title: Sugar substitute

text: The EPA has removed saccharin and its salts from their list of hazardous constituents and commercial chemical products. In a 14 December 2010 release, the EPA stated that saccharin is no longer considered a potential hazard to human health.


title: Sugar substitute

text: Stevia is a natural non-caloric sweetener derived from the "Stevia rebaudiana" plant, and is manufactured as a sweetener. It is indigenous to South America, and has historically been used in Japanese food products, although it is now common internationally. In 1987, the FDA issued a ban on stevia because it had not been approved as a food additive, although it continued to be available as a dietary supplement. After being provided with sufficient scientific data demonstrating safety of using stevia as a manufactured sweetener, such as Cargill and Coca-Cola, the FDA gave a "no objection" status as generally recognized as safe (GRAS) in December 2008 to Cargill for its stevia product, Truvia, for use of the refined stevia extracts as a blend of rebaudioside A and erythritol.


title: Sugar substitute

text: In Australia, the brand Vitarium uses Natvia, a stevia sweetener, in a range of sugar-free children's milk mixes.


title: Sugar substitute

text: In August 2019, the FDA placed an import alert on stevia leaves and crude extracts – which do not have GRAS status – and on foods or dietary supplements containing them due to concerns about safety and potential for toxicity.


title: Sugar substitute

text: The world's most commonly used artificial sweetener, sucralose is a chlorinated sugar that is about 600 times sweeter than sugar. It is produced from sucrose when three chlorine atoms replace three hydroxyl groups. It is used in beverages, frozen desserts, chewing gum, baked goods, and other foods. Unlike other artificial sweeteners, it is stable when heated and can therefore be used in baked and fried goods. Discovered in 1976, the FDA approved sucralose for use in 1998.


title: Sugar substitute

text: Most of the controversy surrounding Splenda, a sucralose sweetener, is focused not on safety but on its marketing. It has been marketed with the slogan, "Splenda is made from sugar, so it tastes like sugar." Sucralose is prepared from either of two sugars, sucrose or raffinose. With either base sugar, processing replaces three oxygen-hydrogen groups in the sugar molecule with three chlorine atoms.


title: Sugar substitute

text: The "Truth About Splenda" website was created in 2005 by the Sugar Association, an organization representing sugar beet and sugar cane farmers in the United States, to provide its view of sucralose. In December 2004, five separate false-advertising claims were filed by the Sugar Association against Splenda manufacturers Merisant and McNeil Nutritionals for claims made about Splenda related to the slogan, "Made from sugar, so it tastes like sugar". French courts ordered the slogan to no longer be used in France, while in the U.S. the case came to an undisclosed settlement during the trial.


title: Sugar substitute

text: Sucralose has been shown to cause insulin resistance in healthy persons, but only when consumed with carbohydrates.


title: Sugar substitute

text: There are few safety concerns pertaining to sucralose and the way sucralose is metabolized suggests a reduced risk of toxicity. For example, sucralose is extremely insoluble in fat and, thus, does not accumulate in fatty tissues; sucralose also does not break down and will dechlorinate only under conditions that are not found during regular digestion (i.e., high heat applied to the powder form of the molecule). Only about 15% of sucralose is absorbed by the body and most of it passes out of the body unchanged.


title: Sugar substitute

text: In 2017, sucralose was the most common sugar substitute used in the manufacture of foods and beverages; it had 30% of the global market, which was projected to be valued at $2.8 billion by 2021.


title: Sugar substitute

text: Sugar alcohols, or polyols, are sweetening and bulking ingredients used in manufacturing of foods and beverages, particularly sugar-free candies, cookies, and chewing gums. As a sugar substitute, they typically are less-sweet and supply fewer calories (about a half to one-third fewer calories) than sugar. They are converted to glucose slowly, and do not spike increases in blood glucose.


title: Sugar substitute

text: Sorbitol, xylitol, mannitol, erythritol, and lactitol are examples of sugar alcohols. These are, in general, less sweet than sucrose, but have similar bulk properties and can be used in a wide range of food products. The sweetness profile may be altered during manufacturing by mixing with high-intensity sweeteners.


title: Sugar substitute

text: Sugar alcohols are carbohydrates with a biochemical structure partially matching the structures of sugar and alcohol, although not containing ethanol. They are not entirely metabolized by the human body. The unabsorbed sugar alcohols may cause bloating and diarrhea due to their osmotic effect, if consumed in sufficient amounts. They are found commonly in small quantities in some fruits and vegetables, and are commercially manufactured from different carbohydrates and starch.


title: Sugar substitute

text: Many sugar substitutes are cheaper than sugar in the final food formulation. Sugar substitutes are often lower in total cost because of their long shelf-life and high sweetening intensity. This allows sugar substitutes to be used in products that will not perish after a short period of time.


title: Sugar substitute

text: In the United States, the FDA provides guidance for manufacturers and consumers about the daily limits for consuming high-intensity sweeteners, a measure called "Acceptable Daily Intake" (ADI). During their premarket review for all of the high-intensity sweeteners approved as food additives, FDA established an ADI defined as an amount in milligrams per kilogram of body weight per day (mg/kg bw/d), indicating that a high-intensity sweetener does not cause safety concerns if estimated daily intakes are lower than the ADI. FDA states: "An ADI is the amount of a substance that is considered safe to consume each day over the course of a person’s lifetime." For stevia (specifically, steviol glycosides), an ADI was not derived by the FDA, but by the Joint Food and Agricultural Organization/World Health Organization Expert Committee on Food Additives, whereas an ADI has not been determined for monk fruit.


title: Sugar substitute

text: For the sweeteners approved as food additives, the ADIs in milligrams per kilogram of body weight per day are:


title: Sugar substitute

text: The FDA has published estimates of sweetness intensity, called a "multiplier of sweetness intensity" (MSI) as compared to table sugar.


title: Sugar substitute

text: Numerous reviews have concluded that the association between body weight and non-nutritive sweetener usage is inconclusive. Observational studies tend to show a relation with increased body weight, while randomized controlled trials instead show a little causal weight loss. Other reviews concluded that use of non-nutritive sweeteners instead of sugar reduces body weight.


title: Sugar substitute

text: There is little evidence that artificial sweeteners directly affect the onset and mechanisms of obesity, although consuming sweetened products is associated with weight gain in children. Some preliminary studies indicate that consumption of products manufactured with artificial sweeteners is associated with obesity and metabolic syndrome, decreased satiety, disturbed glucose metabolism, and weight gain, mainly due to increased overall calorie intake, although the numerous factors influencing obesity remain poorly studied, as of 2021.


title: Sugar substitute

text: Artificial sweeteners do not cause cancer. Multiple reviews have found no link between artificial sweeteners and the risk of developing cancer. FDA scientists have reviewed scientific data regarding the safety of aspartame and different sweeteners in food and concluded that they are safe for the general population under common intake conditions.


title: Sugar substitute

text: High consumption of artificially sweetened beverages was associated with a 12% higher risk of all-cause mortality and a 23% higher risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD) mortality in a 2021 meta-analysis. A 2020 meta-analysis found a similar result, with the highest consuming group having a 13% higher risk of all-cause mortality and a 25% higher risk of CVD mortality.


title: Sugar substitute

text: Reviews and dietetic professionals have concluded that moderate use of non-nutritive sweeteners as a safe replacement for sugars can help limit energy intake and assist with managing blood glucose and weight.


title: Killing of Philando Castile

text: On July 6, 2016, Philando Castile, a 32-year-old African-American man, was fatally shot during a traffic stop by police officer Jeronimo Yanez of the St. Anthony police department in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul metropolitan area.


title: Killing of Philando Castile

text: Castile was driving with his girlfriend, Diamond Reynolds, and her four-year-old daughter when at 9:00p.m. he was pulled over by Yanez and another officer in Falcon Heights, a suburb of Saint Paul, Minnesota. After being asked for his license and registration, Castile told Officer Yanez that he had a firearm (Castile was licensed to carry), to which Yanez replied, "Don't reach for it then". Castile responded "I'm, I, I was reaching for...", to which Yanez replied "Don't pull it out". Castile then replied "I'm not pulling it out", and Reynolds said "He's not...". Yanez again repeated "Don't pull it out". Yanez then proceeded to fire seven close-range shots at Castile, hitting him five times. Castile died of his wounds at 9:37p.m. at Hennepin County Medical Center, about 20 minutes after being shot.


title: Killing of Philando Castile

text: In the immediate aftermath of the shooting, Reynolds posted a live stream video on Facebook from her and Castile's car. The incident quickly gained international interest. Local and national protests formed, and five months after the incident, Yanez was charged with second-degree manslaughter and two counts of dangerous discharge of a firearm. After five days of deliberation, he was acquitted of all charges in a jury trial on June 16, 2017. After the verdict, Yanez was immediately fired by the City of Saint Anthony. Wrongful death lawsuits against the City brought by Reynolds and Castile's family were settled for a total of $.


title: Killing of Philando Castile

text: Philando Divall Castile (July 16, 1983 – July 6, 2016) was 32 years old at the time of his death. He was born in St. Louis, Missouri. He graduated from Saint Paul Central High School in 2001 and worked for the Saint Paul Public School District from 2002 until his death. Castile began as a nutrition services assistant at Chelsea Heights Elementary School and Arlington High School (now Washington Technology Magnet School). He was promoted to nutrition services supervisor at J. J. Hill Montessori Magnet School, in August 2014. Prior to the shooting, Castile had been stopped by the police at least 49 times in 13 years for minor traffic and equipment violations, the majority of which were dismissed.


title: Killing of Philando Castile

text: Jeronimo Yanez was the officer who shot Castile. The other officer involved in the traffic stop was Joseph Kauser, who was described as Yanez's partner. Both officers had been with the St. Anthony Police Department for four years at the time of the shooting, and were longtime friends who had graduated together from the Minnesota State University, Mankato, police academy in 2010.


title: Killing of Philando Castile

text: The St. Anthony Police Department had 23 officers at the time. Eight officers were funded through policing contracts with the cities of Lauderdale and Falcon Heights. In a press briefing at the scene, St. Anthony's interim police chief Jon Mangseth said that the shooting was the first officer-involved shooting that the department had experienced in at least thirty years.


