#pfcs

Style Mimicry of @emezie

Tried to mimic Emezie's art style from memory. Mai is definitely my favourite character.

The Phoenix Film Critics Society, of which I'm an enduringly proud founding member..

...has announced its 2023 Award winners and Top Ten list. As always, some of the selections represent my voting--I'm especially glad my colleagues agreed with me about Da'Vine Joy Randolph in The Holdovers--others do not, but there's a lot of good acting and moviemaking represented on this list.

While I'm on the subject, I think the PFCS Awards need a name. The Pheenies? The Nixies? The Dry Heaties? Just spitballing...

Excerpt from this story from Inside Climate News:

Though considered non-toxic by the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration,  tetrafluoromethane (CF4) and hexafluoroethane (C2F6), PFCs that are unwanted byproducts of aluminum production, are among the most potent and longest-lasting greenhouse gases on the planet. They belong to a class of synthetic, fluorine-containing chemicals known as “the immortals” because of how long they remain in the atmosphere. Once the gases are released, they are “essentially permanent additions to the atmosphere,” the Environmental Protection Agency notes.

PFCs threaten “the public health and welfare of current and future generations,” according to a 2009 determination by the EPA as part of a sweeping “endangerment finding” on greenhouse gases. However, unlike carbon dioxide and methane, the EPA does not regulate PFCs.

CF4, the primary PFC released by Century Aluminum, is 7,380 times worse for climate change than carbon dioxide on a ton-for-ton basis over a 100-year period. But, unlike CO2, which remains in the atmosphere for approximately 300-1,000 years, CF4 remains in the atmosphere for 50,000 years.  

In 2021, the Sebree plant, the largest U.S. aluminum production facility operating at full capacity, vented 24 tons of perfluorocarbons (PFCs) into the air. The emissions equal the annual greenhouse gas emissions of 40,000 automobiles—ones that will remain on the theoretical road for tens of thousands of years.

Meanwhile, a newer plant also owned and operated by Century Aluminum in Grundartangi, Iceland, emits just one sixth the perfluorocarbons (PFC) emissions per ton of aluminum, as compared to the company’s Sebree plant, according to an Inside Climate News assessment of Environmental Protection Agency data as well as financial and environmental reports published by Century and Nordural, its Icelandic subsidiary.

It’s a tale of two smelters: older U.S. plants with some of the highest PFC emissions rates in the world and their overseas counterparts with far lower emissions — even when operated by the same multinational companies. The contrast highlights why the U.S. aluminum industry needs revitalization, environmental advocates say, even as it has declined precipitously in recent decades.  

In a case similar to that of Century Aluminum, Alcoa’s Intalco smelter in Ferndale, Washington, emitted nearly 50 tons of PFCs in 2020 before curtailing production.

When the first products with the new, more sustainable ePE membrane from Gore-Tex hit the market in autumn, the world leader for waterproof functional fabrics and with it the entire outdoor industry would have made a real U-turn. Or wouldn’t it?

PTFE is Gore-Tex’s main module

To understand that the development of this new, more sustainable ePE membrane is a revolution for US company W.L. Gore & Associates, one has to go back in time a little. The story of Gore-Tex begins in the 1950s, when Bill Gore quit his job at the chemical company DuPont to devote himself entirely to the polymer polytetrafluoroethylene, or PTFE, in whose new possibilities he firmly believed. But it was his son, Bob Gore, who made the decisive discovery in 1969. He discovered by chance that PTFE can be stretched or “expanded”. That was the beginning of Gore-Tex. However, it took another seven years before the microporous, water-repellent and vapour-permeable material was actually used to laminate and sell clothing fabrics. It was not until 1976 that the first rain jacket made of Gore-Tex came onto the market.

To this day, PTFE is and has been Gore-Tex's most important raw material and thus the cornerstone of this company's global success story.

Gore-Tex: godfather of modern functional clothing

The importance of Gore-Tex for the entire outdoor and sports market can hardly be overestimated. Without functional specialists like Gore-Tex, the outdoor segment of the clothing industry and the outdoor boom of recent years would probably never have happened. No performance-oriented outdoor brand can ignore the feature “waterproof” any more, and fashion brands are also integrating more and more function into their outerwear.

What W.L. Gore & Associates achieved back then revolutionised the clothing sector. This is one of the reasons why Gore-Tex belongs to the select small circle of brands whose names are representative of an entire category: If you want a waterproof jacket, you ask for a Gore-Tex jacket. Yet Gore is merely an “ingredient brand”, i.e. only a supplier of fabrics and not the manufacturer of the jacket. Gore-Tex is also not the only laminate manufacturer.

Greenpeace accuses outdoor industry of destroying nature

However, this strong position began to falter in the 2010s. With the “Detox my Fashion” campaign, Greenpeace launched a campaign against the use of hazardous chemicals in the clothing industry in 2011. The group of chemicals known as PFCs played a prominent role in this campaign because they cannot be broken down in the environment and can now be detected even in the most remote regions of the world. They are considered carcinogenic and have hormonal effects. This brings us back to Gore: PFCs are used as auxiliary agents to produce PTFE. In addition, PFCs were needed to make textiles water-repellent, which is necessary so that laminated fabrics, such as those from Gore-Tex, are permanently waterproof and breathable, i.e. vapour-permeable.

