00:00Forever chemicals, or polyfluoroalkyl substances, are dangerous molecules that don't occur naturally.
00:05And when they get into water supplies, they persist, well, forever.
00:08They're often created as a byproduct of other industrial endeavors,
00:11and they have been linked to all sorts of health issues.
00:14Now experts say they've identified another source of the dangerous toxins.
00:18A recent study published in the journal Environmental Science and Technology Letters
00:21outlines that toilet paper may be a contributor to the forever chemical problem.
00:26PFAS chemicals are often used in paper products, as they're known to repel grease and other liquids.
00:31So the researchers followed that trail, finding that not only does toilet paper itself contain
00:35PFAS chemicals that we flush down the toilet and into waterways, but paper making also uses
00:40PFAS additives that aid in the process of turning wood into pulp for toilet paper making.
00:45Meaning even toilet paper made of recycled paper has these chemicals present.
00:49And after looking at metadata, including sewage samples from other studies,
00:52They now attribute at least 4% of forever chemical pollution to toilet paper in the US and Canada,
00:58and a whopping 35% in Sweden, and 89% in France.
01:03PFAS chemicals have been historically linked to several cancers, including testicular and kidney cancer.
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