title: Killing of Philando Castile

text: Castile was pulled over as part of a traffic stop by Yanez and Kauser in Falcon Heights, Minnesota, a suburb of Saint Paul. Castile and Reynolds were returning from shopping at a grocery store; earlier that evening, Castile had gone for a haircut, eaten dinner with his sister, and picked up his girlfriend from his apartment in St. Paul.


title: Killing of Philando Castile

text: A St. Anthony police officer patrolling Larpenteur Avenue radioed to a nearby squad that he planned to pull over the car and check the IDs of the driver and passenger, saying, "The two occupants just look like people that were involved in a robbery. The driver looks more like one of our suspects, just because of the wide-set nose. I couldn't get a good look at the passenger." At 9:04 p.m. CDT, the officer told a nearby officer that he would wait for him to make the stop.


title: Killing of Philando Castile

text: The stop took place on Larpenteur Avenue at Fry Street, just outside the Minnesota state fairgrounds, at about 9:05 p.m. CDT. Riding in a white 1997 Oldsmobile Eighty Eight LS with Castile were his girlfriend Diamond Reynolds and her four-year-old daughter. Castile was the driver, Reynolds was the front-seat passenger, and the child was in the back seat. "According to investigators, Yanez approached the car from the driver's side, while Kauser approached it from the passenger side."


title: Killing of Philando Castile

text: The police dashcam video shows that 40 seconds elapsed between when Yanez first started talking to Castile through the car window and when Yanez began shooting at him. According to the dashcam, after Yanez asked for Castile's driver's license and proof of insurance, Castile gave him his proof of insurance card, which Yanez appeared to glance at and tuck in his outer pocket. Castile then calmly informed Yanez, "Sir, I have to tell you that I do have a firearm on me." Quoting the "Star Tribune" description of the next 13 seconds of the video: Before Castile completed the sentence, Yanez interrupted and calmly replied, "OK," and placed his right hand on the holster of his own holstered weapon. Yanez said, "Okay, don't reach for it, then ... don't pull it out." Castile responded, "I'm not pulling it out," and Reynolds also said, "He's not pulling it out." Yanez repeated, raising his voice, "Don't pull it out!" as he quickly pulled his own gun with his right hand and reached inside the driver's window with his left hand. Reynolds screamed, "No!" Yanez removed his left arm from the car and fired seven shots in the direction of Castile in rapid succession. Reynolds yelled, "You just killed my boyfriend!" Castile moaned and said, "I wasn't reaching for it." Reynolds loudly said, "He wasn't reaching for it." Before she completed her sentence, Yanez again screamed, "Don't pull it out!" Reynolds responded, "He wasn't." Yanez yelled, "Don't move! Fuck!" Of the seven shots fired by Yanez at point blank range, five hit Castile and two of those pierced his heart. Events immediately after the shooting were streamed live in a 10-minute video by Reynolds via Facebook. The recording appears to begin seconds after Castile was shot, just after 9:00 p.m. CDT. The video depicts Castile slumped over, moaning and moving slightly, with a bloodied left arm and side. In the video, Reynolds is speaking with Yanez and explaining what happened. Reynolds stated on the video that Yanez "asked him for license and registration. He told him that it was in his wallet, but he had a pistol on him because he's licensed to carry." Castile did have a license to carry a gun. Reynolds further narrated that the officer said, "Don't move" and as Castile was putting his hands back up, the officer shot him in the arm four or five times. Reynolds told the officer, "You shot four bullets into him, sir. He was just getting his license and registration, sir." Reynolds also said "Please don't tell me he's dead", while Yanez exclaimed: "I told him not to reach for it! I told him to get his hand open!"


title: Killing of Philando Castile

text: At one point in the video footage, an officer orders Reynolds to get on her knees and the sound of Reynolds being handcuffed can be heard. Reynolds' phone falls onto the ground but continues recording, and an officer periodically yells, "Fuck!" Video from the squad car of Joseph Kauser (where Reynolds and her daughter were put after Reynolds was handcuffed), shows Reynolds' daughter telling her, "Mom, please stop cussing and screaming 'cause I don't want you to get shooted". Reynolds was taken into custody, questioned at a police station, and released the following morning around 5:00 a.m.


title: Killing of Philando Castile

text: According to police and emergency audio of the aftermath obtained by the "Star Tribune", at 9:06 p.m., Kauser called in the shooting, reporting: "Shots fired. Larpenteur and Fry." The dispatcher answered: "Copy. You just heard it?" Yanez then screamed: "Code three!" Many officers then rushed to the scene. One officer reports, "One adult female being taken into custody. Driver at gunpoint. Juvenile female, child, is with [another officer]. We need a couple other squads to block off intersections." Another officer called in, "All officers are good. One suspect that needs medics."


title: Killing of Philando Castile

text: The day following the shooting, Reynolds said that police had "treated me like a criminal ... like it was my fault." She also said that officers had failed to check Castile for a pulse or to see if he was breathing for several minutes after the shooting, and instead comforted the officer who had fired the shots. By that afternoon, her video had been viewed nearly 2.5 million times on Facebook.


title: Killing of Philando Castile

text: In the dashcam video of the incident, Yanez can be heard being questioned by St. Anthony Police Officer Tressa Sunde within minutes of the shooting, and telling her: [Castile] was sitting in the car, seat belted. I told him, 'Can I see your license?' And then, he told me he had a firearm. I told him not to reach for it and (sigh) when he went down to grab, I told him not to reach for it (clears throat) and then he kept it right there, and I told him to take his hands off of it, and then he (sigh) he had his, his grip a lot wider than a wallet ... And I don't know where the gun was, he didn't tell me where the fucking gun was, and then it was just getting hinky, he gave, he was just staring ahead, and then I was getting fucking nervous, and then I told him, I know I fucking told him to get his fucking hand off his gun.According to the official Minnesota Department of Public Safety's Bureau of Criminal Apprehension (BCA) transcript of the interview of Yanez and his attorneys Tom Kelly and Robert Fowler, Yanez stated that his justification for the shooting was based on fear for his own life because he believed that Castile's behavior was abusive toward a young girl passenger (Reynolds' daughter) in the car. Yanez said: "I thought, I was gonna die, and I thought if he's, if he has the, the guts and the audacity to smoke marijuana in front of the five-year-old girl and risk her lungs and risk her life by giving her secondhand smoke and the front seat passenger doing the same thing, then what, what care does he give about me?" The victim's previous marijuana use later became a focus of the defense, with a mason jar containing a small amount having been found in the car.


title: Killing of Philando Castile

text: According to the local publication "City Pages"' description of the BCA conversation, Yanez "could never state definitively ... that he saw a firearm that day". Yanez uses "various terms to suggest the presence of a firearm". Yanez states, "it appeared to me that he was wrapping something around his fingers and almost like if I were to put my hand around my gun. It was dark inside the vehicle ..." At another point "it seemed like he was pulling out a gun and the barrel just kept coming." "I know he had an object and it was dark. And he was pulling it out with his right hand." He added: "It was, to me, it just looked big and apparent that he's gonna shoot you, he's gonna kill you."


title: Killing of Philando Castile

text: In his court testimony almost a year later, Yanez was more definitive, testifying "I was able to see the firearm in Mr. Castile's hand, and that's when I engaged him." The gun was found to be in Castile's pocket when paramedics were preparing to load his fatally wounded body into an ambulance.


title: Killing of Philando Castile

text: The Hennepin County Medical Examiner's office ruled Castile's death a homicide and said that he had sustained multiple gunshot wounds. The office reported that Castile died at 9:37 p.m. CDT in the emergency department of the Hennepin County Medical Center, about 20 minutes after being shot. On July 14, a funeral service for Castile took place at the Cathedral of Saint Paul, attended by thousands of mourners.


title: Killing of Philando Castile

text: The reasonableness of the initial traffic stop, and the facts of what occurred in the 103 seconds of the stop (between the end of the pre-stop police dispatcher radio and the beginning of Reynolds' recording) were "hotly disputed" almost immediately after the shooting occurred. On July 9, Yanez's attorney, Thomas Kelly of Minneapolis, said his client "reacted to the presence of that gun and the display of that gun" and that the shooting "had nothing to do with race. This had everything to do with the presence of a gun."


title: Killing of Philando Castile

text: In the video recorded shortly after the shooting, Reynolds said that the car was pulled over for a broken taillight. Yanez's attorney Kelly stated following the shooting that his client stopped Castile in part because he resembled a suspect in an armed robbery that had taken place nearby four days earlier, and in part because of a broken taillight. A Castile family attorney, Albert Goins, questioned this account, said that if Yanez actually thought Castile was a robbery suspect, the police would have made a "felony traffic stop" (involving "bringing the suspect out at gunpoint while officers are in a position of cover and having them lie on the ground until they can identify who that individual is") rather than an ordinary traffic stop (in which officers stop the car and ask the driver to produce documents). Goins said, "Either [Castile] was a robbery suspect and [Yanez] didn't follow the procedures for a felony stop, or [Castile] was not a robbery suspect and [Yanez] shot a man because he stood at his window getting his information."


title: Killing of Philando Castile

text: Kelly confirmed the authenticity of the pre-stop police audio, in which one officer reports that the driver resembled a recent robbery suspect due to his "wide-set nose." Goins said, "I can't imagine that it's reasonable suspicion to make a stop because somebody had a broad nose." The particular robbery to which the officer referred was identified as a July 2 armed robbery at a local convenience store, in which the two suspects were "described as black men with shoulder-length or longer dreadlocks" with no information about estimated height, weight or ages. Yanez was one of the police officers who had responded to the robbery. Subsequent investigations ruled out Castile as being one of the armed robbers.


title: Killing of Philando Castile

text: Castile's mother Valerie Castile and her lawyer Glenda Hatchett called for the case to be referred to a special prosecutor and called for the U.S. Department of Justice to conduct a federal investigation.


title: Killing of Philando Castile

text: By 12:30 a.m. on July 7, about three hours after the shooting, protesters gathered at the scene, "peaceful but visibly angry". More than 200 people were present. After news of Castile's death spread, crowds of protestors gathered outside the Minnesota Governor's Residence in St. Paul, chanting Castile's name and demanding that then-Governor Mark Dayton make a statement. That night, demonstrations in St. Paul continued, remaining "peaceful but forceful".


