Potentially carcinogenic chemicals have been found in toilet paper sold around the world, according to research by a group of scientists from the University of Florida, published in the journal Environmental Science & Technology Letters.

The research team led by Dr. Timothy Townsend, an environmental engineering expert, collected toilet paper rolls sold in North, South and Central America; Africa; and Western Europe, and discovered synthetic chemicals (PFAS) that have been around for thousands of years and have been linked to testicular and kidney cancer.

What are PFAS

PFAS are a class of about 12,000 man-made chemicals that have been used in industry and consumer products worldwide since the 1940s.

In addition, they are associated with other conditions such as liver failure, thyroid disease, asthma and reduced fertility. Some manufacturers add these substances when they make pulp, and the chemicals remain in the final paper product.

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The chemist who stood out the most in research is known as disubstituted polyfluoroalkyl phosphates (diPAPs)precursors that can be transmuted into other more carcinogenic PFAS.

dr. Townsend explained that “seeing that this characteristic chemical, which we’ve seen before in sewage sludge, has also turned up in toilet paper certainly indicates that this is another source to think about when it comes to limiting the amount of PFAS that gets into the Environment”.

where are the chemicals

These chemicals are also often found in cosmetics and other personal care productsstain-resistant coatings on carpets and upholstery, pesticides and fire-fighting foambut toilet paper is one of the largest sources where the chemicals have been detected.

“Our results suggest that toilet paper should be considered a potentially important source of PFAS which enters the waste water treatment systems”, it was stated in the investigation.

The researchers even combined their results with data from other studies that measured PFAS levels in wastewater and per capita toilet paper use in various countries. They concluded that toilet paper contributed about four percent of diPAP in the United States and Canada, 35 percent in Sweden, and up to 89 percent in France.

The study says, “Despite the fact that North Americans use more toilet paper than people living in many other countries, the calculated percentages suggest that most PFAS enter US wastewater systems from cosmetics, textiles, food packaging, or other sources.”