Study links childhood air pollution exposure to poorer mental health

OK, let’s start with the bad news: a new report from Mamavation found evidence of PFAS chemicals in food packaging including a McDonald’s filet-o-fish carton, a Starbucks’ sandwich wrapper and a KFC bucket of fried chicken.

That’s not good. But many of these fast-food and fast-casual restaurants have announced plans to ban the “forever chemicals” and for some — Taco Bell, Wendy’s, Sweetgreen and others — it seems to be working. In total 35% of 81 pieces of fast-food packaging showed detectable levels of organic fluorine, an indicator of the group of chemicals known as PFAS, according to a new report from Mamavation.

Partnering with EHN.org, the environmental wellness blog and community had the packaging tested by a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency-certified lab and found levels of organic fluorine ranging from 10 parts per million (ppm) to 469 ppm.

Organic fluorine is a strong indicator of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, also known as PFAS or “forever chemicals”— which have been linked to everything from cancer to birth defects to lower vaccine effectiveness.

EHN.org partially funded the testing and Pete Myers, chief scientist of Environmental Health Sciences, which publishes Environmental Health News, reviewed the findings. The report builds on previous fast-food packaging testing and EHN.org and Mamavation’s growing library of consumer products tested for evidence of PFAS, including products such as contact lenses, pasta and tomato sauces, sports bras, tampons, dental floss, electrolytes and butter wrappers.

It also comes on the heels of an EHN.org investigation, What we know about PFAS in our food, that found due to inadequate testing and a lack of regulation, we’re all eating PFAS.

Linda S. Birnbaum, scientist emeritus and former director of the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences and National Toxicology Program and scholar at residence at Duke University, told Mamavation that fast-food packaging remains one of the main ways people are exposed to PFAS. She pointed to the patchwork of PFAS legislation happening at the state level as inadequate to fully protect consumers.

“We support states that pass legislation to curtail these problems, but we worry that brands may have just moved their more toxic packaging to other states that allow it,” Birnbaum said. “So the next step here to protect consumers would be federal legislation banning PFAS in food packaging so that all states comply. This is essential to protect the public.”

Extreme working conditions, low pay and high turnover are leading to a crisis exacerbated by more intense wildfires. Eighteen firefighters tell their stories of the mental toll — from burnout to PTSD to the loss of peers to suicide.

The Colorado Climate Corps — sparked with $1.7 million from the state — deployed 633 AmeriCorps workers across Colorado to help communities mitigate the threat of wildfires, improve trails and upgrade homes with energy-efficient improvements.