title: Killing of Philando Castile

text: Nekima Levy-Pounds, president of the Minneapolis chapter of the NAACP, said that her group would request a federal investigation. She also called for an independent body to investigate the shooting, expressing skepticism with the state agency that is leading the investigation of the incident, the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, a division of the Department of Public Safety. NAACP president Cornell William Brooks said, "I'm waiting to hear the human outcry from Second Amendment defenders over [this incident]..." Black Lives Matter activist DeRay Mckesson said, "Philando Castile should be alive today". On July 8, over 1,000 demonstrators shut down Interstate 880 in Oakland, California, for several hours to protest Castile's shooting death and that of Alton Sterling the day before.


title: Killing of Philando Castile

text: After two days of peaceful protests and vigils, violence between protesters and police in St. Paul broke out on July 9 and 10. Some 102 people were arrested and 21 officers (15 police officers and six Minnesota State Patrol officers) had been injured, one of them seriously. A group threw rocks, bottles, and Molotov cocktails at police and police used pepper spray and tear gas to disperse the crowd. The protesters caused Interstate 94 in between Minnesota State Highway 280 and downtown St. Paul to be closed. After they were dispersed from the highway, another group of protests took place at Dale and Grand Avenue. The violence was condemned by President Obama, Governor Dayton, St. Paul Mayor Chris Coleman, and Police Chief Todd Axtell, who called for calm.


title: Killing of Philando Castile

text: After the shooting, a number of activists established an encampment outside of the Governor's Residence. On July 18, demonstrators cleared the encampment and moved off the road after police directed them to move, saying that they could continue to protest "as long as it was done on the sidewalk" and did not impede vehicle or pedestrian traffic. The interactions between police and demonstrators were peaceful, and no arrests were made.


title: Killing of Philando Castile

text: On July 19, 21 protesters—mostly members of the St. Paul and Minneapolis teachers' federations—were arrested willingly at a protest in Minneapolis after blocking a street in Minneapolis and refusing orders to disperse. The teachers marched from the Minneapolis Convention Center (where an American Federation of Teachers convention was being held) to the Nicollet Mall area; they were cited for misdemeanor public nuisance and released.


title: Killing of Philando Castile

text: Later in the morning of July 7, Governor Dayton appeared outside his residence and said: Dayton said he had requested an independent U.S. Department of Justice investigation and had spoken to White House Chief of Staff Denis McDonough about the matter. Dayton also commented, "Would this have happened if those passengers would have been white? I don't think it would have." He promised to "do everything in my power to help protect the integrity" of the ongoing parallel state investigation "to ensure a proper and just outcome for all involved."


title: Killing of Philando Castile

text: U.S. Representative Betty McCollum, Democrat of Minnesota, whose district includes the place where Castile was shot, also called for a Justice Department investigation, and U.S. Senator Al Franken, Democrat of Minnesota, also called for a federal investigation, saying in a statement: "I am horrified that we are forced to confront yet another death of a young African-American man at the hands of law enforcement. And I am heartbroken for Philando's family and loved ones, whose son, brother, boyfriend, and nephew was taken from them last night." Former U.S. Representative Keith Ellison, current Attorney General of Minnesota, denounced the "systematic targeting of African Americans and a systematic lack of accountability."


title: Killing of Philando Castile

text: Speaking shortly after the shootings of Castile and Alton Sterling, President Barack Obama did not comment on the specific incidents, but called on the U.S. to "do better" and said that controversial incidents arising from the police use of force were "not isolated incidents" but rather were "symptomatic of a broader set of racial disparities that exist in our criminal justice system". Obama expressed "extraordinary appreciation and respect for the vast majority of police officers" and noted the difficult nature of the job. He stated, "When incidents like this occur, there's a big chunk of our citizenry that feels as if, because of the color of their skin, they are not being treated the same, and that hurts, and that should trouble all of us. This is not just a black issue, not just a Hispanic issue. This is an American issue that we all should care about." Obama telephoned Castile's mother to offer his condolences.


title: Killing of Philando Castile

text: Following the shooting of Castile, Sterling, and police officers in Dallas, the Bahamian government, a Caribbean island nation with an over 90% citizenry of Afro-Bahamian origin, issued a travel advisory to its citizens in the United States, stating "[i]n particular young [Bahamian] males are asked to exercise extreme caution in affected cities in their interactions with the police. Do not be confrontational and cooperate". Travel advisories were also issued by the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain, warning for caution in the United States due to ongoing violence and the U.S. "gun culture", and to avoid crowded areas, protests, and demonstrations as "civil disorder can result".


title: Killing of Philando Castile

text: The National Rifle Association (NRA), which lobbies for the rights of gun owners, issued a statement two days after the shooting saying: "The reports from Minnesota are troubling and must be thoroughly investigated. In the meantime, it is important for the NRA not to comment while the investigation is ongoing." By contrast, the NRA issued a statement within hours of the 2016 shooting of Dallas police officers; many saw this as a double standard. On July 9, 2017, responding to allegations of racism, NRA spokesperson Dana Loesch said the death of Castile is "absolutely awful". On August 10, 2017, Loesch explained NRA's reluctance to defend Castile by arguing he was not legally carrying his handgun at the time of the shooting due to his marijuana possession. She added that his "Permit should've been out & hands not moving", and that the law enforcement officer should have asked Castile where his firearm was kept. Many NRA members believed that the NRA did not do enough to defend Castile's right to own a gun.


title: Killing of Philando Castile

text: The Second Amendment Foundation in contrast immediately issued a strong statement for an independent investigation after the shooting, with founder Alan Gottlieb stating, "Exercising our right to bear arms should not translate to a death sentence over something so trivial as a traffic stop for a broken tail light, and we are going to watch this case with a magnifying glass."


title: Killing of Philando Castile

text: The day after the fatal shooting, the St. Anthony Police Department identified the officer who fired the fatal shots as Yanez. He and his partner Kauser were placed on paid administrative leave.


title: Killing of Philando Castile

text: The Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension (BCA) was the lead agency in charge of the investigation. Two days following the shooting, Ramsey County Attorney John Choi called for a "prompt and thorough" investigation into the shooting. He said that he had not determined whether he would use a grand jury, but stated that if either a grand jury or prosecutors in his office determined that charges were appropriate, he would "prosecute this case to the fullest extent of the law."


title: Killing of Philando Castile

text: The BCA said that squad-car video and "several" other videos had been collected as evidence. St. Anthony police did not wear body cameras. On September 28, 2016, the BCA announced that it had completed its investigation and turned over its findings to Ramsey County Attorney John Choi. Prosecutors in the Ramsey County Attorney's Office would decide whether to file charges in the shooting or bring the case to a grand jury.


title: Killing of Philando Castile

text: Choi reviewed the evidence with assistance from the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the U.S. Attorney's office, a retired deputy chief of police in Irvine, California, and a former federal prosecutor. Seven weeks after receiving the BCA report, Choi announced that Yanez was being charged with second degree manslaughter and two counts of dangerous discharge of a firearm. Choi stated:


title: Killing of Philando Castile

text: To justify the use of deadly force, it is not enough, however, for the police officer to merely express a subjective fear of death or great bodily harm. Unreasonable fear cannot justify the use of deadly force. The use of deadly force must be objectively reasonable and necessary, given the totality of the circumstances. Based upon our thorough and exhaustive review of the facts of this case, it is my conclusion that the use of deadly force by Officer Yanez was not justified, and that sufficient facts exist to prove that to be true. Accordingly, we filed a criminal complaint this morning in Ramsey County.In his press conference announcing his decision to prosecute Yanez, Choi noted facts not consistent with a justified fear of Castile, namely that Yanez's partner, Officer Kauser, who was standing at the car's passenger window during the shooting, "did not touch or remove his gun from its holster", and that in his answers to questioning by Saint Anthony Police Officer Tressa Sunde immediately after the shooting, Yanez "stated he did not know where [Castile's] gun was". Choi also noted that:


title: Killing of Philando Castile

text: According to author and former FBI agent Larry Brubaker, who has written two books on officer-involved shootings, "this is the first time an officer has been charged for a fatal shooting in Minnesota in more than 200 cases that spanned over three decades".


title: Killing of Philando Castile

text: The trial of Yanez began May 30, 2017, under Judge William H. Leary III. Yanez would have faced up to 10 years under Minnesota law if he had been convicted.


title: Killing of Philando Castile

text: After five days and more than 25 hours of deliberation, the 12-member jury decided that the state had not met its burden for a conviction. The vote was initially 10–2 in favor of acquitting Yanez; after further deliberation the two remaining jurors were also swayed to acquit. The jury consisted of seven men and five women. Two jurors were black. Following the acquittal, a jury member told the press that the specific wording of the law regarding culpable negligence was the main factor among many leading to the verdict. One juror who later spoke anonymously said:


title: Killing of Philando Castile

text: The day the verdict was announced, the city of St. Anthony announced that "the public will be best served if Officer Yanez is no longer a police officer in our city", and that he would not be returning to the police department from leave after the trial. As revealed by the Associated Press a few weeks later, Yanez received $48,500 as part of his separation agreement with the city, in addition to payment for unused compensatory time.


title: Killing of Philando Castile

text: Some 2,000 protesters marched in the streets, eventually blocking Interstate 94, where 18 people were arrested, including at least one reporter.


title: Killing of Philando Castile

text: Members of the Castile family, who had worked closely with authorities throughout the trial, expressed shock and outrage at the verdict, and a loss of faith in the system. Although they had earlier discussed a federal civil rights lawsuit, on June 26, 2017, the family released a joint statement with the city of St. Anthony announcing a settlement worth $2.995 million.


title: Killing of Philando Castile

text: On June 20, 2017, dashcam footage seen by investigators and members of the courtroom during the trial was released to public. On June 21, 2017, Ramsey County released additional evidence, including footage taken inside Yanez's squad car which shows Diamond Reynolds' daughter comforting her mother after the shooting.


title: Killing of Philando Castile

text: In mid-2017, the Saint Anthony city council adjusted the city's police contract so that financial liability falls to its served communities, rather than Saint Anthony itself. With this increase in cost, Falcon Heights voted to end the contract and find a new police provider. The Ramsey County Sheriff was to police Falcon Heights in 2018. The 2017 Falcon Heights city council election centered on how the city should be policed.


