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About The Southwest Portland Post. (Portland, Oregon) 2007-current | View Entire Issue (May 1, 2018)
6 • The Southwest Portland Post FEATURES Dear EarthTalk: Just when I finally purged my kitchen of non- stick cookware due to the risks posed by Teflon, I now learn that my rain jacket and waterproof boots are also putting my health at risk from exposure to similar “hydrophobic” chemicals. What’s a concerned outdoors person to do about staying dry and comfortable on a rainy hike? – Alex Walker, Philadelphia, PA Many of us remember when Gore- Tex first appeared and revolution- ized outdoor clothing and gear by infusing products with a waterproof treatment that could also “breathe” so we wouldn’t get clammy on the inside as our outerwear repelled the elements. Since then, this synthetic chemical- based weatherproofing has become ubiquitous throughout the outdoor industry, not only in jackets, but also in boots and shoes, backpacks, tents, swimsuits and just about everything else that gets exposed to the wet and wild. And while we’ve all been happily making our way through the rain and snow, we might not have real- ized that there is a dark underbelly to all of this weatherproof outdoor gear: perfluorinated compounds. These synthetic chemicals are re- lated to the “hydrophobic” formula- tions that make non-stick cookware easy to clean by encouraging liquids to bead up and roll away. And like their chemical cousins on cookware, the perfluorinated compounds in your jacket could be making you sick and polluting the environment. “PFCs are environmentally haz- ardous substances, which are per- sistent in the environment,” reports Greenpeace, which launched its Detox Outdoor campaign in 2012 to convince outdoor gear makers to stop using toxic chemicals in their products. “Studies show that some PFCs can accumulate in living organisms such as the livers of polar bears in the Arctic and are also detected in human blood.” Meanwhile, animal studies indi- cate that perfluorinated compounds can harm reproductive processes, negatively impact hormonal bal- ances and promote the growth of tumors. Once released into the environ- ment perfluorinated compounds break down very slowly. They re- main in the environment for several hundred years and are dispersed over the entire globe. Some are found in secluded moun- tain lakes or accumulated in wildlife. Some are also found in human blood. If you have waterproof shoes or a rain jacket that is more than a year or two old, chances are these items were treated with a Durable Water Repel- lent finish before they left the factory. This clothing could be leaching trace amounts of these toxic carcino- genic chemicals into your body and the environment. And perfluorinated compounds never break down en- tirely, so they can continue to cause harm indefinitely. Luckily, given Greenpeace’s advo- cacy and resulting consumer aware- ness, the majority of gear makers have started to phase out perfluori- nated compounds. Smaller brands including Paramo, Pyua, Rotauf, Fjällräven, R’ADYS and Dannah were the first to com- mit to product lines free of perfluo- Denied Benefits? Unable To Work? We Can Help! Helping 1000’s Get The Benefits They Deserve May 2018 Many waterproof rainjackets are made of synthetic chemicals not good for the environment and may make you ill. (Creative Commons - Oakly Originals) rinated compounds, but the bigger players are coming around, too. W.L. Gore, Patagonia, The North Face, Marmot, Columbia and others have voluntarily committed to phas- ing out environmentally hazardous formulations by 2020 per Green- peace’s original ask. But getting there depends on find- ing suitable alternatives. Many com- panies have temporarily switched to less toxic while still fluorocarbon- based repellents while they look for greener formulations. For its part, Patagonia is betting big (through its corporate invest- ment fund Tin Shed Ventures) on Switzerland-based start-up Beyond Surface Technologies. This company was founded in 2008 by scientists who left careers at big chemical companies to make Durable Water Repellant-like textile treat- ments using natural raw materials. Contacts: Greenpeace Detox Out- door Campaign, detox-outdoor.org; Tin Shed Ventures, tinshedventures. com; Beyond Surface Technologies, www.beyondst.com. EarthTalk® is a weekly syndicated col- umn produced by Doug Moss and Roddy Scheer for the non-profit EarthTalk. To find out more, submit a question, or make a donation, visit us at EarthTalk.org. FIVE POINTS COFFEE ROASTERS coffee, bagels, breads, breakfast burritos public cuppings ever� month * 11136 SW Capitol Hwy * * 0614 SW Dakota * * 3551 SE Division * --------------------qualit� local coffee-------------------- Fighting For Your SOCIAL SECURITY BENEFITS For Over 35 Years! 1 Do You Qualify For Disability Benefits? 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Be sure to advertise in the June edition of The Post, where we’ll have a list of upcoming summer activites including al fresco dining, concerts, street fairs, movies in the park, summer camps, swimming, bicycling and much more! A complete media kit including current rates can be found on our website, www.SWPortlandPost.com. Contact Don Snedecor at 503-244-6933 or email ads@multnomahpost.com for more information or to place your ad. Deadline for June is May 25.
