Which Apple Watch bands contain PFAS?

LD150 wrote:

Rowan & Martin's Laugh-in from beautiful down town Burbank

Loved that show as a kid (yes, my parents let me watch it) but it's a little bit painful to watch now.

No PFAs back then, just lead, mercury and asbestos to worry about.

Oh, goodness!!!! Fortunately, a habit I never acquired.

The scientific fact is not my or anyone's else's opinion.

It's just a fact.

That might be difficult to understand, but it doesn't change that it's a fact.

LD150 wrote:

solo loops are silicone, sport bands are fluoroelastomer which by definition may contain some PFAs. I am confident that my fluoroelastomer sport band is the best and most comfortable strap I have ever worn in 60 years of watch wearing.

The recent academic study you are implicating is

https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acs.estlett.4c00907

which lacks any per manufacturer data or any real evidence that any PFAs have ever been absorbed in practice. They had to use solvents to extract them.

There's more data if you scroll down to "Supporting Information" and click on (PDF). Clicking on the URL does nothing.

I was hoping my ACS login would get me the full article but, as it's not a paid membership, it doesn't.

LD150 wrote:

Academics sometimes freak out having to work with real people.

I work with a lot of scientists. They have to start somewhere and they're generally not allowed to start with people. So, they release a preliminary study. Then the popular press goes "We're all going to die!!!!!" bananas. It's frustrating and annoying because it increases public distrust in science and the scientific method.

We need to better educate people on how to understand this kind of story. Unfortunately, a lot of scientists aren't good at communicating with non-scientists. Or, they're just too busy writing a grant for the next project. Or teaching. Or serving on university committees. Or occasionally spending time with their own families. Dr. Paul Offit, in addition to developing an important pediatric vaccine, has spent enormous amounts of time writing and lecturing on scientific literacy. Worth picking up one of his books.

/end rant

LD150 wrote:

Academics sometimes freak out having to work with real people.

And my apologies if that sounded like I was annoyed with you. Not at all the case. The whole thing just makes me a little nuts and I go off.