Perfluorochemicals in Cookware and Food Packages Linked to ADHD
Scientists have found a link between C8, one type of many perfluorochemicals (PFCs), and the development of ADHD in children. Despite these findings, and the many other risks of PFCs having been discovered over the past few decades, corporations still readily use them in their products.
Perfluorochemicals and ADHD
According to the research, which comes from Boston University and the Harvard School of Public Health, children who are exposed to higher levels of C8 are at an increased risk of ADHD. “For every additional 1 part per billion of C8 in the blood, children faced a 12 percent increased risk of ADHD,” according to the West Virginia Gazette.
ADHD (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder) is the most prevalent disorder of its kind in American youth. The Centers for Disease Control estimate 9.5% of children between the ages of 4 and 17 have been diagnosed with this disease as of 2007, and there’s no telling how that number has grown since then.
C8 is found in nonstick pan coatings, food package containers, and stain-resistant fabrics. Like other PFCs, it somehow finds its way into the blood stream where it wreaks havoc.
Scientists aren’t sure how the chemicals get into the blood, though some studies have pointed to contaminated water.
The Environmental Working Group characterizes perfluorochemicals as being part of the “rogues gallery of highly toxic, extraordinarily persistent chemicals that pervasively contaminate human blood and wildlife of the world over.”
Other studies have linked C8 and other PFCs to such things as neurological development, liver damage, immune problems, birth defects, and even high cholesterol.
Because scientists aren’t exactly sure how perfluorochemicals make their way to the bloodstream, it’s difficult to say with any certainty how to avoid the effects of them. Some sources say that in addition to cookware and clothing, they are found in soil and water across the country, making them difficult to avoid.
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