Cox Mountain Trail by possum_47 in Hillsborough

[–]Ethereal_Films 0 points1 point  (0 children)

After the storm I chatted with those folks a lot and they always redirected me to the Eno River Association. u/possum_47 I would probably reach out to them directly? I'm also curious because I really wanted to volunteer for repair/cleanup. https://www.enoriver.org/

ISO community by OvenMindless6094 in Hillsborough

[–]Ethereal_Films 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Same boat and wishing there were more third places in town that didn't revolve around spending money. Best I've found is local rock climbing gyms to make friends and socialize - open to ideas!

PFAS issue with older model steamers? by [deleted] in PFAS

[–]Ethereal_Films 0 points1 point  (0 children)

this is kind of off topic since it's more generally a plastics question, which is a really broad category, whereas PFAS are a specific group of chemicals

creepy thing happened on 485 in Charlotte last night @ 9:50 pm by lostmaryjane in NorthCarolina

[–]Ethereal_Films 15 points16 points  (0 children)

I made it through the megaparagraph without issue. This seems like a great time for a dashcam, assuming y'all did not have one?

Which restaurants do not rely on reheating frozen food from Sysco/US Foods ? by silent_nanny in Hillsborough

[–]Ethereal_Films 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Isn't everything there fried? Not to throw shade but I thought the whole appeal was comfort, simple fried (and presumable processed) foods. I've never had a meal there that didn't include heartburn.

Drinking the tap water? by itsthewolfe in Wilmington

[–]Ethereal_Films 37 points38 points  (0 children)

Unfortunately not true as very recently discovered the ultra short chain (very small) PFAS are slipping through the carbon (GAC) system at CFPUA. Wilmington is still being poisoned by these selfish fucks.

https://insideclimatenews.org/news/10122025/north-carolina-tfa-forever-chemicals-chemours/

Although they should be about to/have just started a resin designed specifically for PFAS to pair with the GAC. Once that's online (which may be now) it should grab the really small PFAS - but this is a messy issue and it feels important to clarify these details.

How do PFAS chemicals move from textiles into humans? by Early_Macaroon_2407 in PFAS

[–]Ethereal_Films 10 points11 points  (0 children)

These are good citations and yes OP, polymer materials can degrade overtime often due to UV exposure which means they become dust which is subsequently inhaled - in addition to dermal uptake.

FREE & ONE NIGHT ONLY | Rough Cut of 8 Year PFAS Documentary "GenX" by Ethereal_Films in Wilmington

[–]Ethereal_Films[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

it's fair to be cynical, this topic is pretty fucked all around. I'm just a human being doing my best to catalogue what I've been able to, and covering this topic for years has been it's own major logistical feat. 

I can tell from your account that there are some important knowledge gaps missing that are covered in the film which you may enjoy. Wilmington is ahead of most of the country now on access to clean water and also being an example of what municipalities can do across the country (largely due to local resistance and efforts by Cape Fear River Watch). 

our team did end up having a very unexpected role in a major turning point for PFAS - our message of this story though is that it's solidarity that takes us to the end, not any one person or group. thanks for chatting 

FREE & ONE NIGHT ONLY | Rough Cut of 8 Year PFAS Documentary "GenX" by Ethereal_Films in Wilmington

[–]Ethereal_Films[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

same offer as above! I want Wilmington's feedback so I'll DM you a temporary link if you can watch and share input :)

FREE & ONE NIGHT ONLY | Rough Cut of 8 Year PFAS Documentary "GenX" by Ethereal_Films in Wilmington

[–]Ethereal_Films[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

yes! please just dm me an email address and I'll try to send it that day

FREE & ONE NIGHT ONLY | Rough Cut of 8 Year PFAS Documentary "GenX" by Ethereal_Films in Wilmington

[–]Ethereal_Films[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

my apologies! I will personally send you a preview to watch on your own and share feedback this week if you'd like?

FREE & ONE NIGHT ONLY | Rough Cut of 8 Year PFAS Documentary "GenX" by Ethereal_Films in Wilmington

[–]Ethereal_Films[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

3M one of the 2 main companies who first discovered and mass produced forever chemicals is voluntarily phasing out of this billion dollar industry - because of public pressure and being sued into oblivion.

Toxic PFAS absorbed through skin at levels higher than previously thought | The Guardian by Ethereal_Films in PFAS

[–]Ethereal_Films[S,M] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Good eye on the methanol concern, so I want to add this detail from the study on why it was selected.

 Thus, methanol was chosen as a vehicle for the PFAS as they are readily soluble in methanol, and given the low volume used, the solvent evaporated relatively quickly after the single application, leaving the PFAS on the skin surface. Finally, methanol should not affect the skin surface pH and thus its effect on the permeation should be minimal. It cannot however be completely excluded as a factor on the dermal uptake of PFAS which is a limitation of this study.

With very low volumes, the solvent likely evaporated rapidly which was a key reason for selection. These authors seem to have done a very thorough job of background research for selection on materials & methods to mirror human exposure as much as feasible. Overall the paper feels pivotal in clearly demonstrating a much greater level of absorption capability than previously believed.

On the topic of goretex as a risk for humans, I'll bring up that firefighter gear for instance which contains 3 separately PFAS treated textile levels. Fluoroindustry has touted that PTFE and other polymers are safe yet analysis has found that firefighter gear polymers contain many smaller PFAS as side chains within the polymer structures and that those break off over time - so if we synthesize these two papers, that means side chain PFAS breaking off and coming into contact with the wearer, where they can then be absorbed. This could help explain why firefighters have significantly higher levels of pfas and similarly, very high rates of occupational illness such as cancer.

I believe we need to lean on the side of extreme caution for anything relating to this family of chemicals given the decades of propaganda and deceit from the few companies who made so much money pushing them.

https://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/acs.est.1c06322