this post was submitted on 16 Oct 2023
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Is this something like "Na is toxic. Cl is toxic. NaCl is tasty."?
It's more things that the US would call "Generally Recognised As Safe" or GRAS. Stuff that was tested in the 70s and written off as fine, in spite of the fact that it does have some negative effects. Typically the effects don't occur immediately in small doses, only very large doses, however at the time there was no real study done on the effects of continuous low doses over a long period. More recent research has determined that they are in fact harmful in this way.
However, getting businesses to change is hard, because money, and it sounds like they've managed to get the EU to back off. Shame.
It also could be something along the lines of how lead is toxic, but is useful in electronics. Therefore, it makes more sense to tell people to not eat their computer than it does to ban lead.
They are perfectly able to make that distinction. It is about products, where normal use and disposal can lead (haha) to exposure.
Well, we did ban lead in computers in the EU nearly a decade. Afaik it's not much of a problem for industrial processes because those can control solder temperatures precisely. For private usage you still can buy solder with lead.
That said, I do agree with you that there needs to be a distinction regarding how likely the PFAs are to actually end up in someone's body. Not just based on the type of product but also based on the buyers. Professional equipment sold in specialized stores may be much more dangerous than stuff you can get in the supermarket.
Unrelated but you just reminded me of CJ from The West Wing:
NaCl is "toxic". Salt (mostly the sodium/Na in it) is linked to quite a few health issues.
https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/salt-and-sodium/
That's the issue here: It's always the dosage that makes the poison.
Hmm.. it is probably not toxic in traditional sense. Otherwise everything can be dangerous, even water.
Also some people noted that general products are in focus here, not only food. This is a subtle but huge difference.