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Climate and Environment

    • 'Forever chemicals' in the ocean become airborne from sea spray, study says

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    So-called 鈥渇orever chemicals,鈥 which are compounds that do not break down easily in the environment, are entering the air from the water through sea spray, a new Swedish study says.

    Detailing their findings in the journal researchers said lab results showed that when bubbles containing perfluoralkyl acids (PFAS) burst at the surface of saltwater, the compounds were aerosolized and entered the air in tiny particles.

    In order to find out if sea spray could be a vehicle for the compounds to be transported long distances, researchers did field observations at two coastal locations in Norway, collecting more than 100 air samples between 2018 and 2020.

    Laboratory analysis of the particles in the air samples for 11 PFAS, including potential carcinogens, showed the presence of contaminants in all samples collected. Comparing the levels of the contaminants to the sodium ions (sea salt) made researchers posit that the PFAS leave the ocean with sea spay and are blown inland.

    鈥淟ong-range atmospheric transport is considered to substantially contribute to the ubiquitous presence of PFAS, especially in remote areas such as the Arctic and Antarctic,鈥 the study states.

    The study suggests that PFAS can travel great distances via sea spray, with estimates of travel measured at 10 hours, 2.3 days and 1.5 weeks resulting in 330 kilometres, 2,000 kilometres and 10,000 kilometres respectively, depending on things like sea surface temperature and wind speed.

    PFAS are used in industrial processes, food packaging, personal care products and water-repellant coatings, but have been phased out from products in certain countries.

    Health Canada鈥檚 website as 鈥渁 group of over 4,700 human-made substances that are used as lubricants, surfactants and repellants for dirt water and grease, and can be found in certain firefighting foams, textiles, cosmetics and food packaging materials.鈥

    鈥淎dverse environmental and health effects have been observed for well-studied PFAS, and they have been shown to pose a risk to the Canadian environment,鈥 the website says.

    Health Canada states that PFAS and similar compounds are 鈥減rohibited through regulation鈥 in Canada but that 鈥渟cientific evidence to date indicates the PFAS used to replace regulated PFOS, PFOA and LC-PFCAs may also be associated with environmental and/or human health effects.鈥

    Using their field tests, researchers estimate there could be 258 to 686 tonnes of PFAS released globally from the oceans into the air each year, which means sea spray is an important source of the forever chemicals to coastal communities. 

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