北冰洋海水中首次检测到新型PFAS化合物！
日期：2020-08-10 07:53:39
作者：创弗化工
分类：新闻中心
浏览：417次
在一项新研究中，研究人员在北冰洋地区发现了29种PFAS化合物。这些化学物质包括一种新的化合物：HFPO-DA（商品名 GenX）。这种化合物已确定会引起癌症和其他健康问题的PFOA和PFOS的替代品。随后，这种化合物已被证明会引起健康问题。
In a new study, researchers identify 29 types of PFAS in the Arctic Ocean. The chemicals include a newer material, called HFPO-DA. It was created to replace old compounds (PFOA and PFOS) determined to cause cancer and other health problems. Subsequently, this material has been shown to cause health problems of its own.
PFAS被称为“永久化学品”，因为它们可能需要数千年的时间才能降解。它的来源包括：家庭用品（食品包装和炊具），制造工厂、机场和军事设施中的工业材料。
PFAS are known as "forever chemicals" because it can take thousands of years for them to degrade. The substances stem from a variety of sources: household goods like food packaging and cookware, as well as industrial materials in manufacturing plants, airports, and military installations.
它们似乎无处不在：土壤，空气，水，甚至我们的血液。这项研究于周三发表在《环境科学与技术》杂志上，这是新型PFAS已经到达北极圈的第一个证据。
They are also, seemingly, everywhere: in the soil, air, water; our blood. The research, published on Wednesday in the journal Environmental Science & Technology, is the first evidence that the newer PFAS have even reached the Arctic.
为了追踪长期存在的化学物质，研究小组从弗兰姆海峡（Fram Strait）（大西洋与北冰洋的连接点，格陵兰岛和挪威群岛斯瓦尔巴特群岛之间）收集了水样。
To track the long-lasting chemicals, the study team collected water samples from Fram Strait, the connection point between the Atlantic and Arctic Oceans. It runs between Greenland and the Norwegian archipelago Svalbard.
据报告，从北冰洋流出水中的PFAS含量高于进入北冰洋水中PFAS含量，这表明这些化合物来自大气，而不是海洋本身。作者推测，雪和冰中可能含有这些化合物。
Higher levels of PFAS in the water were reported exiting the Arctic Ocean than entering the polar sea, indicating that the compounds are coming from the atmosphere, not the ocean itself. Snow and ice are likely retaining the compounds, the authors hypothesize.
研究人员还提出，“ 由于气候变化，常年冰川和积雪的减少”可能释放出几十年前沉积的PFAS，而这些物质在逐步淘汰之前就已经沉积了，这也许可以解释为什么同时发现了新型和旧型PFAS。这一假设反过来会印证这些化学物质来自北冰洋的想法。
The researchers also suggest that "the loss of perennial glacial mass and snow due to climate change" could release certain types of PFAS which were deposited decades ago, before the materials were phased out — which may explain why old and new PFAS were both found. That hypothesis would, in turn, reinforce the idea that the chemicals are coming from the Arctic Ocean.
Previous attempts to rein in PFAS in the environment have, so far, come up short.
在2000年代初期，研究人员就已经公开了PFAS会引起健康问题及该类物质已经无处不在的事实。在地球偏远地区的北极熊血液和其他野生动植物中都发现了PFAS。
In the early 2000s, researchers publicized the fact that PFAS cause health problems and are practically ubiquitous. The substances have been found in polar bear blood and other wildlife in remote parts of the planet.
作为回应，PFAS被淘汰了。杜邦化学公司的子公司开始制造一种新化合物来代替淘汰的PFAS——以商品名GenX销售。GenX也被称为HFPO-DA，今天仍在生产，主要用于油漆、户外织物和灭火泡沫。
In response, those materials were phased out. A subsidiary of the chemical company DuPont began to make a new compound to replace retired PFAS, sold under the commercial name GenX. Also called HFPO-DA, it is still being manufactured today — used in paint, outdoor fabrics, and firefighting foam.
但之后的研究证明GenX也是有害的。EPA的动物实验表明，口腔接触可导致肾脏、血液、免疫系统、胎儿发育和肝脏健康问题，
But further research has shown that GenX is also harmful. Studies in animals have demonstrated that oral exposure can cause health issues in the kidney, blood, immune system, developing fetus, and liver, the Environmental Protection Agency reports.
而现在，HFPO-DA已进入北冰洋。随着两代化学品在全球范围内流通，它没有解决PFAS问题，反而加剧了环境问题。研究作者将其描述为“全球环境问题的综合体，应当在未来建立法规对其进行评估”。
And now, HFPO-DA has made its way to the Arctic Ocean. Instead of fixing the issue of PFAS, it has amplified environmental troubles, as both generations of chemicals circulate the globe. The study authors describe it as "a compound of global environmental concern and it should be evaluated with regard to future regulations."
