The concept of essential use is developed and applied to various uses of PFASs to determine the feasibility of elimination or substitution in each use category.

Fluoropolymers are a group of polymers within the class of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS). The objective of this analysis is to evaluate the evidence regarding the environmental and human health impacts of fluoropolymers throughout their life cycle(s). Production of some fluoropolymers is intimately linked to the use and emissions of legacy and novel PFAS as polymer processing aids. There are serious concerns regarding the toxicity and adverse effects of fluorinated processing aids on humans and the environment. A variety of other PFAS, including monomers and oligomers, are emitted during the production, processing, use, and end-of-life treatment of fluoropolymers. There are further concerns regarding the safe disposal of fluoropolymers and their associated products and articles at the end of their life cycle. While recycling and reuse of fluoropolymers is performed on some industrial waste, there are only limited options for their recycling from consumer articles. The evidence reviewed in this analysis does not find a scientific rationale for concluding that fluoropolymers are of low concern for environmental and human health. Given fluoropolymers’ extreme persistence; emissions associated with their production, use, and disposal; and a high likelihood for human exposure to PFAS, their production and uses should be curtailed except in cases of essential uses.

Measurement methods for chemicals in biological and personal environmental samples have expanded rapidly and become a cornerstone of health studies and public health surveillance. These measurements raise questions about whether and how to report individual results to study participants, particularly when health effects and exposure reduction strategies are uncertain. In an era of greater public participation and open disclosure in science, researchers and institutional review boards (IRBs) need new guidance on changing norms and best practices. Drawing on the experiences of researchers, IRBs, and study participants, we discuss ethical frameworks, effective methods, and outcomes in studies that have reported personal results for a wide range of environmental chemicals. Belmont Report principles and community-based participatory research ethics imply responsibilities to report individual results, and several recent biomonitoring guidance documents call for individual reports. Meaningful report-back includes contextual information about health implications and exposure reduction strategies. Both narrative and graphs are helpful. Graphs comparing an individual’s results with other participants in the study and benchmarks, such as the National Exposure Report, are helpful, but must be used carefully to avoid incorrect inferences that higher results are necessarily harmful or lower results are safe. Methods can be tailored for specific settings by involving participants and community members in planning. Participants and researchers who have participated in report-back identified benefits: increasing trust in science, retention in cohort studies, environmental health literacy, individual and community empowerment, and motivation to reduce exposures. Researchers as well as participants gained unexpected insights into the characteristics and sources of environmental contamination. Participants are almost universally eager to receive their results and do not regret getting them. Ethical considerations and empirical experience both support study participants’ right to know their own results if they choose, so report-back should become the norm in studies that measure personal exposures. Recent studies provide models that are compiled in a handbook to help research partnerships that are planning report-back. Thoughtful report-back can strengthen research experiences for investigators and participants and expand the translation of environmental health research in communities.

Although chloramines are ubiquitously present during ultraviolet-driven advanced oxidation processes (UV/AOP) that are becoming increasingly important for potable water reuse, the photochemistry of chloramines in treated wastewater, and the associated effects on trace chemical contaminant degradation, are unknown. This study investigated the fundamental radical chemistry involved in monochloramine (NH2Cl) photolysis and its efficiency in degrading 1,4-dioxane using a low-pressure Hg lamp (λ = 254 nm). These results showed that the UV fluence-normalized rate of 1,4-dioxane degradation in UV/NH2Cl ranged between 1.1 × 10–4 and 2.9 × 10–4 cm2·mJ–1. The photolysis of NH2Cl produced NH2 • and Cl•, which further transformed to a series of reactive radical species. An optimal NH2Cl dosage for 1,4-dioxane degradation was observed at a NH2Cl/1,4-dioxane concentration ratio of 8.0, while excess NH2Cl scavenged reactive radicals and decreased the treatment efficiency. Scavenging experiments and probe compound calculations showed that both Cl2 •– and HO• contributed significantly to 1,4-dioxane removal, while the NH2 • radical reacted slowly with 1,4-dioxane. The presence of dissolved oxygen further decreased NH2 • reactivity. This study generated critical knowledge of the photochemistry of NH2Cl and will allow for future optimization of the UV/AOP for more efficient water reuse treatments.