[HN Gopher] PFAS "Forever Chemicals" and Nordic Ski Wax
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       PFAS "Forever Chemicals" and Nordic Ski Wax
        
       Author : mimixco
       Score  : 65 points
       Date   : 2020-01-26 16:47 UTC (6 hours ago)
        
 (HTM) web link (www.outsideonline.com)
 (TXT) w3m dump (www.outsideonline.com)
        
       | TimD1 wrote:
       | As someone who has waxed with HF wax several dozen times in the
       | past (collegiate nordic ski racer) with no face mask and mediocre
       | room ventilation, how worried should I be about long-term side
       | effects?
        
       | arcticgeek wrote:
       | So is the regular Swix CH7 hydrocarbon wax a C6 or a C8? Should I
       | still be handling these with gloves?
        
         | notatoad wrote:
         | the "CH" line of waxes (CH4/6/7/8/10) are not fluorinated. The
         | waxes that start with LF or HF (low-fluoro and high-fluoro,
         | respectively) are the fluorinated products.
         | 
         | you probably don't need to worry about handling LF or HF with
         | gloves, it's not _that_ toxic. but if you 're waxing with them
         | you should be wearing a respirator.
        
         | CDRdude wrote:
         | I didn't think CH waxes had fluorocarbons at all. Their LF (Low
         | Fluoro) and HF (High Fluoro) lines certainly do.
        
         | TimD1 wrote:
         | CH doesn't have fluoro, but the correlation between C6/C8 and
         | LF/HF is unclear to me. Does LF use C6 and HF uses C8, or can
         | both wax types be made with C6/C8, but in different
         | concentrations?
        
       | unicornporn wrote:
       | This shit is everywhere and I've lately observed that the big
       | outdoor brands aren't even close to doing what they can to stop
       | using them. It's even in childrens clothes, all in the name of
       | keeping us dry.
       | 
       | I actually recently tried Greenland wax on a cotton canvas
       | anorak, and so far it's working out great. Perhaps it's not as
       | effective as Gore-Tex. I think we should try to remember that
       | people somehow survived outside before these materials were
       | introduced.
        
       | Alex3917 wrote:
       | It's in almost all chain lubes for bikes also. There is one brand
       | I found called Green Oil that doesn't use it, but it takes a week
       | or so to ship from the UK and they only make a wet lube. Not
       | thrilled with using a wet lube year round, but still much better
       | than having Teflon dust in my apartment.
        
       | ErikAugust wrote:
       | This stuff is in drinking water which seems bad, but what are the
       | dangers of Teflon and Gore-Tex clothing?
        
         | jfim wrote:
         | The company manufacturing Teflon has been disposing of
         | chemicals used during the manufacture of Teflon in such a way
         | that those chemicals end up in the drinking water supply of
         | communities surrounding factories.
        
           | toomuchtodo wrote:
           | Relevant comment/thread from a few days ago:
           | https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=22117840
           | 
           | Huffington Post article:
           | https://highline.huffingtonpost.com/articles/en/welcome-
           | to-b...
           | 
           | Dark Waters film on the topic:
           | https://www.imdb.com/title/tt9071322/
           | 
           | DuPont was the entity responsible for the pollution and
           | coverup.
        
             | bsk26 wrote:
             | I thought Dark Waters was good but the nytimes article it
             | is based on is even better https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&
             | source=web&rct=j&url=https:/...
             | 
             | If you're concerned about goretex and dwrs, everything made
             | by Nikwax uses different technology and is PFA free.
             | Goretex might be safe for end user (or might not) but the
             | manufacturing process is probably environmentally risky ...
             | I wouldn't buy goretex for non-critical uses. So use it for
             | mountaineering but not in the ski resort or on the way to
             | work
        
               | amarshall wrote:
               | AMP-free URL:
               | https://www.nytimes.com/2016/01/10/magazine/the-lawyer-
               | who-b...
        
         | swiley wrote:
         | You probably shouldn't be exposing yourself to a lot of Teflon
         | (although IMO you probably shouldn't be exposing yourself to a
         | lot of PS either heh)
        
           | kube-system wrote:
           | PTFE is non-toxic. Health concerns are about production
           | byproducts and thermal decomposition.
        
       | notatoad wrote:
       | Seems like kind of weird timing for this article - FIS has banned
       | fluoros, and their grip over the nordic ski racing world is
       | pretty much absolute. by next season, any waxes with fluoros will
       | not be viable consumer products.
        
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       (page generated 2020-01-26 23:00 UTC)