"The authorities currently favor one explanation for the pollution: the use of paper mill sludge as fertilizer on farmland near drinking water catchments."
You have to be incredibly greedy and stupid to use industrial waste as fertilizer
Same happened in Germany: in the region of Mittelbaden, harmful per- and polyfluorinated chemicals (PFAS or PFC) have been contaminating groundwater and arable land for years. The district of Rastatt, which is particularly affected, holds a compost producer responsible for the widespread contamination. In the region, about 1,100 hectares of arable land and approximately 170 million cubic meters of groundwater are polluted. The beginning of the scandal dates back to 1999.
That's when a compost company started processing so-called paper sludges. These are waste materials from the paper industry and are believed to have contained PFAS. The company mixed these wastes with compost and spread them on fields—until a regulatory ban in 2008. According to reports, the PFAS eventually entered the drinking water via soil and groundwater.
"Industrial waste" can cover a lot of different types of materials - not all of which are worthless. It would be worse if waste products from one industry are sent to a dump when they can be re-used for other productive purposes.
Paper mills produce cardbord and paper used for drinking/eating on (coffee cups for example) which have a layer of pfas to insulate them (the inside is a little slippery).
This is a big big part of the industry, as it's worth a lot by weight compared to other paper products
"All of the under-sink reverse osmosis and two-stage filters achieved near-complete removal of the PFAS chemicals we were testing for,” Stapleton said. “In contrast, the effectiveness of activated-carbon filters used in many pitcher, countertop, refrigerator and faucet-mounted styles was inconsistent and unpredictable. The whole-house systems were also widely variable and in some cases actually increased PFAS levels in the water.” -
https://nicholas.duke.edu/news/not-all-home-drinking-water-f...
Note that the multistage RO filter can be a countertop one. It doesn't need to be an under-sink one. Just remember to change the filters on time.
Another thing that people overlook about RO is that it's critically essential to remineralize it safely and to normalize its pH. Drinking demineralized or acidic RO filtered water is harmful!
A multistage RO unit has an activated carbon layer after the RO layer. This AC layer is intended to capture the nanoplastics leaked from the RO layer. Moreover, if the RO layer gets replaced on time, the nanoplastic leakage is more limited. Certainly though I could use studies about how well or poorly this works.
Look at what happened with PCBs… in much of the world, nothing.
I was pretty shocked to discover quite recently that in the UK you are advised to eat two portions of oily fish per week, for your health. But no more because of the levels of PCBs in the fish. The UK isn’t the only place with this problem and (for instance) the Bay Area is pretty contaminated as well.
There will be no correction. There will only be collapse and perhaps partial mitigation. Correction implies a brain, and if we collectively had one, we wouldn't have been polluting with these toxins in the first place.
Moreover, correction alone is not sufficient -- it doesn't remove the PFAS which is already in the ecosystem. It will take over ten thousand years of UV light to naturally break it apart.
We had a good run, now it is time to scratch this evolutionary iteration as well and start from a clean slate again. There were mass extinction events before also and life restarted in a new form. It is time now for the same to happen, we are not capable of learning and behaving. While we might have advanced further than any species on Earth before, we are an evolutionary failure nevertheless. And what do you do with bad code? You rewrite it.
How is the chemical industry supposed to make a profit if they have to do 50 years studies on people and the environment when they manufacture a new compound? Think about the shareholders.
Yes, but one usage is less ambiguous than the other.
"French villages" - From two to all, with a bias to "many"
"Some French villages" - From two to less-than-all, with a strong bias toward a relatively small percentage.
Removing the word "some" very much changes how that title will be understood by a native English speaker. Except for me, because I've started to assume that this type of manipulation is the default and so whatever the title claims, the reality will be much less interesting or meaningful or profound.
Has anyone here had experience using plasma donation as a way to reduce their blood PFAS concentration? I know it's an imperfect solution but I feel like it's the only way to have a measurable impact on ones levels beyond replacing all the plastic in the kitchen, being cautious of water and food sources, etc.
They are not receiving plasma (or plasma products) because their short-term future looks so rosy - by their metrics, it's almost certainly positive-sum.
Human biological products (esp incl blood products) are a significant export product from the USA. Won't help Europe though because EU is one of the biggest importers.