title: Killing of Philando Castile

text: In honor of Castile, the Philando Castile Memorial Scholarship has been started at St. Paul Central High School. The inaugural $5,000 award was given to Marques Watson in 2017.


title: Killing of Philando Castile

text: Castile, a school cafeteria worker, frequently paid for lunches for students who owed money or could not afford to pay. Inspired by this example, the Philando Castile Relief Foundation was created. The charity focuses on paying school lunch debts and addressing gun violence in the Minneapolis area. The charity's money comes in part from a civil settlement between Castile's family and the city of St. Anthony. In April, 2019 the foundation gave $8,000 to wipe out the accumulated lunch debt of all seniors at Robbinsdale Cooper High School in New Hope, Minn. The debt was threatening the ability of students to graduate. The foundation earlier gave $10,000 for school lunches to the J.J. Hill Montessori Magnet School where Philando Castile worked. Valerie Castile spoke at U.S. House Representative Ilhan Omar's press conference on a bill ending the shaming of students who pay meal debt.


title: Killing of Philando Castile

text: In 2017 New Zealand-born artist Luke Willis Thompson filmed Reynolds for an artwork titled "Autoportrait". He intended the work as a 'sister-image' to her filmed footage. The work was first presented at Chisenhale Gallery in London in 2017.


title: Zeena Schreck

text: Zeena Galatea Schreck (née LaVey), known professionally by her mononymous artist name ZEENA, is a Berlin-based American visual and musical artist, author and the spiritual leader of the Sethian Liberation Movement (SLM), which she founded in 2002.


title: Zeena Schreck

text: Zeena was raised within the Church of Satan, and came to international prominence early in life as the organization's spokesperson, defending the Church during the 1980s. She resigned her position in 1990, severed ties with her father, and renounced LaVeyan Satanism. Her religious path eventually led to teaching Tibetan Tantric Buddhism.


title: Zeena Schreck

text: Zeena was born in San Francisco, California to Anton LaVey and Diane Hegarty, co-founders of the Church of Satan. On May 23, 1967, three-year-old Zeena had the first and most highly publicized Satanic baptism in history performed by her father. The ceremony garnered worldwide publicity with a reenactment of the ceremony recorded for "The Satanic Mass" vinyl LP in 1968.


title: Zeena Schreck

text: Zeena was subjected to hundreds of journalistic reports and interviews especially in tabloid crime and men's magazines. Anton LaVey biographer, Burton H. Wolf described a thirteen-year-old Zeena in his introduction to her father's "The Satanic Bible" as "Zeena, remembered by people who saw the famous photo of the Satanic Church baptism as a tiny tot, but now a gorgeously developed teenager attracting a growing pack of wolves, human male variety." In an interview with "The Guardsman", she describes becoming a mother at the age of fourteen while living in "a stifling, dysfunctional family life."


title: Zeena Schreck

text: Zeena was married to her Radio Werewolf band partner and frequent collaborator Nikolas Schreck from 1988 to 2015. In 2019, both parties issued a jointly written public statement on their respective websites stating, "[...]in 2015, after having been separated since 2007, we agreed to amicably divorce." Zeena chose to retain her married surname.


title: Zeena Schreck

text: Zeena's work as a photographer, visual artist, musician/composer and writer are heavily influenced by mystical and magical traditions. Stylistically, she gravitated at an early age to artists and mentors whose art was imbued with a mystical or magical vision.


title: Zeena Schreck

text: As a teenager and young adult, she trained in and studied theater, drama and film. At sixteen years of age, Zeena passed the High School equivalency exam, which enabled her to leave High School early, begin working legally and enroll in City College of San Francisco, majoring in drama. In addition to CCSF's Drama Department, she also received instruction from Stella Adler Studio of Acting, Eric Morris acting coach, Viola Spolin's student Marcia Kimmell of The Next Stage Improvisation Theater San Francisco, and the San Francisco School of Dramatic Arts. Her study focus was Hellenic sacred drama, improvisation, and various branches of the Stanislavski 'system' and method acting.


title: Zeena Schreck

text: The importance of lineage as a vehicle for passing down metaphysical energy guides Zeena's ritual art. She traces the lineage of her magical art to the mentorship of her godfather, filmmaker Kenneth Anger. During the 1960s and 1970s, Anger transmitted the influences of Curtis Harrington, Jean Cocteau, and Maya Deren on his own work to Zeena during her childhood and adolescence.


title: Zeena Schreck

text: Zeena also became a long-time friend of director Curtis Harrington, who cast her as a Dietrich-like character in his last film, "Usher" (2000).


title: Zeena Schreck

text: In 1985, Zeena became the high priestess of the Church of Satan, and remained its spokesperson until 1990. In 1990, Zeena left the Church of Satan and renounced her father's teachings of LaVeyan Satanism. She later became a devotee of the ancient Egyptian deity Set, becoming high priestess of the Temple of Set in 2002, and forming the Sethian Liberation Movement later that same year.


title: Zeena Schreck

text: Interviews, articles and reviews from 2011 to 2013 referred to her conversion to Tibetan Tantric Buddhism in the Drikung, Karma Kagyu and Nyingma lineages, as well as her status as the spiritual leader of the Sethian Liberation Movement (SLM).


title: Zeena Schreck

text: In the 1980s in the United States, there was a moral panic about Satanic ritual abuse, sometimes referred to as the "Satanic Panic". It started with the publication of the now-discredited memoir "Michelle Remembers" in 1980, and culminated in the McMartin preschool trial, a heavily publicized trial which ran from 1984 to 1990, during which prosecutors, through aggressive and leading questions, managed to get over 300 of the preschool's children to testify that they had been sexually abused by their teachers as part of Satanic rituals. The charges were all eventually dropped. Media coverage during the trial tended to side with the prosecutors, and often singled out the Church of Satan as the culprit. This led Zeena to volunteer to serve as the Church of Satan's first spokesperson. In a September 2011 interview, Zeena recalled,


title: Zeena Schreck

text: As the Church of Satan's spokesperson, Zeena appeared in nationally syndicated programs such as "The Phil Donahue Show", "Nightline with Ted Koppel", "Entertainment Tonight", "The Late Show" and "Secrets & Mysteries". She also appeared on the "Sally Jessy Raphael Show", alongside her husband, debating several Christians who were invited onto the program to expound their own religious views. Internationally, she appeared in such media presentations as Italy's RAI Mixer show and Toronto's Industrial Video presentation dedicated to a compilation of Zeena's TV appearances, ending with a lengthy radio interview for CUIT.


title: Zeena Schreck

text: She was also interviewed in a broadcast of "Devil Worship: Exposing Satan's Underground" released by Geraldo Rivera in 1988. Zeena sat alongside the Temple of Set founder/High Priest Michael A. Aquino, and repeatedly denied the rumors circulating at the time that the Church of Satan was in any way involved with ritual abuse. She also called the testimony of claimants involved into question, asking them rhetorically why, if people were being forced to give birth to babies for sacrificial rituals, no remains had ever been found.


title: Zeena Schreck

text: In 1989, Anton LaVey's 1971 book "The Compleat Witch, or What to Do When Virtue Fails" was reprinted as "The Satanic Witch", with an introduction by Zeena. She toured the U.S. promoting her father's work in his absence, as he was no longer interested in making media appearances. Most of the appearances were made at the behest of the Church of Satan as its spokesperson.


title: Zeena Schreck

text: In 1989, while promoting the book, Zeena appeared with her then husband Nikolas Schreck (not a member of the COS) in an interview with televangelist Bob Larson, during which they both refuted any Satanic criminal ties, and pressed Larson on his own ideals, stating that it was hypocritical of him to endorse such claims by Christians, pointing out the Christian background of many criminals, and violent acts within Christian history, such as the crusades.


title: Zeena Schreck

text: Zeena's Interview on KJTV with Tony Valdez, 1990, was the last interview she granted as public representative and High Priestess of the Church of Satan before resigning.


title: Zeena Schreck

text: In a March 2013 interview televised by Network Awesome, Zeena spoke for the first time on camera about her experiences with media during the "Satanic Panic" years.


title: Zeena Schreck

text: Zeena was also in regular contact with law enforcement agencies and personnel, including Detective Patrick Metoyer of the LAPD and Robert D. Hicks, law-enforcement specialist with the Virginia Department of Criminal Justice Services and author of several precedent-setting treatises including "In Pursuit of Satan: The Police and The Occult". "In Pursuit of Satan" began the wave of authoritative reports debunking the Satanic Panic. Much of what Hicks gleaned from Zeena's dialogs with him was included in this treatise. Prior to Zeena's dialogs and meetings with government agencies, police and law enforcement had only a very limited knowledge of Satanism. In 1992, the FBI issued an official report refuting the criminal conspiracy theories of this time.


title: Zeena Schreck

text: In 1990, she resigned from the Church of Satan and renounced LaVeyan Satanism. According to Zeena's official web site, "In the process of defending the Church of Satan from these unfounded claims in the U.S. mass media, Zeena's media appearances attracted a new upsurge of membership to the formerly moribund organization even as she began to question and ultimately reject the self-centered philosophy she promoted. As she toured the United States on behalf of the Church of Satan, Zeena's crisis of faith reached its highpoint when she learned that most of her father's self-created legend was based on lies and that many of his works were plagiarized. When jealousy and spite motivated Anton LaVey and his administrator Densley-Barton to actually endanger Zeena's life, she could no longer continue to cover up her progenitor's true character in good conscience. This behind the scenes tension should be kept in mind when viewing or hearing Zeena's interviews from that time."


title: Zeena Schreck

text: After her renunciation of the Church of Satan, Zeena Schreck severed use of her born name "LaVey" and legally changed her last name, for all official matters, to "Schreck". In a December 30, 1990 open letter to Michael A. Aquino of the Temple of Set, she stated: "In light of all of the factors herein, I also officially severed my given surname [LaVey] and now prefer to be known only as Zeena. As I feel naturally aristocratic, I also have no need for the empty titles of Magistra or High Priestess that have been bandied about and fought over."


title: Zeena Schreck

text: Since then, she does not accept correspondence addressed to "Zeena LaVey," "Zeena LaVey-Schreck", or any variant using the name LaVey.


