According to a recent article published in Chemistry World, antifogging sprays and cloths for glasses contain high levels of PFAS.
Perfluorinated and polyfluorinated alkyl substances (PFAS) were found in high concentrations in sprays and cloths used by people all over the world to keep their glasses from fogging up while wearing a face mask or shield during the pandemic.
The researchers at Duke University in the United States used mass spectrometry to examine four top-rated anti-fogging sprays and five popular demisting cloths sold on Amazon, and they discovered that they all contained fluorotelomer alcohols (FTOHs) and fluorotelomer ethoxylates (FTEOs), two relatively unknown PFAS chemicals. To the best of the researchers’ knowledge, FTEOs have yet to be discovered in any other commercial products.
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Because so little is known about FTOHs and FTEOs, their potential health risks are unknown, according to the researchers. However, the literature suggests that FTOHs may break down in the body to form PFOA or other long-lived PFAS chemicals linked to toxicity after inhalation or dermal absorption. In assays, they found that all of the spray mixtures investigated in the new study had significant cell-altering cytotoxicity and adipogenic activity.
FTOHs and FTEOs may be metabolic disruptors, but Herkert explained that only in vivo testing on whole organisms can confirm this. He added that studies with larger sample sizes might uncover other undisclosed chemicals in the sprays or on the cloths.
