An environmental group in Taiwan yesterday urged the government to reassess the health risks of cosmetics and band-aid products containing per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS).
Taiwan Watch Institute made the call following a new UK study confirming that a wide range of PFAS used in consumer products can be absorbed through human skin.
The research, conducted by the University of Birmingham and published in Environment International, tested 17 types of advanced 3D human skin models that mimic the properties of normal human skin and found 15 types of PFAS seeped into the skin model within 36 hours.
Photo: Taipei Times file
The shorter the chemical’s carbon chains, the easier it is absorbed into the skin, the research showed. The newer, shorter-chained chemicals called perfluoropentanoic acid, was absorbed into the skin at four times the rate of perfluorooctanoic acid, at 59 percent.
The research revealed important new findings, including that PFAS can enter the body via food or drinking water and by absorption through the skin, and that the absorption rate is higher than expected, institute secretary-general Herlin Hsieh (謝和霖) said.
The chemical structures of PFAS are not entirely water or oil-resistant, as their hydrophilic functional groups can be absorbed by the skin, Hsieh said.
Another important finding is that PFAS with shorter carbon chains absorbed into the skin more easily, he said.
PFAS with longer chains had been banned or limited, and there has been a shift toward chemicals with shorter chain lengths, because they were believed to be less toxic. However, the research shows that the trade-off might be that people absorb more of them, he said.
On the other hand, although PFAS with longer chains have lower absorption rates, they might remain in the skin tissue for longer periods of time, Hsieh said.
Hsieh also said many clothing, cosmetics, band-aids and other medical devices that have water or oil-resistant properties might contain PFAS, and urged the government to conduct health reassessments on products that have direct contact with skin.
The government can also ask manufacturers to disclose whether their product contains PFAs, as other countries do, he said, adding that the government can also order products be made with alternative chemicals instead of PFAS to reduce health risks.
CHANGING LANDSCAPE: Many of the part-time programs for educators were no longer needed, as many teachers obtain a graduate degree before joining the workforce, experts said Taiwanese universities this year canceled 86 programs, Ministry of Education data showed, with educators attributing the closures to the nation’s low birthrate as well as shifting trends. Fifty-three of the shuttered programs were part-time postgraduate degree programs, about 62 percent of the total, the most in the past five years, the data showed. National Taiwan Normal University (NTNU) discontinued the most part-time master’s programs, at 16: chemistry, life science, earth science, physics, fine arts, music, special education, health promotion and health education, educational psychology and counseling, education, design, Chinese as a second language, library and information sciences, mechatronics engineering, history, physical education
The Chinese military has boosted its capability to fight at a high tempo using the element of surprise and new technology, the Ministry of National Defense said in the Quadrennial Defense Review (QDR) published on Monday last week. The ministry highlighted Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) developments showing significant changes in Beijing’s strategy for war on Taiwan. The PLA has made significant headway in building capabilities for all-weather, multi-domain intelligence, surveillance, operational control and a joint air-sea blockade against Taiwan’s lines of communication, it said. The PLA has also improved its capabilities in direct amphibious assault operations aimed at seizing strategically important beaches,
New Taipei City prosecutors have indicted a cram school teacher in Sinjhuang District (新莊) for allegedly soliciting sexual acts from female students under the age of 18 three times in exchange for cash payments. The man, surnamed Su (蘇), committed two offenses in 2023 and one last year, the New Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office said. The office in recent days indicted Su for contraventions of the Child and Youth Sexual Exploitation Prevention Act (兒童及少年性剝削防制條例), which prohibits "engaging in sexual intercourse or lewd acts with a minor over the age of 16, but under the age of 18 in exchange for
The High Prosecutors’ Office yesterday withdrew an appeal against the acquittal of a former bank manager 22 years after his death, marking Taiwan’s first instance of prosecutors rendering posthumous justice to a wrongfully convicted defendant. Chu Ching-en (諸慶恩) — formerly a manager at the Taipei branch of BNP Paribas — was in 1999 accused by Weng Mao-chung (翁茂鍾), then-president of Chia Her Industrial Co, of forging a request for a fixed deposit of US$10 million by I-Hwa Industrial Co, a subsidiary of Chia Her, which was used as collateral. Chu was ruled not guilty in the first trial, but was found guilty
RSS