon as new information comes to light.

    It’s like we’re making similar mistakes again and again: smoking, thalidomide, air pollution, vaping, microplastics, and even the much-celebrated global response to CFCs could have been achieved earlier with more responsive leaders.

  3. Just a FYI, every chemical (including water) is toxic to humans. It just depends on the dose you receive. Trace amounts means next to fuck all.

    A Prof I had in Uni said he was called to a reservoir where they found someone pouring a small syringe of mercury into the water (presumably as some sort of attempt to cause harm to the people who use the water or to the company who was in control of it).

    They asked what they should do about it, he did the maths and turns out there was so much water in the reservoir that there’d be something like 1 atom of mercury per 1L of water.

    He recommended they mix it in and carry on with their day.

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