Monkey puppet meme looking away. Europeans watching the US weaken food and safety regulations.
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[–] [S] 48 points 9 months ago (12 children)

The EPA Is Embracing PFAS Pesticides. These Are The Health Risks

https://time.com/7336883/epa-pfas-pesticides-health-risks/

FDA poised to kill proposal that would require asbestos testing for cosmetics

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2025/nov/28/fda-proposal-asbestos-testing-talc-cosmetics

Trump blames others but Washington air crash comes amid upheaval in US aviation

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/jan/30/trump-washington-plane-crash-analysis

Foreign Food Safety Inspections Hit Historic Low After Trump Cuts

https://www.propublica.org/article/foreign-food-safety-inspections-historic-low-fda

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  • [–] 13 points 9 months ago (4 children)

    From the first article:

    Worse, there is no firm definition of exactly what a PFAS is—at least in the United States. The Paris-based Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), which works with 38 member nations including the U.S. to foster international cooperation and economic growth, defines PFAS as industrial chemicals that have at least one fully fluorinated carbon atom—which is a carbon atom with two or three fluorine atoms attached to it. There are about 15,000 species of chemicals that meet that standard. But the EPA has pushed back, broadening the definition to two fully fluorinated carbon atoms. “The final definition does not include substances that only have a single fluorinated carbon,” the agency wrote in its formal report in 2023—during Joe Biden’s presidency. That change is worrying.

    A minimum of 2 fully fluorinated carbon atoms instead of 1 is NOT broadening the definition. That's narrowing it.

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  • [–] -2 points 9 months ago* (last edited 9 months ago) (3 children)

    A minimum of 2 fully fluorinated carbon atoms instead of 1 is NOT broadening the definition. That’s narrowing it.

    Think of the definition as a sluice gate. When you allow more things through, you're opening it wider, therefore broadening the definition. I know it's counter-intuitive sometimes to think of it like that. Narrowing the definition would be to let fewer things through, thus closing the gate.

    Edit: Reading through the discourse below, I think I see the points made. It might should be reversed.

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  • [–] 3 points 9 months ago

    Allowing more things through, if I understand your analogy correctly in this case, is broadening the exceptions -- things not matched by the definition.

    But, I'll bite, let's dive in. In a Venn diagram, substances with a minimum of 2 fully fluorinated carbon atoms is a subset of substances with a minimum of 1fully fluorinated carbon atoms, yes? Similarly, M&Ms with only red and green colors is a subset of M&Ms of any color, yes? If a person was to change their personal definition of acceptable M&Ms from any color to only red and/or green, would you call that broadening that definition?

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  • [–] 1 point 9 months ago

    The EPA definition would exclude chemicals like trifluoroethanol, so the EPA's definition is narrower, not broader.

    From a strict organic chemistry perspective, trifluoroethanol contains a perfluorinated methyl group, and methyl is a type of alkyl, therefore it must be considered a PerFluoro Alkyl Substance.

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  • [–] 4 points 9 months ago (3 children)

    wait what. how do I not know this being an American?

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