Retarded Retardant & Sickening Spatulas

 

Retarded Retardant & Sickening Spatulas

Where There’s Smoke or Plastics, There’re Toxins

We know that eating, drinking water, breathing and bathing can be dangerous to your health. Huh? So, we should stop doing those nasties? Even the stuff that helps us just may contain toxins that can impair our health or even kill us… usually very slowly. With the very impact of climate change on all of us, there are so many realities that surround us that we cannot stop. Excessive heat is taking its toll on those without air conditioning. Rampant pollution after a hurricane, tsunami or even just heavy rainfall that leads to flooding. The exceptionally toxic particulate emissions from massive wildfires and, believe it or not, are countered by even more toxic retardant that is used to fight those fires. And then there are those toxic reservoirs of “garden variety/old world” air, water and ground pollution. From microplastics invading our bodies to effluents from old mines and oil fields to those emission that are legally tolerated (like fracking chemicals), and companies that still dump or emit toxics when they can.

While this is a topic for another day or dealt with in past blogs, there is also the science-skeptic trend infused in MAGA orthodoxy, confirmed and vetted with conspiracy theories, and becoming official policy under the rising Trump administration. From the safety of fluoridated tap water to the vaccines that have protected us and our children for decades, all seeming to be targeted on the hit list of Trump’s appointees, again using conspiracy theories to justify the attack. Mother nature does not care if we wish to destroy our planet, taking humanity with it. She started with nothing… and so what?

Denial and a refusal to deal with reality, the willingness to legislate and create policies that defy the laws of physics seem to be Trump priorities, along with trimming healthcare programs for those on the lower reaches of our economic ladder. All in order to pour more wealth into the coffers of the richest in the land, through reduced taxes and eliminating financial and environmental/health-directed regulations aimed at protecting all of us.

So today, let’s look at a little thing that you might not have noticed: Generally, “black plastic kitchenware can release flame retardants and other toxic chemicals when exposed to heat. Many items are made from recycled electronic waste… Flame retardants are getting into our most commonly used items because these black-colored products are being made from recycled electronic waste, such as discarded television sets and computers, that frequently contain the additives.

“As with any other plastic cooking utensil, when you use a black plastic spatula while flipping your pancakes, the heat can encourage any flame retardant present to leach out of the flipper and into your flapjacks… ‘That’s because flame retardants aren’t actually bound to the plastic polymers that they’re added to, it’s an additive. And heat can ease migration of chemicals out of products,’ said Megan Liu, co-author of [a] study and science and policy manager for Toxic-Free Future… Liu said it’s also unclear how many types of flame retardants are in these black plastic products… Some of the products that researchers tested in this recent study ‘had up to nine different harmful chemicals and harmful flame retardants in them,’ she said.

“Experts advise consumers not to purchase any black plastic cookware or other products if possible. If you have some products in your kitchen or home, they advise you to throw them away… There are many restaurants that place their to-go orders in black plastic containers. If you receive food in one of them, do not use it to reheat the food or your leftovers — transfer the food to glass or ceramic containers.

“‘Sushi trays had one of the highest levels of [a] flame retardant called deca-BDE [Decabromodiphenyl ether], which is really concerning because it has actually been phased out of the U.S. and banned’ for several years, Liu said… The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency banned the use of deca-BDE in 2021 after the chemical was linked to cancer, endocrine and thyroid issues as well as a host of other ailments.” Karen Garcia for the November 19th Los Angeles Times. But we need flame retardants, particularly to combat those nasty and massive wildfires. That smoke can kill us.

A November 19th report from the Yale School of Engineering took an in depth look at the realities of drifting smoke emanating from wildfires: “One of the insights they were able to glean with this technology was just how much the smoke, which contained particulate matter, transformed chemically after traveling hundreds to thousands of miles over several days… In the case of several smoke episodes during this time, the researchers saw that the chemical makeup had been oxidized so much over the period that it no longer resembled typical wildfire smoke or any kind of biomass burning. Because of this transformation, previous studies have misidentified low-level wildfire smoke as other forms of air pollution and underestimated the role of wildfire smoke in contributing to the amount of particulate matter in the air.

“[One] analysis specifically looked at asthma-related emergency department visits, which showed a significant increase associated with the sum of wildfire-related particulate matter during the study period… In the case of several smoke episodes during this time, the researchers saw that the chemical makeup had been oxidized so much over the period that it no longer resembled typical wildfire smoke or any kind of biomass burning. Because of this transformation, previous studies have misidentified low-level wildfire smoke as other forms of air pollution, and underestimated the role of wildfire smoke in contributing to the amount of particulate matter in the air. One of the instruments they used at the Queens site can measure trace elements in the smoke, including potassium, which is abundant in biomass burning emissions and is not changed by photochemical oxidation. That proved particularly helpful in identifying the chemical makeup as wildfire smoke.”

So, we need more fire retardant to limit and contain wildfires, right? Well, it seems that pink stuff flying out of firefighting aircraft is really the most effective retardant available. And as these fires explode across our country, we are going to use increasing amounts of this retardant. Writing for the November 17th Los Angeles Times, Alex Wigglesworth explains that retardant may be effective… but it rather toxic, often spread by adjacent waterways: “The U.S. Forest Service and other agencies each year drop tens of millions of gallons of fire retardant, mostly an ammonium phosphate-based slurry called Phos-Chek, around wildfires to coat vegetation and slow the spread of flames.

“But a new study by researchers at USC has found that a popular variety is laden with toxic metals, and estimates retardant use has released 850,000 pounds of these chemicals into the environment since 2009. The results suggest the ecological consequences of retardant use merit further study, and that finding a cleaner product is probably worthwhile, said Daniel McCurry, associate professor of civil and environmental engineering at USC and one of the study’s authors… In the USC study, published in Environmental Science & Technology Letters, McCurry and his fellow researchers tested 14 fire suppressants. All were purchased on the open market because manufacturers declined to provide samples, he said.

“Each contained at least eight heavy metals. One in particular — Phos-Chek LC-95W — had ‘potentially alarming’ concentrations of several metals, including chromium, cadmium and vanadium, he said, adding that the substance could be classified as hazardous waste under federal and California regulations… Chronic exposure to these metals has been linked to cancer, kidney and liver diseases in humans, but the potential ill effects on the environment are likely of more concern, particularly when retardant enters waterways, he said… McCurry described the retardant his team tested as the colorless version of the bright-pink Phos-Chek that’s dumped from aircraft. The pink stuff, LC-95A, is not available for consumers to purchase.” Why do we have such fires? Oh, that “hoax,” climate change, that just keeps giving and giving?

I’m Peter Dekom, and while many expect technology to combat climate change and the disasters it causes, sometimes that technology can truly harm us… and even kill.