title: Zeena Schreck

text: Zeena began to pursue ancient religious practices relating to the Egyptian god Seth and Sethianism. She has stated, "While I was residing in Vienna, I visited a museum where a Sethian altar lives. It was there that I had a very profound experience that enabled me to clearly see the course for my future." At the time, she was also practicing traditional tantra and yoga. Her experiences within those two systems, as well as her central role and life's experience in other occult and esoteric milieux, would contribute considerably to the content of her book "Demons of the Flesh", co-authored with Nikolas Schreck.


title: Zeena Schreck

text: In 1997, Zeena and co-guest Nikolas Schreck once again debated Christian Minister Bob Larson. This time she did not represent Satanism but rather Sethianism, though the interview was titled "Showdown With Satanism". At the time she was III° Priestess of Set.


title: Zeena Schreck

text: The Sethian Liberation Movement was founded on November 8, 2002, after Zeena Schreck resigned from the Temple of Set with four Masters of the Temple of Set (one Master, Magister Michael Kelly, was also a member of the corporate Board of Directors for the California non-profit organization The Temple of Set). Details of the departure were explained in a letter dated November 8, 2002 from the newly departed Temple of Set Council of Nine member to an Adept IIº member regarding the events leading to Zeena's resignation and the founding of the Storm, later renamed the Sethian Liberation Movement.


title: Zeena Schreck

text: Shortly after Zeena Schreck resigned from the Temple of Set, a Disinfo listing for the Temple of Set from December 17, 2002, under the heading: 2002 Schism: The Storm Awakens reported, "High Priest Don Webb stepped down, and, on 9 September 2002, was succeeded by High Priestess Zeena Schreck. Six weeks after the Helsinki Conclave (September 2002), Zeena, Magister Aaron Besson, Magister Nikolas Schreck and Magister Michael Kelly all resigned on 8 November 2002. Four Priests Alfred Rodriguez, Kevin Rockhill, Jared Davison and Richard Gavin also resigned. Temple of Set sources have claimed that eighteen Initiates have resigned while others have estimated the number at closer to sixty (including several Orders, Elements, and members of the Adept and Setian degrees)."


title: Zeena Schreck

text: In one of the Sethian Liberation Movement's earliest public Frequently Answered Questions documents released, Disinfo referenced it in their post covering the Temple of Set/Storm schism: "... [the] document defines the new and as-yet unnamed group as ... a loose confederation of Setian Teachers and Students, an alliance of Orders." The group has eschewed the Temple's administrative and non-profit structure, as well as its degree system and titles. "We work together through mutual respect and interest, not through any organizational limitations or restrictions", the FAQ document states. Finally, its founders have sought to avoid the "magical society" structure of post-Theosophy groups: the confederation is "an ongoing Magical Working in which we may participate, a living, dynamic and evolving thing."


title: Zeena Schreck

text: Zeena's homepage states, "Drawing on her own triumph over these and other dysfunctional family experiences, Zeena, a professional bereavement counsellor, founded The Sethian Liberation Movement's public outreach program PHOENIX to help others in similar situations." It explains that "Since 2004 Phoenix provides spiritual healing for victims of exploitative pseudo-religious organizations, former gang members, whistle-blowing ex-employees of corrupt corporations and governmental agencies, relatives of the violently mentally ill, and survivors of all forms of institutional abuse, including secretly abused children and spouses of prominent personalities."


title: Zeena Schreck

text: Zeena's website states: "Preferring to allow her work to speak for itself and indifferent to public opinion, Zeena has granted only a very few interviews since 1993."


title: Zeena Schreck

text: In 2004 Zeena and Nikolas Schreck spoke about their book "Demons of the Flesh" on "The Devil's Advocate" radio show. In that interview, Zeena also spoke about the Storm (before it had been renamed Sethian Liberation Movement) and its incorporation of the tantric left way practices she writes of in her book.


title: Zeena Schreck

text: In December 2011 Zeena Schreck spoke about the Sethian Liberation Movement on "Nightwatch Radio" while also promoting two of her short fiction stories, "A Short History of Buddhism in Berlin" and "Lost and Found: A Fairy Tale of Sethian Awakening", in the literary journal "Beatdom" released December 2011. According to the "Nightwatch" interview Zeena Schreck states that the Sethian Liberation Movement (SLM) is not membership based nor a 'group' seeking to fill dues quotas, or something to join but rather a practice.


title: Zeena Schreck

text: In December 2012, Zeena Schreck was invited back to Nightwatch Radio. This time, promoting the 2012 Radio Werewolf release of "The Vinyl Solution – Analog Artifacts: Ritual Instrumentals and Undercover Versions" CD, the first authorized Radio Werewolf release in 20 years, and "Beatdom"'s Crime issue #12 featuring a vintage portrait of Zeena on the cover and her theatre monologue, "Night Shift, Richmond Station".


title: Zeena Schreck

text: On December 10, 2012, Zeena curated a stream of videos for Network Awesome's Live Music Show, with audio and visual clips arranged in an autobiographical manner.


title: Zeena Schreck

text: On March 18, 2013, Network Awesome's daily program opened with an exclusive original production featuring Zeena Schreck's first one-on-one televised interview in 22 years, conducted by artist Jen Ray. Network Awesome spotlighted Zeena with a full day of programming, referencing various facets of her life. Other features in the day's program included archival interviews of Zeena and documentaries relating to her current spiritual pursuits and practices.


title: Zeena Schreck

text: In 2016, a mock conspiracy theory in a vein similar to that of the Ted Cruz–Zodiac meme arose online, conflating Zeena with popular singer-songwriter Taylor Swift.


title: Zeena Schreck

text: On August 8, 1988, a large gathering converged on the Strand Theater in San Francisco for the film debut of a 'mockumentary' about Charles Manson. The event, planned and carried out by Nikolas Schreck, was the largest single gathering of this kind in history. Zeena spoke at the beginning of the rally and a film of her baptism was played. In a 2011 interview with Zeena for French music magazine "Obsküre", she stated that 8-8-88 "would be the only performance that Nikolas, Evil Wilhelm [the original Radio Werewolf percussionist], and I ever performed live together. That marked the transition point spanning three phases of Radio Werewolf: 1) the Nikolas Schreck/Evil Wilhelm collaboration, 2) the solo Nikolas Schreck phase, and 3) the Nikolas Schreck/Zeena collaboration." Also featured were NON, Amok Press and Kris Force, a musician who at the time owned the Strand Theater. Geraldo Rivera's "Devil Worship: Exposing Satan's Underground" film crew filmed the event, as well as interviews with all involved, to use for the network special.


title: Zeena Schreck

text: From 1988 to 1993, Zeena was co-director of the experimental musical project Radio Werewolf. She served as composer, vocalist, musician and graphic designer on the Radio Werewolf recordings "Songs for the End of the World", "The Lightning and the Sun", "Bring Me The Head of Geraldo Rivera", "These Boots Were Made for Walking", and "Love Conquers All." Her performances were exclusively European-based at that time.


title: Zeena Schreck

text: In 2012, Radio Werewolf released "The Vinyl Solution – Analog Artifacts: Ritual Instrumentals and Undercover Versions" Compact Disc, the first authorized Radio Werewolf release in 20 years.


title: Zeena Schreck

text: In 2016, Classic Rock magazine ranked Radio Werewolf No. 4 on their 'The 25 weirdest bands of all time' list, stating: "Formed during the height of 'Satanic Panic' hysteria in mid-80's America, Radio Werewolf was once considered 'the most dangerous band in the world', largely due to the notoriety of their vocalist, Zeena Schreck...". In 2016, The Top Tens Most Satanic Bands listed Radio Werewolf, "Yes!, Since when does Heavy Metal have to be the only satanic music. Why not dark organ Gothic/Deathrock."


title: Zeena Schreck

text: In 2019, Amy Haben's article "Subversive Grooves: Music From the Dark Side," for the February 25 edition of online zine "Please Kill Me", describes Radio Werewolf and Zeena, "Radio Werewolf is one of the coolest bands you probably never heard of. It's a dark trip on to the set of a vintage horror movie.[...] Zeena's version of Nancy Sinatra's, "These Boots Are Made For Walkin’," features a World War II-esque sample sound of marching boots to kick it off the song followed by a deep bass line reminiscent of Nilsson's "Jump into The Fire." Zeena seduces with sultry vocals and smacks a bit of German into the middle of the tune.


title: Zeena Schreck

text: On November 8, 2013, the visual art performance biennial "Performa" presented Zeena accompanied by New York musician Hisham Bharoocha (first percussion) and Danish musician Anders Hermund (second percussion), for a vocal based work that tapped into the ritual use of sacred syllables from Vajrayana, Shaktism and Sethian-Typhonian left-way tantric practices, "originating from emptiness, gradually transforming into a sound and voice collage on a stage set design by Frank Haines." This was Zeena's first solo performance in her native country since her expatriation to Europe in 1990.


title: Zeena Schreck

text: David Sanderson described the event, "Jingling bells and padded footsteps echoed in the darkness. The curtains silently parted, dramatically revealing an electrified, vermilion environment. Dead center, with hands held in the Mudra position, stood the seemingly twenty-foot tall goddess Zeena. With a painted gong behind her, Bharoocha and Hermund adorned her sides. Bharoocha lit incense that swept through the audience as Zeena's commanding gaze pierced us all (everyone I talked to after the show swore she was staring directly at them)."


title: Zeena Schreck

text: On May 23, 2015, after a 24-year retreat from musical performances, Zeena made her official return to music in Europe, now as a solo artist, at the Wave-Gotik-Treffen festival in Leipzig, Germany. The concert, held amid "the sacred, magically charged ancient artifacts housed in Leipzig's Egyptian Museum (at the Leipzig University)," was a unique ritual soundscape which Zeena composed especially for the theme of that environment. She was accompanied by Cory Vielma and John Murphy. This was John Murphy's penultimate performance. Having suffered a long illness, John Murphy died less than five months after this concert. In accordance to Murphy's wishes, Zeena conducted the traditional Tibetan Buddhist ceremony for the passing of consciousness as he died. In 2016, a tribute to John Murphy as a 3CD compilation set entitled "All My Sins Remembered – The Sonic Worlds of John Murphy" was released by The Epicurean record label. On it, a live track from Zeena's WGT concert, featuring Murphy's electronic-percussion is included. The CD booklet also features cover portrait of Murphy by Zeena.


