The last straw: the paper sipper contains substances harmful to health and environment

Health and environmental concerns have led to massive changes in our consumer habits, from using unleaded petrol and reducing fatty foods to limiting the use of plastics. However, the alternatives are not always innocuous either, as in the case of paper straws. Made from biodegradable elements, they appear to be a reasonable substitute to the plastic version, which can take up to several centuries to decompose and were banned by the EU in 2021 along with other single-use plastic products on account of their durability. Now, a study by a group of Belgian researchers suggests that paper straws have a downside of their own.

In an article published in the journal Food Additives and Contaminants, a team led by Thimo Groffen at the University of Antwerp, Belgium, explains how 39 brands of paper straws supplying the Belgian market were tested for perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substance, otherwise known as PFAS, a group of thousands of synthetic chemicals that the European Environment Agency warns can cause health problems such as liver damage, thyroid disease, obesity, fertility problems and cancer. The analysis shows that 27 of the 39 brands analyzed contained some form of PFAS.

The first conclusion reached by Groffen and his colleagues is that the paper alternative to plastic straws should be questioned. “Although the amounts we have found are very small, they accumulate over time, both in human tissue and in the environment,” Groffen tells EL PAÍS.

Discovered by an employee at the chemical company DuPont in 1938, these compounds began to be used for their non-stick qualities in Teflon frying pans, and are practically indestructible. Regarding the environment, they resist decomposition for centuries, while it takes up to 15 years for the human body to flush them out. Groffen believes it would be preferable to opt for stainless steel straws or do without straws altogether unless absolutely necessary.

Repelling water

The damage limitation that would ensue from banning paper straws would be small, and Groffen acknowledges that more PFAS are absorbed through eating chicken and a number of vegetables. But any small victory is important in what promises to be a long war against ubiquitous and worrisome substances.

Finding other materials with which to make straws does not guarantee that the everlasting chemicals will disappear, however, precisely because they are so resistant and leap from one product to another as they are recycled. Although some manufacturers incorporate PFAS to make straws more water-repellent and softer, others were surprised at the presence of PFAS, which had found their way into their products through contaminated raw materials. After more than 80 years of use in food packaging, cooking utensils and clothing, PFAS are everywhere.

Argelia Castaño, director of the National Center for Environmental Health at the Carlos III Health Institute, confirms that PFAS are very worrying substances, and difficult to eliminate. “While recycling and the circular economy can be positive, it is going to expose us to PFAS for a long time, whether there is intentional use by the industry concerned or not,” she points out. “That’s what’s happening still with many pollutants identified in the 1950s, which were eliminated with the Stockholm Convention; they have a very long lifespan and pass from waste into soil, and we continue to be exposed to them.”

Castaño agrees with Groffen and his team that the use of stainless steel or glass is one way to avoid contamination from PFAS. She also emphasizes the importance of studies to measure, via serum or urine samples, the impact on humans of regulations limiting the use of these substances. “In studies at the European level, we have seen two substances that have been banned for years, such as PFOA and PFOS, detected in small amounts in these analyses,” says Castaño. Groffen’s team observed that, regarding paper straws, the most common PFAS were precisely PFOA, which was banned worldwide in 2020.

Despite the established risks of these chemicals, their impact is not as acute as those of a viral pandemic, for example. “These products act in the medium and long term,” says Castaño. “The effects are seen after chronic exposure, but there is an increase in cases of cancer, precocious puberty and hormonal problems, which can be seen in the population.” After many decades of use, it is now suggested that the best thing to do is to aim to entirely eliminate the PFAS, a compound which was hailed as revolutionary more than 80 years ago.

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