7/26/2019 Pizza Boxes and Food Containers Contain Cancer-causing Chemicals, Alarmed Scientists Warn

1/2

Pizza boxes and food containers contain cancer-

causing chemicals, alarmed scientists warn

Tuesday, May 19, 201 by! "a#id $utierrez, sta% writer

&'atural'ews( )ides*read industrial chemicals found in *izza boxes and household

dust are dangerous to human and en#ironmental health, a grou* of en#ironmental

scientists has warned in an editorial *ublished in the +ournal n#ironmental ealth

Pers*ecti#es on May 1.

The editorial, /nown as The Madrid tatement, was signed by 200 scientists from

3 countries. 4t urges restrictions on the grou* of chemicals /nown as P56s, and

warns against ado*ting alternati#es to P56 without 7rst sub+ecting them to

rigorous safety testing.

8:esearch is needed to 7nd safe alternati#es for all current uses of P56s, wrote;inda uestion is, should these chemicals continue to be used in consumer *roducts

in the meantime, gi#en their *ersistence in the en#ironment?

Ubiquitous and deadly

P56s &*er@uorinated al/ylated substances, also /nown as *oly@uoroal/yl and

*er@uoroal/yl( are ubi>uitous in modern life. They are used to re*el oil and water in

*roducts such as *izza boxes, waxed *astry bags or be#erage cu*s, wax *a*er and

e#en car*et treatments. They are also *rized for their ability to increase itemsA

durability while resisting high tem*eratures.

P56s easily migrate from household items into food or airborne dust. They are also

emitted by industrial a**lications and e#en foam used to 7ght 7res. P56s from all

of these sources e#entually end u* in soil and water, thereby multi*lying sources of

human and en#ironmental ex*osure.

The Madrid tatement notes that animal studies ha#e lin/ed P56s to a wide

range of health *roblems, including li#er toxicity and harmful changes to li*id

metabolism and the immune, endocrine and neurological systems. The chemicals

ha#e also been shown to cause tumors, beha#ioral toxicity and infant death.

uman e*idemiological research has im*licated P56s in testicular and /idney

cancer, ulcerati#e colitis, decreased immune res*onse, reduced hormone le#els,

delayed *uberty, obesity, lower birth weight, high cholesterol, hy*othyroidism and

li#er malfunction.

7/26/2019 Pizza Boxes and Food Containers Contain Cancer-causing Chemicals, Alarmed Scientists Warn

2/2

6larmingly, studies ha#e shown that P56s are also *ersistent organic *ollutants

&PBPs(, meaning that they resist en#ironmental degradation and also bioaccumulate

in human and animal tissues. tudies ha#e detected these com*ounds in the bodies

of *eo*le and animals around the globe.

The Madrid tatement *oints out that, when P56s do degrade, they often brea/

down into *er@uorinated chemicals, which are also toxic and e#en more resistant to

degradation.

Replacement chemicals just as toxic?

The Madrid tatement is the result of decades of e#idence of harm from P56s. 4n

fact, the famous nonstic/ lining Te@on &now made from the toxic chemical PT5, also

@uoride-based( was originally made from a P56. This formulation of Te@on was

discontinued after e#idence lin/ed the P56 ingredient to cancer. 4n 200, the

n#ironmental Protection 6gency 7ned Te@on ma/er "uPont C1D. million for hiding

e#idence of the chemicalAs toxic e%ects for years.

Bther P56s are now also in the *rocess of being *hased out, but the authors of

The Madrid tatement warn that this may not do any good if they are sim*ly

re*laced with +ust-as-toxic alternati#es.

6lthough some of the long-chain P56s are being regulated or *hased out, the

most common re*lacements are short-chain P56s with similar structures, or

com*ounds with @uorinated segments +oined by ether lin/ages, they wrote.

6do*ting such alternati#es could actually increase the amount of toxic*er@uorinated chemicals in the en#ironment, the statement warns, if the

alternati#es are less e%ecti#e and are therefore used in greater >uantities.

The Madrid tatement calls for the global community to ta/e measures at the

international le#el to reduce the use of P56s in *roducts and *re#ent their

re*lacement with @uorinated alternati#es in order to a#oid long-term harm to

human health and the en#ironment.

;earn more!

htt*!EEwww.naturalnews.comE0F9GD0HP56H*izzaHboxesHwaxH*a*er.htmlIixzzFDJd;

ewal