title: Zeena Schreck

text: It was announced on Zeena's homepage that March 11, 2020 is the release date of her first solo recording, "Bring Me The Head of F.W. Murnau: A Ghost Story in Six Acts," inspired by news reports that the director's head had been stolen from his grave under mysterious circumstances. Many of the sounds incorporated in the tracks were captured in field recordings at Murnau's former residence in Berlin and at his grave-site in Stahnsdorf, Germany. The recording was issued as an EP in CD format, beginning with a pre-release limited, signed and numbered edition of 89 (number of years since the film director's death) followed by open edition and digital download through the Zeena Schreck Bandcamp site.


title: Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances

text: Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) are synthetic organofluorine chemical compounds that have multiple fluorine atoms attached to an alkyl chain. An early definition, from 2011, required that they contain at least one perfluoroalkyl moiety, –CF–.


title: Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances

text: More recently (2021) the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) expanded the definition, stating that


title: Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances

text: "PFASs are defined as fluorinated substances that contain at least one fully fluorinated methyl or methylene carbon atom (without any H/Cl/Br/I atom attached to it), i.e. with a few noted exceptions, any chemical with at least a perfluorinated methyl group (–CF) or a perfluorinated methylene group (–CF–) is a PFAS."


title: Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances

text: According to the OECD, at least 4,730 distinct PFASs are known with at least three perfluorinated carbon atoms. A United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) toxicity database, DSSTox, lists 14,735 PFASs, while PubChem lists approximately 6 million. A subgroup, the fluorosurfactants or "fluorinated surfactants", have a fluorinated "tail" and a hydrophilic "head" and are thus surfactants. They are more effective at reducing the surface tension of water than comparable hydrocarbon surfactants. They include the perfluorosulfonic acids such as perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS) and the perfluorocarboxylic acids such as perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA).


title: Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances

text: Many PFASs were used in the mid 20th century as products or precursors for materials due to their enhanced water-resistant properties, such as within Teflon or aqueous film forming foam. Only since the start of the 21st century had the environmental impact and toxicity to human and mammalian life of PFASs has been studied in depth. PFOS, PFOA and other PFASs are known to persist in the environment and are commonly described as persistent organic pollutants, also known as "forever chemicals". Residues have been detected in humans and wildlife, prompting concern. According to the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, PFAS exposure is linked to increased risk of decreased antibody response, dyslipidemia (abnormally high cholesterol), decreased infant and fetal growth, and increased risk of kidney cancer. Health concerns related to PFASs have resulted in numerous litigations (see "Timeline of events related to per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances"). In 2021, Maine became the first U.S. state to ban these compounds in all products by 2030, except in instances deemed "currently unavoidable".


title: Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances

text: Fluorosurfactants are surfactants containing fluorocarbon chains such as those in PFASs. They can reduce the surface tension of water below what is attainable by using hydrocarbon surfactants. This ability is due to the hydrophobic nature of fluorocarbons, so fluorosurfactants tend to concentrate at the liquid-air interface. Fluorocarbons are lipophobic, as well as hydrophobic, allowing them to repel both oil and water. This lipophobicity results from the lack of attractive London dispersion forces in fluorocarbons compared to hydrocarbons, a consequence of fluorine's large electronegativity and small bond length, which reduce the polarizability of the surfactants' fluorinated molecular surface. Fluorosurfactants are more stable and fit for harsher conditions than hydrocarbon surfactants because of the stability of the carbon–fluorine bond. Perfluorinated surfactants persist in the environment for this same reason.


title: Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances

text: PFASs play a key economic role for companies such as DuPont, 3M, and W. L. Gore & Associates because they are used in emulsion polymerization to produce fluoropolymers. They have two main markets: a $1 billion annual market for use in stain repellents, and a $100 million annual market for use in polishes, paints, and coatings.


title: Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances

text: On their introduction in the 1940s, per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) were considered inert. In fact, early occupational studies revealed elevated levels of fluorochemicals, including perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS) and perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA, C8), in the blood of exposed industrial workers, but cited no ill health effects. These results were consistent with the measured serum concentrations of PFOS and PFOA in 3M plant workers ranging from 0.04 to 10.06 ppm and 0.01 to 12.70 ppm respectively, well below toxic and carcinogenic levels cited in animal studies. Given, however, the "forever chemical" property of PFASs (serum elimination half-life 4–5 years) and widespread environmental contamination, molecules have been shown to accumulate in humans to such a degree that adverse health outcomes have resulted.


title: Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances

text: Hormone-disrupting chemicals, including PFASs, are linked with rapid declines in human fertility. In a meta-analysis for associations between PFASs and human clinical biomarkers for liver injury, authors considered both PFAS effects on liver biomarkers and histological data from rodent experimental studies and concluded that evidence exists showing that PFOA, perfluorohexanesulfonic acid (PFHxS), and perfluorononanoic acid (PFNA) are hepatotoxic to humans.


title: Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances

text: Many comprehensive epidemiological studies linking adverse human health effects to PFASs, particularly PFOA, come from the C8 Science Panel. This panel was formed as part of a contingency to a class action lawsuit brought by communities in the Ohio River Valley against DuPont in response to landfill and wastewater dumping of PFAS-laden material from DuPont's West Virginia Washington Works Plant. The panel measured PFOA (also known as C8) serum concentrations in 69,000 individuals from around DuPont's Washington Works Plant and found a mean concentration of 83.0 ng/mL, compared to 4 ng/mL in a standard population of Americans. This panel reported probable links between elevated PFOA blood concentration and hypercholesterolemia, ulcerative colitis, thyroid disease, testicular cancer, kidney cancer as well as pregnancy-induced hypertension and preeclampsia.


title: Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances

text: In 2022 it was found that levels of at least four perfluoroalkyl acids (PFAAs) in rainwater worldwide ubiquitously, and often greatly, exceeded the EPA's lifetime drinking water health advisories as well as comparable Danish, Dutch, and European Union safety standards, leading researchers to conclude that "the global spread of these four PFAAs in the atmosphere has led to the planetary boundary for chemical pollution being exceeded". There are some moves to restrict and replace their use.


title: Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances

text: In a report by the Nordic Council of Ministers the total annual health-related costs associated with human exposure to PFASs were estimated to be at least €52-€84 billion in the European Economic Area (EEA) countries. Aggregated annual costs covering environmental screening, monitoring where contamination is found, water treatment, soil remediation and health assessment total €821 million-€170 billion in the EEA plus Switzerland.


title: Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances

text: Animal studies in the 1990s and early 2000s primarily aimed to investigate the effect of two widely used long-chain PFASs, perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA, C8) and perfluorooctane sulphonic acid (PFOS, C8), on peroxisome proliferation in rat livers. These studies determined that PFOA and PFOS acted as peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor (PPAR) agonists, increasing lipid metabolism. A paradoxical response is observed in humans where elevated PFOS levels were significantly associated with elevated total cholesterol and LDL cholesterol, highlighting significantly reduced PPAR expression and alluding to PPAR independent pathways predominating over lipid metabolism in humans compared to rodents.


title: Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances

text: PFOA and PFOS have been shown to significantly alter immune and inflammatory responses in human and animal species. In particular, IgA, IgE (in females only) and C-reactive protein have been shown to decrease whereas antinuclear antibodies increase as PFOA serum concentrations increase. These cytokine variations allude to immune response aberrations resulting in autoimmunity. One proposed mechanism is a shift towards anti-inflammatory M2 macrophages and/or (TH2) response in intestinal epithelial tissue which allows sulfate-reducing bacteria to flourish. Elevated levels of hydrogen sulfide result which reduce beta-oxidation and thus nutrient production leading to a breakdown of the colonic epithelial barrier.


title: Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances

text: Hypothyroidism is the most common thyroid abnormality associated with PFAS exposure. PFASs have been shown to decrease thyroid peroxidase, resulting in decreased production and activation of thyroid hormones in vivo. Other proposed mechanisms include alterations in thyroid hormone signaling, metabolism and excretion as well as function of nuclear hormone receptor.


title: Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances

text: Rat studies investigating the carcinogenicity of PFASs reported significant correlation with liver adenomas, Leydig cell tumors of the testis and pancreatic acinar cell tumors and dietary PFOA consumption. The C8 Science Panel investigated the potential relationship between PFAS exposure and these three cancer types as well as 18 other cancer types in their epidemiological studies. Contrary to the animal studies, the C8 studies did not find a probable link between elevated C8 exposure and liver adenomas or pancreatic acinar cell tumors; however, a probable link was found with regards to testis and kidney cancer. Two mechanisms have been proposed by which PFOA could cause Leydig cell tumors. Both mechanisms start by proposing that PROA exposure results in increased PPAR alpha activation in the liver which increases hepatic aromatase concentration and subsequent serum estrogen levels. The mechanisms now diverge, with one pathway suggesting elevated estradiol levels increase Tissue Growth Factor alpha (TGF alpha) which prompts Leydig cell proliferation. The other pathway suggests that aromatization of testosterone to estradiol reduces serum testosterone levels resulting in increased release of luteinizing hormone (LH) from the pituitary gland which directly results in Leydig Cell tumorgenesis. A mechanism has not yet been proposed to explain how kidney cancer could be caused by C8 exposure as no in vivo animal studies have been able to model this epidemiological outcome.


title: Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances

text: Pregnancy-induced hypertension is diagnosed when maternal systolic blood pressure exceeds 140 mmHg or diastolic blood pressure exceeds 90mmHg after 20 weeks gestation. Diagnostic criteria are the same for pre-eclampsia as pregnancy-induced hypertension; however, it also confers proteinuria. Mechanisms by which pregnancy-induced hypertension and preeclampsia could be caused by PFAS exposure have remained elusive and are largely speculative to date. One proposed mechanism highlights alterations in immune function leading to disruption of placentation, specifically as it pertains to natural killer (NK) cell infiltration of the placenta to facilitate trophoblastic integration with placental blood supply. Another mechanism refers to agonism of PPARs contributing to alterations in cholesterol, triglyceride and uric acid levels which may lead to vascular inflammation and elevated blood pressure.


