How PFA contamination around the Great Lakes influences the health and consumption patterns of communities
Introduction
Have you ever purchased a burger at McDonalds or other fast-food chains and noticed that the waxy wrapping paper is shiny? Well, that is PFAs also known as per-and polyfluoroalkyl substances. PFAs is a term used to describe over 4700 different chemical compounds (Panieri etal, 2021). There is a 97% certainty that it is in your bloodstream right now and a 99.9% certainty that you have been exposed to it at some point in your life (Lewis, 2015). PFAs has been shown to cause a vast array of negative health and environmental consequences like cancer, liver damage, decreased fertility, and increased risk of asthma and thyroid disease (Wickham and Shriver, 2021).
Literature Review
PFAs can enter the ecosystem and human body in many ways and forms. PFAs are distributed throughout the Great Lakes region because of their use and detection in wastewater treatment plants, industrial/manufacturing facilities, and firefighting training sites. (Kurwadkar etal, 2022).
Early PFAs compounds in the United States are largely untested and unregulated by the US government because they were grandfathered in under the Toxic Substances and Control Act (TSCA) in 1976. (Wickham and Shriver, 2021).
New forms of PFAs are found every day but the toxic substances Control Act has made it very difficult for the substances to be tested and has let untested substances go into the market.
PFAs fast like many other natural disasters has been shown to cause stress on families and interpersonal relationships while the government downplays these issues (Benwell etal, 2021, p. 14-15).
In many cases both corporate and government administrators chose to spread misinformation about PFAs, downplaying the issue (Wickham and Shriver, 2021).
Research Questions/Objectives and Justification
More information on how PFAs contamination in the Great Lakes influences health and consumption patterns of nearby communities is needed. This is a requirement because PFAs is a forever chemical and could be a problem in the future especially since new industrial compounds are still being discovered. The lack of action on the government and industry’s part is concerning. With more research more awareness will be brought to the issue. It is important to do research on the human impact of PFAs to improve the health and well-being of communities in the Great Lakes in the future. This research is also important because there is a lack of research on the effects of PFAs conducted around the Great Lakes region and little is known on how they affect the ecosystem and human communities.
Theoretical Framework
The theory of environmental justice has different definitions for its components in relation to this research proposal. It is important to clearly define the definitions of each concept so that they are measurable and perceivable. Perception is the affected community members becoming aware of the issue and realizing how it is affecting them. This leads to recognition where the community members recognize their needs and preferences because of the pollution. This could range from consuming different foods and using different household products to not caring at all. Next, there are institutions that refer to the government and industries responsible for restricting and producing goods and services involving PFAs and their regulations. This then leads to the procedure which is the Institution’s solution for the problem which can range from Laws restricting industry use to methods of removal. And lastly, there is the environment which refers to both the ecosystem and Agriculture and the effects PFAs has on them. This then leads to a distribution which can range from accessibility and availability of removal methods to alternate products not containing PFAs
Blue refers to people as in the people in the community. Red refers to government and industry. Green refers to the environment in which the problem is taking place. Purple refers to how the problem affects each group by color (Blue, Red or Green). Orange refers to the reaction/ response or lack thereof, of the group in the purple by color (Blue, Red or Green). (Langemeyer and Connolly, 2020)
References
Kurwadkar, S., Dane, J., Kanel, S. R., Nadagouda, M. N., Cawdrey, R. W., Ambade, B., Struckhoff, G. C., & Wilkin, R. (2022). Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances in water and wastewater: A critical review of their global occurrence and distribution. Science of the Total Environment, 809, 151003. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.151003
Langemeyer, J., & Connolly, J. J. T. (2020). Weaving notions of justice into urban ecosystem services research and practice. Environmental Science & Policy, 109, 1–14. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envsci.2020.03.021
Lewis, R., Johns, L., & Meeker, J. (2015). Serum Biomarkers of Exposure to Perfluoroalkyl Substances in Relation to Serum Testosterone and Measures of Thyroid Function among Adults and Adolescents from NHANES 2011– 2012. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 12(6), 6098–6114. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph120606098
Panieri, E., Baralic, K., Djukic-Cosic, D., Buha Djordjevic, A., & Saso, L. (2022). PFAS Molecules: A Major Concern for the Human Health and the Environment. Toxics, 10(2), 44. https://doi.org/10.3390/toxics10020044
Wickham, G. M., & Shriver, T. E. (2021). Emerging contaminants, coerced ignorance and environmental health concerns: The case of per‐ and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS). Sociology of Health & Illness. Web of Science. https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-9566.13253
