PFOA are scary

Yesterday, I got reading a bit more about fluorine compounds and grew increasingly concerned when I was reading about perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), especially the highlighted sections below:

Perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) (conjugate base perfluorooctanoate)β€”also known as C8β€”is a perfluorinated carboxylic acid produced and used worldwide as an industrial surfactant in chemical processes and as a material feedstock, and is a health concern and subject to regulatory action and voluntary industrial phase-outs. PFOA is considered a surfactant, or fluorosurfactant, due to its chemical structure consisting of a perfluorinated, n-octyl “tail group” and a carboxylate “head group”. The head group can be described as hydrophilic while the fluorocarbon tail is both hydrophobic and lipophobic; The tail group is inert and does not interact strongly with polar or non-polar chemical moieties; the head group is reactive and interacts strongly with polar groups, specifically water. The “tail” is hydrophobic due to being non-polar and lipophobic because fluorocarbons are less susceptible to the London dispersion force than hydrocarbons.

PFOA is used for several industrial applications, including carpeting, upholstery, apparel, floor wax, textiles, fire fighting foam and sealants. PFOA serves as a surfactant in the emulsion polymerization of fluoropolymers and as a building block for the synthesis of perfluoroalkyl-substituted compounds, polymers, and polymeric materials. PFOA has been manufactured since the 1940s in industrial quantities. It is also formed by the degradation of precursors such as some fluorotelomers. PFOA is used as a surfactant because it can lower the surface tension of water more than hydrocarbon surfactants while having exceptional stability due to having perfluoroalkyl tail group. The stability of PFOA is desired industrially but is a cause of concern environmentally.

A majority of waste water treatment plants (WWTPs) that have been tested output more PFOA than is input, and this increased output has been attributed to the biodegradation of fluorotelomer alcohols. A current PFOA precursor concern are fluorotelomer-based polymers; fluorotelomer alcohols attached to hydrocarbon backbones via ester linkages may detach and be free to biodegrade to PFOA.

PFOA and PFOS were detected in “very high” (low parts per million) levels in agricultural fields for grazing beef cattle and crops around Decatur, AL. The approximately 5000 acres of land were fertilized with “treated municipal sewage sludge, or biosolids”. PFOA was also detected in fodder grass grown in these soils and the blood of the cattle feeding on this grass. The water treatment plant received process wastewater from a nearby perfluorochemical manufacturing plant. 3M says they managed their own wastes, but Daikin America “discharged process wastewater to the municipal waste treatment plant”. If traced to meat, it would be the first time perfluorochemicals were traced from sludge to food. However, the USDA reportedβ€”with a detection limits of 20 parts per billionβ€”non-detectable levels for both PFOA and PFOS in cattle muscle tissue.

PFOA is frequently found in household dust, making it an important exposure route for adults, but more substantially, children. Children have higher exposures to PFOA through dust compared to adults. Hand-to-mouth contact and proximity to high concentrations of dust make them more susceptible to ingestion, and increases PFOA exposure. One study showed significant positive associations were recognized between dust ingestion and PFOA serum concentrations. However, an alternate study found exposure due to dust ingestion was associated with minimal risk.

Also this article on fluorotelomer alcohol was quite concerning:

Fluorotelomer alcohols can biodegrade to perfluorinated carboxylic acids, whichpersist in the environment and are found in the blood serum of populations and wildlife, such as the toxic PFOA and PFNA. The fluorotelomer alcohols 6:2 FTOH and 8:2 FTOH have been found to be estrogenic.

The atmospheric oxidation of fluorotelomer alcohols can also result in anthropogenic perfluorinated carboxylic acids. In addition to perfluorinated carboxylic acids, fluorotelomer alcohols can degrade to form unsaturated carboxylic acids which have been detected in bottlenose dolphins.[10] Fluorotelomer alcohols such as 4:2 FTOH, 6:2 FTOH, 8:2 FTOH, and 10:2 FTOH, have been identified as residuals in consumer products such as stain repellents, Zonyl FSE, and windshield wash, among others. The United States Environmental Protection Agency has asked eight chemical companies to reduce the amount of residuals, including fluorotelomer alcohols, from products.

Pond

Most Popular Baby Names in New York πŸ‘Ά

Most Popular Baby Names in New York πŸ‘Ά

From the Social Security Administration.

import pandas as pd
df = pd.read_csv('/home/andy/Desktop/NY.TXT',header=None)
pt=df.pivot_table(index=2, columns=3, aggfunc='sum').droplevel(0,axis=1).fillna(0)
z = pt.T
z=((z/z.sum())*100).fillna(0).T
z.idxmax(axis=1).to_csv('/home/andy/Desktop/mostpop.csv')