title: Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances

text: Other adverse health outcomes that have been attributed to elevated PFAS exposure but were not found to be probable links in the C8 studies are decreased antibody response to vaccines, asthma, decreased mammary gland development, low birth weight (-0.7oz per 1 ng/mL increase in blood PFOA or PFOS level), decreased bone mineral density and neurodevelopmental abnormalities.


title: Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances

text: Fluorosurfactants such as PFOS, PFOA, and PFNA have caught the attention of regulatory agencies because of their persistence, toxicity, and widespread occurrence in the blood of general populations and wildlife. In 2009, PFOS, its salts and perfluorooctanesulfonyl fluoride were listed as persistent organic pollutants under the Stockholm Convention, due to their ubiquitous, persistent, bioaccumulative, and toxic nature. PFAS chemicals were dubbed the "Forever Chemicals" following a 2018 op-ed in the "Washington Post". The nickname was derived by combining the two dominant attributes of this class of chemicals: 1) PFAS chemicals are characterized by a carbon-fluorine (C-F) backbone (the "F-C" in "Forever Chemicals"); and 2) the carbon fluorine bond is one of the strongest bonds in organic chemistry, which gives these chemicals an extremely long environmental half-life (the "Forever" in "Forever Chemicals"). The Forever Chemicals name is now commonly used in media outlets in addition to the more technical name of per- and polyfluorinated alkyl substances, or PFASs. Their production has been regulated or phased out by manufacturers, such as 3M, DuPont, Daikin, and Miteni in the US, Japan, and Europe. In 2006 3M replaced PFOS and PFOA with short-chain PFASs, such as perfluorohexanoic acid (PFHxA) and perfluorobutanesulfonic acid (PFBS). Shorter fluorosurfactants may be less prone to accumulating in mammals; there is still concern that they may be harmful to both humans, and the environment. A majority of PFASs are either not covered by European legislation or are excluded from registration obligations under the EU REACH chemical regulation. Several PFASs have been detected in drinking water, municipal wastewater and landfill leachates, worldwide.


title: Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances

text: It had been thought that perfluoroalkyl acids (PFAAs) would eventually end up in the oceans, where they would be diluted over decades, but a field study published in 2021 by researchers at Stockholm University found that they are significantly transferred from water to air when waves break on land, and are a significant source of air pollution, and eventually get into the rain. The researchers concluded that pollution "may impact large areas of inland Europe and other continents, in addition to coastal areas".


title: Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances

text: Bioaccumulation is the process by which PFASs are transferred into the tissue of any exposed organisms where PFASs accumulate over time since organisms lack natural excretion mechanisms. PFASs can accumulate in marine species by a variety of pathways. They can be absorbed from the environment, such as contaminated sediments or PFASs dissolved in water. PFASs can partition into the organs and tissues of marine organisms from these environmental compartments. They have been shown to bind to blood proteins and accumulate in the livers of marine animals. Another pathway for bioaccumulation is predation. As larger marine animals feed on smaller organisms that have been exposed to PFASs, the larger animals absorb the PFASs contained in their prey.


title: Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances

text: Biomagnification is the process by which the amount of PFAS contamination increases with increasing trophic level, due to predation by the species higher in the food web. Top predators have higher levels of PFASs than species lower down the food chain. Seabirds that feed on fish have among the highest levels of PFAS contamination. Perfluorosulfonic acids, which have a sulfonic acid functional group attached to the fluorinated "tail", have a greater tendency to bioaccumulate than perfluorocarboxylic acids, which contain a carboxylic acid function group. Longer chain PFAS compounds, which have 6, 7, or more fluorinated carbons, bioaccumulate in greater quantities than shorter chain PFAS compounds. The concentration of PFOS, a long chain sulfonic acid, was found at the highest concentrations relative to other PFASs measured in fish and birds in Northern seas such as the Barents Sea and the Canadian Arctic.


title: Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances

text: Bioaccumulation and biomagnification of PFASs in marine species throughout the food web, particularly frequently consumed fish and shellfish, can have important impacts on human populations. PFASs have been frequently documented in both fish and shellfish that are commonly consumed by human populations. This poses health risks to humans and studies on the bioaccumulation in certain species are important to determine daily tolerable limits for human consumption, and where those limits may be exceeded causing potential health risks. This has particular implications for populations that consume larger numbers of wild fish and shellfish species. In addition to health risks, populations may be impacted by advisories, limits of closures of fishing for certain species that are put in place to help mitigate health risks from potential consumption of species with higher levels of accumulated PFASs, but result in a lost of food sources and important subsistence species depended on by local communities. There is much research being done in this area, including into spatial patterns of PFAS bioaccumulation in fish and crustaceans but more research is also needed. There is a need for more research on membrane transport mechanisms, which transfer PFAS into marine organisms, and the biological behavior of shorter chain PFASs.


title: Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances

text: In 2017, the ABC's current affairs programme Four Corners reported that the storage and use of firefighting foams containing perfluorinated surfactants at Australian Defence Force facilities around Australia had contaminated nearby water resources. In 2019, remediation efforts at RAAF Base Tindal and the adjacent town of Katherine were ongoing. In the 2022 Australian federal budget $428million was allocated for works at HMAS "Albatross", RAAF Base Amberley, RAAF Base Pearce and RAAF Base Richmond including funding to remediate PFAS contamination.


title: Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances

text: Although PFASs are not manufactured in Canada, they may be present in imported goods and products. In 2008, Canada prohibited the import, sale, or use of PFOS or PFOS-containing products, with some exceptions for products used in firefighting, in the military, and some forms of ink and photo media.


title: Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances

text: Health Canada has published drinking water guidelines for maximum concentrations of PFOS and PFOA. The guidelines were established to protect the health of Canadians, including children, over a lifetime's exposure to these substances. The maximum allowable concentration for PFOS under the guidelines is 0.0002 milligrams per litre. The maximum allowable concentration for PFOA is 0.0006 milligrams per litre.


title: Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances

text: The environmental consequences of PFAS - especially from fire fighting activities - has been recognised since the mid 1990s and came to prominence after the Buncefield explosion on 11 December 2005. In recent years the Environment Agency has undertaken a series of projects to understand the scale and nature of PFAS in the environment.


title: Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances

text: The Drinking Water Inspectorate requires water companies to report concentrations of 47 PFAS.Requirements for PFAS monitoring by water companies in England and Wales


title: Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances

text: Over 350,000 residents in Veneto are estimated to have been exposed to contamination through tap water, it is Europe's biggest PFAS-related environmental disaster.


title: Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances

text: While Italy's National Health Institute (ISS, "Istituto Superiore di Sanità") set the threshold limit of PFOA in the bloodstream at 8 nanograms per milliliter (ng/mL), some residents had reached 262 and some industrial employees reach 91,900 ng/mL.


title: Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances

text: In 2021 some data has been disclosed by Greenpeace and other local citizens after a long legal battle against the Veneto Region and ISS, which for years has denied access to data that despite the alarming values known since or even before 2017 the Veneto Region has not carried out further monitoring or taken resolutive actions to eliminate pollution and reduce, at least gradually, the contamination of water not intended for drinking.


title: Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances

text: Furthermore, as far as is known, it appears that the Region has so far ignored the risk for the entire national community and beyond, given that some of these foods could also be sold abroad.


title: Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances

text: Although in 2020 the European Food Safety Agency (EFSA) has reduced by more than four times the maximum tolerable limit of PSAS that can be taken through the diet, the Region has not carried out new assessments or implemented concrete actions to protect the population and the agri-food and livestock sectors. To this are added some limits on the monitoring of the monitored geographical area, which does not include the orange zone and other areas affected by contamination, as well as the insufficiency of analysis on important productions widespread in the areas concerned: eggs (up to 37100 ng/kg), fish (18600 ng/kg) spinach and radicchio (only one sampling carried out), kiwis, melons, watermelons, cereals (only one spelled sample was analyzed), soy, wines (very famous from the region) and apples.


title: Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances

text: The most polluted area is near the Lombardia region which has no data public for this kind of pollutant.


title: Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances

text: Certain PFASs are no longer manufactured in the United States, as a result of phase-outs including the PFOA Stewardship Program (2010-2015), in which eight major chemical manufacturers agreed to eliminate the use of PFOA and PFOA-related chemicals in their products and as emissions from their facilities. Although PFOA and PFOS are no longer manufactured in the United States, they are still produced internationally and are imported into the US in consumer goods such as carpet, leather and apparel, textiles, paper and packaging, coatings, rubber and plastics.


title: Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances

text: In 2020, manufacturers and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced an agreement to phase out some types of PFAS which are used in food packaging by 2024.


title: Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances

text: PFASs are also used by major companies of the cosmetics industry in a wide range of cosmetics, including lipstick, eye liner, mascara, foundation, concealer, lip balm, blush, nail polish and other such products. A 2021 study tested 231 makeup and personal care products and found organic fluorine, an indicator of PFASs, in more than half of the samples. High levels of fluorine were most commonly identified in waterproof mascara (82% of brands tested), foundations (63%), and liquid lipstick (62%).<ref name="10.1021/acs.estlett.1c00240"></ref> As many as 13 types of individual PFAS compounds were found in each product. Since PFAS compounds are highly mobile, they are readily absorbed through human skin and through tear ducts, and such products on lips are often unwittingly ingested. Manufacturers often fail to label their products as containing PFASs, which makes it difficult for cosmetics consumers to avoid products containing PFASs. In response, Senators Susan Collins of Maine and Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut proposed the No PFAS in Cosmetics Act in the United States Senate. It was also introduced in the United States House of Representatives by Michigan Representative Debbie Dingell.


title: Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances

text: An estimated 26,000 U.S. sites are contaminated with PFASs. At least six million Americans are estimated to have drinking water containing PFASs above the existing safe limits recommended by the U.S. EPA.


title: Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances

text: EPA published non-enforceable drinking water health advisories for PFOA and PFOS in 2016. In March 2021 EPA announced that it will develop national drinking water standards for PFOA and PFOS. On December 27, 2021, EPA published a regulation requiring drinking water utilities to conduct monitoring for 29 compounds. The data are to be collected during 2023 to 2025. EPA will pay for the monitoring costs for small drinking water systems (those serving a population of 10,000 or fewer). The agency may use the monitoring data to develop additional regulations.


