PFAS detected in pesticide products 

“Forever chemicals” are increasingly showing up in pesticide products used in U.S. homes and on crops, a new study shows.

Published July 24 in Environmental Health Perspectives, the study found that 14% of all active ingredients in U.S. pesticides are per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, also known as PFAS. Types of PFAS detected in pesticide products included perfluorooctanoic acid and perfluorooctane sulfonate — commonly known as PFOA and PFOS — which are used in non-stick coatings and stain prevention.

PFAS are being added to pesticides in part to increase their stability, according to the researchers, who were affiliated with the Center for Biological Diversity, Environmental Working Group and Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility.

But some of the PFAS in pesticides come from leaching from plastic containers, which undergo a process called fluorination to make them less permeable. About a third of plastic containers used to hold pesticides and fertilizers are fluoridated, the study found.

Pesticides with PFAS are used on crops such as corn, spinach and strawberries and often make their way into waterways. They are also common in home insect-killing sprays and flea treatments for pets.

PFAS are known as forever chemicals because of their inability to break down in the environment or human body. They have been linked to developmental and reproductive health problems as well as cancer. 

US infant death rate increases

The U.S. infant death rate continues to climb, with nearly 20,600 babies under 1 year of age dying in 2022, says the National Center for Health Statistics.

The 2022 infant mortality rate was 5.6 deaths per 1,000 live births, a 3% increase from 2021, according to a NCHS report released July 25. More than 3.6 million live births occurred in 50 states, Puerto Rico, Guam and the District of Columbia.

Infant deaths varied widely by race and ethnicity. Black infants died at the highest rate, with 10.9 deaths per 1,000 live births, up 3.3% from 2021. American Indian and Alaska Native infants died at a rate of 9 per 1,000 live births — a 21% increase from 2021.

Other death rates were 8.5 per 1,000 for Native Hawaiian and other Pacific Islander infants; 4.9, Hispanic infants; 4.5, white infants; and 3.5, Asian infants. Asian infants were the only group to experience a decrease in death rates from 2021 to 2022.

Most of the deaths — 65% — occurred among babies who were born preterm. Top causes of death were congenital malformations, problems related to short gestation and low birth weight, sudden infant death syndrome, unintentional injuries, and maternal complications.

The latter complications — which include maternal preeclampsia, sepsis, diabetes and infections — rose more than 8% from 2021 to 2022. 

By state, infant mortality rates ranged from a low of 3.3 deaths per 1,000 live births in Massachusetts to a high of 9.1 in Mississippi. Nineteen states, most of which were in the South, had infant death rates higher than the overall U.S. rate in 2022. 

Rainfall patterns less dependable with climate change

Human-induced climate change is making rainfall patterns around the world more erratic, according to new research in Science. 

Rainfall variability — the unevenness in the timing and amount of rainfall— has increased during the past 120 years over most of the globe’s land area, an international team of researchers found. Daily rainfall variability has increased by an average of 1.2% per decade across the globe, with larger increases after global warming sped up in the 1950s. The warming temperatures allow the atmosphere to hold more moisture, leading to greater rainfall fluctuations.

The change in rainfall variability has been especially stark in Europe, Australia and eastern North America, which is home to a majority of the U.S. population and where 89% of the land area is affected, the study found. Variability means intense downpours can be more frequent while dry periods may last longer and become more severe.

The precipitation shifts threaten agriculture, water supplies, the economy and human health. It also makes it harder for forecasters to predict the weather and protect people from dangers such as flash floods.

Delivery service boom harms air of warehouse neighbors

The U.S. warehousing industry, which brings millions of packages to America’s doorsteps, is also delivering higher levels of air pollution to surrounding communities, according to a new study. 

Published July 24 in Nature Communications, the research found that people living in communities near the nation’s 150,000 large delivery warehouses are exposed to 20% more nitrogen dioxide, also known as NO2. 

Trucks and other vehicles traveling to and from the warehouses emit NO2, fine particulate matter and other harmful pollutants. Warehouses with more parking and loading docks had greater traffic and higher NO2 levels, as measured with satellite data.

Because the warehouses are often located in communities of color, those populations are exposed to higher levels of air pollutants. The proportion of Hispanic and Asian people living close to the largest clusters of warehouses is about 250% higher than the U.S. average, the study said.

About 20% of the large delivery warehouses are concentrated in 10 U.S. counties: Alameda, California; Cook, Illinois; Cuyahoga, Ohio; Dallas, Texas; Harris, Texas; Los Angeles, California; Maricopa, Arizona; Miami-Dade, Florida; Orange, California; and San Bernardino, California.

Rapid home delivery of consumer goods exploded in the U.S. during the early years of the COVID-19 pandemic, when people were encouraged to stay home and stay apart for their safety. While the industry has experienced layoffs more recently, it still employs more than 1.7 million workers. Amazon alone operated 175,000 delivery vans and more than 37,000 semitrailers in 2021, the study noted.

Other recent public health news of note includes:

• Eating recreationally caught freshwater fish can expose people to microplastics, says a new study in Environmental Health Perspectives. Researchers examined fish caught near Lake Ontario, finding more than 1,500 plastic particles in a single fish. 

• A new scorecard from the Commonwealth Fund finds maternal deaths rates vary widely by state. The highest rates were in Tennessee, Mississippi and Louisiana while the lowest were in Vermont, California and Connecticut. By ethnicity, maternal death rates were highest for Black and American Indian and Alaska Native women.

• Critically injured people who lack health insurance are more quickly withdrawn from life-sustaining support than those with private insurance, says a new study in JAMA Network Open.

• More Black Americans die from the effects of fine-particle air pollution than people of other races and ethnicities, even with recent overall declines in pollution levels, according to a recent study in Nature Medicine. 

• Socially vulnerable people — who lack the resources needed to respond to adverse events that impact their health and well-being — are at greater risk of certain mental health and substance use conditions, including post-traumatic stress disorder, schizophrenia spectrum disorder and opioid use disorder, says a new study in JAMA Psychiatry.

• The Environmental Protection Agency proposed July 24 that five chemicals be classified as high-priority substances for risk evaluation. All of the chemicals, which include vinyl chloride and acetaldehyde, are used to make plastic and have been linked to cancer. The move is part of an ongoing process under the Toxic Substances Control Act to reevaluate the safety of chemicals in use in the U.S.

The Watch is written by Michele Late, who has more than two decades of experience as a public health journalist.