Environmental and health awareness has driven many changes in consumption at scale, from replacing leaded gasoline to reducing consumption of fatty foods to limiting the use of plastics. However, the alternatives are not always harmless. One of the latter cases could be the case of paper straws replacing plastic straws. Composed of biodegradable elements, they seem to be a good solution compared to those used so far, which could remain in the environment for more than a century. That’s why in 2021 the EU banned the use of plastic straws along with other single-use products. Now, a study by a group of Belgian researchers suggests these paper straws may not be as ecological as they seem.
In an article published today in the journal Food Additives and Contaminants, a team led by Thimo Groffen from the University of Antwerp (Belgium) explains how they searched 39 brands of paper straws from companies supplying the Belgian market for perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), a group of thousands of synthetic chemicals that the European Environment Agency says can cause health problems such as liver damage, thyroid disease, obesity, fertility problems and cancer. Analysis shows that 27 of the 39 brands contained some form of PFA.
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The first conclusion of Groffen and his colleagues is that this alternative to plastic straws should be questioned. “Although the amounts we found are very small, they accumulate over time, both in human tissues and in the environment,” explains the researcher via video conference. Discovered in 1938 by an employee of the chemical company DuPont, these compounds were used in pans because of their non-stick properties, the well-known Teflon, and are virtually indestructible. In the environment, they can remain intact for centuries, and it takes the human body up to 15 years to get rid of them. For these reasons, Groffen believes it would be better to use stainless steel straws or to do without these gadgets.
repel water
The risk saved by throwing away the straws is small, and the study’s lead author acknowledges that a greater amount of PFAS is ingested through chicken or some vegetables. But every small victory matters in a long war against ubiquitous substances of concern. The case of the straws is an example of this. The search for other materials to make straws does not guarantee that the eternal chemicals will disappear, precisely because they are very resistant and pass from one product to another when recycled. Although some manufacturers incorporate PFAS to make the straws more water repellent and prevent them from becoming soggy, the presence of these materials came as a surprise to many others. They got into their products via contaminated raw materials. After more than eight decades of use, be it in food packaging, cookware or clothing, PFAS are ubiquitous.
Argelia Castaño, director of the Carlos III Health Institute’s National Center for Environmental Health, claims that PFAS are substances of very high concern, but difficult to eliminate. “The circular economy and recycling, which can have positive aspects, will lead to our exposure to PFAS over a long period of time, even if the industry does not consciously use it,” he points out. “This continues to happen with many pollutants known since the 1950s that were eliminated by the Stockholm Convention, but have very long half-lives, get into the soil from waste and we are still exposed to them,” he continues.
Castaño agrees with the authors of the straw study that using stainless steel or glass containers is one way to avoid contamination from PFAS and emphasizes the importance of studies measuring the impact of regulations restricting human, serum or human use urine of these substances. “In studies at European level, we have seen that two substances that have been banned for years, such as PFOA and PFOS, are present in these analyzes at lower levels,” he says. Still, the study by the University of Antwerp team found that the most common PFAS in paper straws was straight PFOA, which has been banned globally since 2020.
Despite the well-known risks of these chemicals, their effects do not appear to be as bad as those of a viral pandemic, for example. “These products work in the medium and long term, the effect is evident after chronic exposure, but there is an increase in cases of cancer, precocious puberty and hormonal problems, which can be observed at the population level,” says Castaño. After decades of use, it is now believed that it is best to remove the compound, which was formed more than 80 years ago, from the environment and from living beings. Even straw for straw.
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