'He's in our hearts': Family and friends still seek answers one year after Nathan Wise’s disappearance
It’s been a year since Nathan Wise went missing and his family is no closer to finding out what happened to him.
Researchers out of Europe say global levels of man-made "forever chemicals" have made rainwater unsafe to drink around the world — even in the most remote areas.
The study, published in peer-review journal Environmental Science and Technology on Tuesday from researchers at Stockholm University and ETH Zurich, argues that guideline values – amounts considered acceptable – for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in drinking water, surface water and soil have fallen "dramatically" over the last 20 years "due to new insights into their toxicity."
Ian Cousins, lead author of the study and Stockholm University professor, called the decline "astounding."
In a press release, he said the drinking water guideline value for one chemical in particular — the cancer-causing perfluorooctanoic acid, or PFOA — has declined by 37.5 million times in the U.S.
"Based on the latest U.S. guidelines for PFOA in drinking water, rainwater everywhere would be judged unsafe to drink," Cousins said.
"Although in the industrial world we don't often drink rainwater, many people around the world expect it to be safe to drink and it supplies many of our drinking water sources."
The term PFAS is used to describe the thousands of human-made substances historically found in a number of items such as surfactants, lubricants, repellents, firefighting foam, textiles, cosmetics and food packaging, the Canadian government says.
Exposure to PFAS can occur through food, drinking water and house dust, and is associated with reproductive, developmental, endocrine, liver, kidney and immunological issues, as well as certain cancers.
Due to their ability to last in the environment for long periods, experts often describe PFAS as "forever chemicals."
Researchers say the global spread of PFAS in the atmosphere means they can be found in rainwater and snow even in remote areas, such as Antarctica and the Tibetan Plateau.
While manufacturer 3M has worked to phase out the substances for two decades, researchers say some harmful PFAS are not seeing any notable declines in the atmosphere.
"The extreme persistence and continual global cycling of certain PFAS will lead to the continued exceedance of the above-mentioned guidelines," said study co-author and professor Martin Scheringer in the release.
Scheringer says because of this, "it makes sense to define a planetary boundary specifically for PFAS and, as we conclude in the paper, this boundary has now been exceeded."
Jane Muncke, managing director of the Food Packaging Forum in Switzerland, who was not involved in the study, said in the press release companies should not be allowed to "benefit economically while polluting the drinking water for millions of others, and causing serious health problems."
"The vast amounts that it will cost to reduce PFAS in drinking water to levels that are safe based on current scientific understanding need to be paid by the industry producing and using these toxic chemicals," Muncke said. "The time to act is now."
With files from The Associated Press
The story has been updated to clarify that the drinking water guideline values, or amounts considered acceptable, for PFAS have declined.
It’s been a year since Nathan Wise went missing and his family is no closer to finding out what happened to him.
Dozens of Ontarians are expressing frustration in the province’s health-care system after their family doctors either dropped them as patients or threatened to after they sought urgent care elsewhere.
An Ottawa pizzeria is being recognized as one of the top 20 deep-dish pizzas in the world.
Amazon's paid subscription service provides free delivery for online shopping across Canada except for remote locations, the company said in an email. While customers in Iqaluit qualify for the offer, all other communities in Nunavut are excluded.
The fire burning near Fort McMurray grew from 25 hectares to 5,500 hectares over the weekend.
Russia’s President Vladimir Putin began a Cabinet shakeup on Sunday, proposing the replacement of Sergei Shoigu as defence minister as he begins his fifth term in office.
Police are searching for a male suspect after a man was “slashed in neck” on Sunday morning in downtown Toronto and died.
There were some scary moments for several people on a northern Ontario highway caught on video Thursday after a chain reaction following a truck fire.
Health Canada announced various product recalls this week, including electric adapters, armchairs, cannabis edibles and vehicle components.
English, history, entertainment, math and geography: high school trivia teams could be quizzed on any of it when they compete at the Reach for the Top Nationals in Ottawa in June.
An Ottawa pizzeria is being recognized as one of the top 20 deep-dish pizzas in the world.
A family of fifth generation farmers from Ituna, Sask. are trying to find answers after discovering several strange objects lying on their land.
A Listowel, Ont. man, drafted by the Hamilton Tigercats last week, is also getting looks from the NFL, despite only playing 27 games of football in his life.
The threat of zebra mussels has prompted the federal government to temporarily ban watercraft from a Manitoba lake popular with tourists.
A small Ajax dessert shop that recently received a glowing review from celebrity food critic Keith Lee is being forced to move after a zoning complaint was made following the social media influencer’s visit last month.
The Canada Science and Technology Museum is inviting visitors to explore their poop. A new exhibition opens at the Ottawa museum on Friday called, 'Oh Crap! Rethinking human waste.'
The Regina Police Service says it is the first in Saskatchewan and possibly Canada to implement new technology in its detention facility that will offer real-time monitoring of detainees’ vital health metrics.
Just as she had feared, a restaurant owner from eastern Quebec who visited Montreal had her SUV stolen, but says it was all thanks to the kindness of strangers on the internet — not the police — that she got it back.