I tried it to lower PFAS repeatedly and I can’t say I felt any better or worse from doing it. I don’t have any measurements though of PFAS before and after. Giving plasma repeatedly definitely made me feel like crap until I stopped though.
Do plasma donations remove more PFAS than other types of blood donation? I donate whole blood regularly, but have never measured my PFAS levels. As far as I know there isn't great data yet on whether it makes a big difference.
I'd love to know as well. I assume there's already some amount of treatment or measurements made before utilizing the plasma. Obviously it's no good taking your problem and pushing it to someone else, but on the other hand, I'd take plasma with PFAS over no plasma if I needed it.
I have been following this for many years now because immediately to my North along the very water source that provides our area our lives critical liquid is the originating source of PFAs for the planet - W.L.Gore. Our water was lab certified tested in April 2025 and we came in at a whopping 70 parts per trillion, yes 70 ppt! I made a ten minute presentation based on my data and findings in May 2025 before the town and the board was very reluctant to believe my findings yet my persistence has prevailed in my attempt to bring this issue to the forefront of all other local issues. On Wednesday of this week in the public hearing my town board requested the presence of InfraMark which handles our local resource facilities under contract and they very somberly presented what I already knew and have been getting others to act upon. InfraMark disclosed that the town will be forced to clean all the water source wells along with the sewer plants handling of PFAs however as with any government, even MORESO now, they do not have the money. I educated myself and acquired and installed all the needed solutions to remove my own home and family's PFA exposure. I retested in May 2025 and we now have <1 ppt PFA/PFOS in our water and I share that anyone waiting for their government to act to clean their water will likely be dead, naturally or otherwise, before it happens because of the size and costs of such municipal systems. No one cares more about you than you.
In Sweden, areas near airbases have been suffering from health complications from pfas which was used in firefighting exercises. There have been long running court cases trying to get compensation.
The Canadian forces have also caused contamination due to the same reason. The Department of Defense have been testing the wells around the bases and notifying residents. There are also court cases pending as it seems like the Military was very slow to react.
it's same in the US. lots of AF and USN aviation have issues with water quality near airfields -- plenty are consider EPA superfund sites. or were, since the GOP is doing everything it can to dismantle the EPA.
Readit News
You have to be incredibly greedy and stupid to use industrial waste as fertilizer
That's when a compost company started processing so-called paper sludges. These are waste materials from the paper industry and are believed to have contained PFAS. The company mixed these wastes with compost and spread them on fields—until a regulatory ban in 2008. According to reports, the PFAS eventually entered the drinking water via soil and groundwater.
Just more carefully.
Landfill is precious and sacred and must not be used.
And of course we have even added industrial waste directly to our drinking water, on purpose: https://origins.osu.edu/article/toxic-treatment-fluorides-tr...
It's probably quite common.
This is a big big part of the industry, as it's worth a lot by weight compared to other paper products
I'd bet there.
Addendum: It turns out that a linked article from Le Monde answers that: https://www.lemonde.fr/en/our-times/article/2025/03/09/can-t... , https://archive.is/RFNe9
Another thing that people overlook about RO is that it's critically essential to remineralize it safely and to normalize its pH. Drinking demineralized or acidic RO filtered water is harmful!
You need a evaporation/condensation system to get guaranteed pure drinking water.
I was pretty shocked to discover quite recently that in the UK you are advised to eat two portions of oily fish per week, for your health. But no more because of the levels of PCBs in the fish. The UK isn’t the only place with this problem and (for instance) the Bay Area is pretty contaminated as well.
And PCBs were banned in the late 1970s/early 80s.
Moreover, correction alone is not sufficient -- it doesn't remove the PFAS which is already in the ecosystem. It will take over ten thousand years of UV light to naturally break it apart.
"French villages" - From two to all, with a bias to "many"
"Some French villages" - From two to less-than-all, with a strong bias toward a relatively small percentage.
Removing the word "some" very much changes how that title will be understood by a native English speaker. Except for me, because I've started to assume that this type of manipulation is the default and so whatever the title claims, the reality will be much less interesting or meaningful or profound.
Deleted Comment
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8994130/
Stay Healthy!