A ground-breaking investigation by Environmental Health News and Mamavation has found that all contact lens products tested for PFAS, or per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, contained toxic organic fluorine, a marker for PFAS.

Not only that, but all the contamination was also at least 50,000 times the highest level the EPA considers safe for drinking water. According to the CDC, 45 million Americans wear contact lenses. The idea that such highly contaminated substances are sitting in so many people’s eyes everyday concerns Linda S. Birnham, former director of the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences and National Toxicology Program at Duke University.

“What about the idea of doing no harm?” Birnham said in National World. “Do we have proof these products are safe? A lack of safety studies does not qualify as ‘safety,’ which is what is happening here.”

Studies have shown that exposure to PFAS can cause a range of chronic disease, from various cancers to cardiovascular problems to lowered fertility in men.

SOURCE:

 National World May 24, 2023