title: Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances

text: In mid-2021 EPA announced plans to revise federal wastewater regulations (effluent guidelines) for several industries that manufacture PFASs or use PFASs in fabricating various products.


title: Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances

text: In October 2021 EPA announced the PFAS Strategic Roadmap. This initiative is a "whole-of-EPA" strategy and considers the full lifecycle of PFAS—including drinking water monitoring and risk assessment for PFOA and PFOS in biosolids (processed wastewater sludge used as fertilizer).


title: Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances

text: The EPA issued health advisories for four specific PFASs in June 2022, significantly lowering their safe threshold levels for drinking water. PFOA was reduced from 70 ppt to 0.004 ppt, while PFOS was reduced from 70 ppt to 0.02 ppt. GenX's safe levels were set at 10 ppt, while PFBS were set to 2000 ppt. While not enforceable, these health advisories are intended to be acted on by states in setting their own drinking water standards.


title: Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances

text: A formal EPA rule to add PFOA and PFAS as hazardous chemicals was first issued for comment on August 26, 2022. This would require those discharging waste to monitor and restrict the release of these PFAS to set levels, and report when the wastewater exceeds it. It would also make grounds affected by high levels of PFIA or PFAS to be treated as Superfund cleanup sites.


title: Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances

text: EPA has listed recommended steps that consumers may take to reduce possible exposure to PFAS chemicals.


title: Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances

text: In 2021 California banned PFASs for use in food packaging and from infant and children's products and also required PFAS cookware in the state to carry a warning label.


title: Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances

text: A program licensed and promoted by the Maine Department of Environmental Protection that provided free municipal wastewater sludge (biosolids) to farmers as fertilizer has resulted in PFAS contamination of local drinking water and farm-grown produce.


title: Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances

text: Launched in 2017, the Michigan PFAS Action Response Team (MPART) is the first multi-agency action team of its kind in the nation. Agencies representing health, environment, and other branches of state government have joined together to investigate sources and locations of PFAS contamination in the state, take action to protect people's drinking water, and keep the public informed.


title: Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances

text: Groundwater is tested at locations throughout the state by various parties to ensure safety, compliance with regulations, and proactively detect and remedy potential problems. In 2010, the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality (MDEQ) discovered levels of PFASs in groundwater monitoring wells at the former Wurtsmith Air Force Base. As additional information became available from other national testing, Michigan expanded its investigations into other locations where PFAS compounds were potentially used.


title: Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances

text: In 2018, the MDEQ's Remediation and Redevelopment Division (RRD) established cleanup criteria for groundwater used as drinking water of 70 ppt of PFOA and PFOS, individually or combined. The RRD staff are responsible for implementing these criteria as part of their ongoing efforts to clean up sites of environmental contamination. The RRD staff are the lead investigators at most of the PFAS sites on the MPART website and also conduct interim response activities, such as coordinating bottled water or filter installations with local health departments at sites under investigation or with known PFAS concerns. Most of the groundwater sampling at PFAS sites under RRD's lead is conducted by contractors familiar with PFAS sampling techniques. The RRD also has a Geologic Services Unit, with staff who install monitoring wells and are also well versed with PFAS sampling techniques.


title: Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances

text: The MDEQ has been conducting environmental clean-up of regulated contaminants for decades. Due to the evolving nature of PFAS regulations as new science becomes available, the RRD is evaluating the need for regular PFAS sampling at Superfund sites and is including an evaluation of PFAS sampling needs as part of a Baseline Environmental Assessment review.


title: Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances

text: Earlier in 2018, the RRD purchased lab equipment that will allow the MDEQ Environmental Lab to conduct analyses of certain PFAS samples. (Currently, most samples are shipped to one of the few labs in the country that conduct PFAS analysis, in California, although private labs in other parts of the country, including Michigan, are starting to offer these services.) As of August 2018, RRD has hired additional staff to work on developing the methodology and conducting PFAS analyses.


title: Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances

text: In 2020 Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel filed a lawsuit against 17 companies, including 3M, Chemours, and DuPont, for hiding known health and environmental risks from the state and its residents. Nessel's complaint identifies 37 sites with known contamination.


title: Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances

text: In 2020 the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE) introduced some of the strictest drinking water standards in the country for PFAS, setting maximum contaminant levels (MCLs) for PFOA and PFOS to 8 and 16 ppt respectively (down from previous existing groundwater cleanup standards of 70 ppt for both), and introducing MCLs for 5 other previously unregulated PFAS compounds, limiting PFNA to 6 ppt, PFHxA to 400,000 ppt, PFHxS to 51 ppt, PFBS to 420 ppt and HFPO-DA to 370 ppt. The change adds 38 additional sites to the state's list of known PFAS contaminated areas, bringing the total number of known sites to 137. About half of these sites are landfills and 13 are former plating facilities.


title: Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances

text: In 2022 PFOS was found in beef produced at a Michigan farm. The cattle had been fed crops fertilized with contaminated biosolids. State agencies issued a consumption advisory, but did not order a recall, because there currently is no PFOS contamination in beef government standards.


title: Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances

text: In February 2018, 3M settled a lawsuit for $850 million related to contaminated drinking water in Minnesota.


title: Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances

text: In 2018 the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) published a drinking water standard for PFNA. Public water systems in New Jersey are required to meet a maximum contaminant level (MCL) standard of 13 ppt. In 2020 the state set a PFOA standard at 14 ppt and a PFOS standard at 13 ppt.


title: Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances

text: In 2019 NJDEP filed lawsuits against the owners of two plants that had manufactured PFASs, and two plants that were cited for water pollution from other chemicals. The companies cited are DuPont, Chemours and 3M. NJDEP also declared five companies to be financially responsible for statewide remediation of the chemicals. Among the companies accused were Arkema and Solvay regarding a West Deptford Facility in Gloucester County, where Arkema manufactured PFASs, but Solvay claims to have never manufactured but only handled PFASs. The companies denied liability and contested the directive. In June 2020, the US Environmental Protection Agency and NJ Department of Environmental Protection published a paper reporting that a unique family of PFAS used by Solvay, chloroperfluoropolyether carboxylates (ClPFPECAs), were contaminating the soils of New Jersey as far from the Solvay facility as 150 km. and the ClPFPECAs were found in water as well.


title: Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances

text: Later in 2020, the New Jersey state attorney general filed suit in the New Jersey Superior Court against Solvey regarding PFAS contamination of the state's environment. In May 2021, Solvay issued a press release that the company is "discontinuing the use of fluorosurfactants in the U.S.".


title: Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances

text: In addition, five military installations in Washington State have been identified by the U.S. Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works as having PFAS contamination. Toward environmental and consumer protections, the Washington State Department of Ecology published a Chemical Action Plan in November 2021, and in June 2022 the governor tasked the Washington State Department of Ecology with phasing out manufacture and import of products containing PFASs. Initial steps taken by the Washington State Department of Health to protect the public from exposure through drinking water have included setting State Action Levels for five PFASs (PFOA, PFOS, PFNA, PFHxS, and PFBS), which were implemented in November 2021.


title: Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances

text: In February 2017, DuPont and Chemours (a DuPont spin-off) agreed to pay $671 million to settle lawsuits arising from 3,550 personal injury claims related to releasing of PFASs from their Parkersburg, West Virginia plant, into the drinking water of several thousand residents. This was after a court-created independent scientific panel, the "C8 Science Panel", found a "probable link" between C8 exposure and six illnesses: kidney and testicular cancer, ulcerative colitis, thyroid disease, pregnancy-induced hypertension and high cholesterol.


title: Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances

text: In October 2018, a class action suit was filed by an Ohio firefighter against several producers of fluorosurfactants, including the 3M and DuPont corporations, on behalf of all US residents who may have adverse health effects from exposure to PFASs.


title: Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances

text: This story is told in the film "Dark Waters", released in November 2019, produced by the actor Mark Ruffalo and directed by Todd Haynes.


title: Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances

text: Starting in the 1970s, 3M scientists learned that PFOS and PFOA were toxic to humans, documenting damage to the human immune system. Also in the 1970s, 3M scientists found that these substances accumulate over time in the human body. However, 3M suppressed revelation of these facts to the public or to regulators.


title: Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances

text: In 2018 White House staff and EPA pressured the U.S. Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry to suppress a study that showed PFASs to be even more dangerous than previously thought.


title: Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances

text: The water in and around at least 126 U.S. military bases has been contaminated by high levels of PFASs because of their use of firefighting foams since the 1970s, according to a study by the U.S. Department of Defense. Of these, 90 bases reported PFAS contamination that had spread to drinking water or groundwater off the base.


title: Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances

text: Occupational exposure to PFASs occurs in numerous industries due to the widespread use of PFASs in products and as an element of industrial process streams. PFASs are used in more than 200 different ways in industries as diverse as electronics and equipment manufacturing, plastic and rubber production, food and textile production, and building and construction. Occupational exposure to PFASs can occur at fluorochemical facilities that produce PFASs and other manufacturing facilities that use PFASs for industrial processing like the chrome plating industry. Workers who handle PFAS-containing products can also be exposed during their work. Examples include people who install PFAS-containing carpets and leather furniture with PFAS coatings, professional ski-waxers using PFAS-based waxes, and fire-fighters who use PFAS-containing foam and wear flame-resistant protective gear impregnated with PFASs.


title: Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances

text: People who are exposed to PFASs through their jobs typically have higher levels of PFASs in their blood than the general population. Additionally, while the general population is exposed to PFASs through ingested food and water, occupational exposure includes both accidental ingestion and inhalation exposure in settings where a PFAS becomes volatilized. There has been increased attention to the health risks associated with exposure to PFASs, which can affect the immune system, increase cholesterol, and increase the risk of cancer. The severity of PFAS-associated health effects can vary based on the length of exposure, level of exposure, and health status. In 2009, under decision SC-4/17, perfluorooctane sulfonic acid, its salts and perfluorooctane sulfonyl fluoride were listed in Annex B of the 2009 Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants, dictating acceptable purposes and specific exemptions to the chemical usage. Among these exemptions are numerous uses in manufacturing as well as firefighting foams.