"The Pentagon’s recent release of its requirements for firefighting suppressants that could substitute for PFAS-based aqueous film-forming foam increases the pressure on fire departments to stop using AFFF, said Bradley M. Pinsky, an attorney with the Pinsky Law Group, PLLC, which counsels fire departments and districts. AFFF, used primarily by the military but also by civilian firefighters, has polluted drinking water across the country and raised concerns about… …
We cannot expect to transition to a sustainable circular economy by continuing to rely on toxic chemistry.
I discovered the GreenScreen for Safer Chemicals comparative hazard assessment protocol very early in my career and am still thankful I did. The protocol walks trained users through 18 human and environmental health endpoints to assess individual chemicals, ultimately culminating with a benchmark score of benchmark one (BM-1) through benchmark four (BM-4) — with BM-1 being the most hazardous materials and BM-4 being the most benign. This assessment methodology was developed by Clean… …
Research suggests that the presence of certain chemicals in some healthcare equipment can compromise the benefit of the treatment the equipment enables. For example, the presence of chemicals in intravenous equipment could reduce the effectiveness of the medication being administered and alter hormonal function in patients. In response, the nonprofit organization Clean Production Action recently created a process to certify health-care products that do not contain specific chemicals such as… …
Though exposure through consumer products is a reasonable concern, there are two even larger facets of the problem, said Shari Franjevic, who leads the GreenScreen For Safer Chemicals program at the nonprofit Clean Production Action. One is how that product came to exist in the first place – people who might work at a plant where PFAS are produced or heavily used are typically among the most most exposed to the hazardous chemicals. The other is where it will end up once it’s… …
We'll also have to learn how to handle alternatives to many other PFAS-containing items, such as firefighting foams. Non-PFAS products perform differently to PFAS-containing aqueous film-forming foam (AFFF) when fighting gas and oil fires, but non-PFAS foams are already used around the world. Shari Franjevic is the programme manager for GreenScreen, which certifies products as free of PFAS and other chemicals. "In countries where PFAS-free products are allowed, for use at airports, for… …