1910Mary1920John1940Robert1960Michael1980Michael2000Michael
1911Mary1921John1941Robert1961Michael1981Michael2001Michael
1912Mary1922John1942Robert1962Michael1982Michael2002Michael
1913Mary1923John1943Robert1963Michael1983Michael2003Michael
1914John1924John1944Robert1964John1984Michael2004Michael
1915Mary1925John1945Robert1965Michael1985Michael2005Michael
1916Mary1926John1946Robert1966Michael1986Michael2006Michael
1917John1927John1947Robert1967Michael1987Michael2007Michael
1918John1928John1948Robert1968Michael1988Michael2008Michael
1919John1929John1949Robert1969Michael1989Michael2009Michael
  1930John1950Robert1970Michael1990Michael2010Isabella
  1931Robert1951Robert1971Michael1991Michael2011Michael
  1932John1952Robert1972Michael1992Michael2012Sophia
  1933John1953Robert1973Michael1993Michael2013Sophia
  1934Robert1954Robert1974Michael1994Michael2014Jacob
  1935Robert1955Robert1975Michael1995Michael2015Liam
  1936Robert1956Michael1976Michael1996Michael2016Liam
  1937Robert1957Michael1977Michael1997Michael2017Liam
  1938Robert1958Michael1978Michael1998Michael2018Liam
  1939Robert1959John1979Michael1999Michael2019Liam
          2020Liam

Weather Update – October 26, 2021

Today should be a good soaker then some sun β˜€

I am still chewing over the weekend, as if I don’t take off next week I’ll probably twk off the following week. I’m leaning towards taking off the second week of November right now for a trip to the Finger Lakes and the Northern Tier of Pennsylvania. I just don’t want to start out my trip getting soaked and muddy as would happen should I leave this Saturday.

Today.
Feels like …
November 3rd.

Heavy Rain

Rain. The rain could be heavy at times. High near 54. North wind 6 to 11 mph, with gusts as high as 21 mph. Chance of precipitation is 100%. New precipitation amounts between a half and three quarters of an inch possible.

and

54 degrees , 5:56
sunset.
Tonight.
Feels like …
September 29th.

Rain

Rain, mainly before 2am, then showers likely after 2am. Low around 47. North wind 13 to 15 mph, with gusts as high as 25 mph. Chance of precipitation is 80%. New precipitation amounts between a tenth and quarter of an inch possible.

and

47 degrees , 7:23
sunrise.
Wednesday.
Feels like …
November 1st.

Chance of Showers then Partly Sunny

A chance of showers, mainly before 7am. Partly sunny.

North wind 11 to 14 mph, with gusts as high as 24 mph. Chance of precipitation is 30%. New precipitation amounts of less than a tenth of an inch possible.

and

55 degrees , 5:54
sunset.
Wednesday Night.
Feels like …
October 18th.

Partly Cloudy

Partly cloudy.

North wind 6 to 8 mph.

and

40 degrees , 7:24
sunrise.
Thursday.
Feels like …
October 24th.

Sunny

Sunny.

North wind 3 to 6 mph.

and

58 degrees , 5:53
sunset.
Thursday Night.
Feels like …
October 21st.

Partly Cloudy

Partly cloudy.

and

39 degrees , 7:25
sunrise.
Friday.
Feels like …
October 29th.

Partly Sunny then Chance of Rain

A chance of rain after 2pm. Partly sunny.

Chance of precipitation is 50%.

and

56 degrees , 5:52
sunset.
Friday Night.
Feels like …
October 1st.

Rain

Rain, mainly after 8pm. Low around 46. Chance of precipitation is 80%.

and

46 degrees , 7:27
sunrise.
Saturday.
Feels like …
October 22nd.

Rain is likely

Rain likely. Mostly cloudy.

Chance of precipitation is 70%.

and

59 degrees , 5:50
sunset.
Saturday Night.
Feels like …
September 29th.

Chance of Rain

A chance of rain. Mostly cloudy.

Chance of precipitation is 50%.

and

47 degrees , 7:28
sunrise.
Sunday.
Feels like …
October 22nd.

Scattered Showers

Scattered showers. Mostly cloudy.

Chance of precipitation is 30%.

and

59 degrees , 5:49
sunset.
Sunday Night.
Feels like …
October 4th.

Mostly Cloudy

Mostly cloudy.

and

45 degrees , 7:29
sunrise.
Monday.
Feels like …
October 24th.

Mostly Sunny

Mostly sunny.

and

58 degrees , 5:48
sunset.

Fading Colors In Taconics

Maybe it was the evening sun, but the reds were particularly strong as I looked down from the Dickinson Hill firetower.

Taken on Saturday October 26, 2019 at Delmar, NY.

Good Morning – October 26, 2021

Good morning! Happy Wet Tuesday. 🌧️

Been a while since we’ve had a good soaker like is happening now. Seems like we just get more dreary days than heavy rain.

Rain and 49 degrees in Delmar, NY. β˜” There is a north breeze at 6 mph. πŸƒ. The skies will clear tomorrow around 9 am.

I am taking the local bus to work today 🚍 and I still got pretty wet walking that hundred feet to the bus shelter. Maybe I should have used the umbrella with the rain coat πŸ§₯. But it’s kind of windy too.

Seems like we always get a good soaker in late October. πŸŽƒ It’s just part season, either a hurricane πŸŒ€ or just a nor easter. I remember some good down pours the years back when I was working in North Syracuse.