Would you like to know which products our lab says has indications of PFAS “forever chemicals?” Well, keep watching because Mamavation has been commissioning our own studies in partnership with Environmental Health News & The Institute for Green Science at Carnegie Mellon University.
PFAS “forever chemicals” are per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances used as stain-resistant, water-resistant, & oil-resistant chemicals in commerce. They have been used for decades inside consumer products, manufacturing, and building materials. There are over 12,000 different chemicals in the PFAS chemical class (including PFOA & PTFE), and because there are so many of them, they are incredibly hard to identify and test for. In fact, it’s only really possible to identify about 100 or so in a really good commercial laboratory.
Mamavation’s lab used marker testing to identify the potential presence of PFAS “forever chemicals” in most of these products. Organic fluorine is a marker for PFAS because all PFAS chemicals are carbon-based compounds that contain fluorine. The specific lab method used by Mamavation tested for total fluorine was the Determination of Total Fluorine by Oxygen Flask Combustion and Ion-Selective Electrode. If total fluorine was observed at a detection level of 10 ppm, the lab did the Determination of free Fluoride Ion in the tampon by Ion-Selective Electrode and then subtracted that from the Total Fluorine to determine the amount of organic fluorine.
According to our advisors, this marker testing is likely to show the presence of PFAS. Organic fluorine can also capture other fluoropolymers, pharmaceuticals, and common hydrofluorocarbon refrigerants, such as 1,1,1,2-tetrafluoroethane (commonly known as R-134a) and 2,3,3,3-tetrafluoropropene (commonly known as HFO-1234yf). None of these additional chemicals is anything you want inside products either.
How are Mamavation consumer studies funded? We receive donations from Environmental Health News & Mamavation community members, but other than that, we use the proceeds from affiliate and ad revenue from the site to fund the studies. So anytime you purchase from a link on Mamavation, you are also supporting our PFAS consumer studies. So thank you!
Here’s a list of PFAS consumer studies Mamavation has commissioned thus far:
- Butter Wrappers
- Nut Butters
- Pasta & Tomato Sauce
- Cooking Oils
- Electrolytes
- Activewear
- Sports Bras
- Green Beauty Makeup
- Period Underwear
- Ketchup
- Parchment Paper
- Bamboo Flooring
- Toilet Paper
- Tampons
- Sanitary Pads & Incontinence Pads
- Dental Floss
- Baby Strollers
- Children’s Probiotics
What PFAS consumer studies do we have planned in near future?
- Toothpaste
- Bandages
- Electrolyte powders
We will keep updating this page so you can always see what consumer studies we are working on. If you would like to recommend a study for us to work on, join our Facebook group here.