Outdoor industry opens parachute

Greenpeace ignited a flurry of activity: Worrying studies were published, brands were pilloried, protest actions were organised in front of shops, and lectures and press conferences were held at the sporting goods fair Ispo accusing the outdoor industry of destroying nature. Of all things, the nature-loving outdoor industry had to be berated as the biggest environmental offender. The pressure on the entire industry was immense, and more and more brands came to the conclusion that they no longer wanted to use PFCs. In the field of durable, water-repellent finishes (DWR ), this has largely been achieved today.

It was also a turning point for Gore: in 2017, W.L. Gore's fabrics division committed to phasing out hazardous PFCs in its general weatherproof laminates by the end of 2020, and in its specialty laminates by the end of 2023. In addition, Gore would develop new and more environmentally friendly processes and publicly document that no harmful PFCs would be released into the environment during the lifetime of its products. Greenpeace announced all this in a press release with the headline: “Success for the environment - Gore gives up dangerous chemicals / Largest outdoor clothing supplier will change industry”.

The new ePE membrane – polyethylene instead of PTFE

The question remains: What happened to PTFE, the production of which requires PFCs? Gore has actually set out to find an alternative to PTFE. The new ePE membrane, which will be launched for the first time this autumn with selected partners such as Patagonia, is no longer made of PTFE but of polyethylene. The lowercase “e” in the name ePE does not stand for ecological - which one could easily think - but for expanded, i.e. stretched. Gore, which produces all its membranes itself, has found a way to process polyethylene in a similar way to PTFE, which is also expanded. But: with ePE, Gore gives up its status as “inventor”. Because Gore is not the only manufacturer and also not the inventor of stretched polyethylene membranes. However, Gore undoubtedly has enormous know-how in all these processes.

No more PFCs

But in what way is ePE more sustainable? The new ePE membrane and the laminate's water-repellent finish are free of ecologically harmful PFCs. In addition, the membrane reduces the fabrics' carbon footprint. Its better strength-to-weight ratio means that the fabrics can be thinner and lighter. At the same time, it needs less material, which has a positive effect on resource efficiency. Nevertheless, ePE is as durable as the PTFE membrane. Anything else would be neither sustainable nor in line with Gore's brand essence. In addition, Gore wants to rely more on recycled fabrics and new, more sustainable dyeing processes such as Solution Dye for the laminates’ outer fabrics. However, more information on the sustainability of ePE is not yet available, for example on topics such as recyclability or disposal.

Why “ecologically questionable PFCs?”

According to Greenpeace, Gore is keeping its promise with the development of ePE. Greenpeace commented on the announcement of the first ePE products in October 2021 in a press release entitled: “Detox success: Gore-Tex without hazardous PFCs”.

What remains surprising is that Gore is always very careful to use the term “ecologically questionable PFCs”. And this is where opinions differ. Because Gore does not say that it manages without all PFCs, only the ecologically questionable ones. The issue is indeed complex. The class of PFCs comprises more than 5,000 chemical substances, which in turn have an enormous range of properties. These range from volatile substances, which have rightly come under criticism in recent years and are now being eliminated from supply chains, to large, stable molecules, which ultimately include PTFE. It seems that with ePE Gore wants to offer a PFC-free product, but without discrediting all PFCs, which apparently still include PTFE. According to Gore's definition, however, the PFCs here are not of ecological concern. The fact is that much is still uncertain about the effects of these substances. Greenpeace therefore supports a proposal by five EU member states (Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands, Norway and Sweden) to regulate all PFCs as a group, while the US state of Maine has already enacted a ban on all PFCs.

Is Gore dropping PTFE now?

Which brings us to the last question: What is happening with PTFE now? Will Gore now change all its processes and rely completely on ePE? No. For the time being, ePE is nothing more than another product in the large Gore-Tex portfolio. PTFE membranes will continue to exist. There will also be DWR finishes with PFC, namely for workwear for the fire brigade and police, for example, because no equivalent alternatives have yet been found.

While male organ size really only becomes important in terms of sensual satisfaction only in extreme situations (such as possessing a genuine micro-manhood), it is often a source of concern among men – even those whose male organ size is perfectly respectable or even greater than average. Only rarely is it a male organ health concern – but research in recent years suggests that elements in the environment, specifically PFCs, may be affecting male organ size, and long term this could indeed become a male organ health issue.

What are PFCs?

PFC stands for perfluorinated compounds, which comprise a large group of chemicals that have many uses in modern society. For example, PFCs have been used to make fabrics stain repellent, to create the special “foam” that is used in some firefighting equipment, to provide a non-stick coating found in many pieces of cookware, to make the waxy paper that many sandwiches are wrapped in, and to finish some cosmetic products.

PFCs are manmade, meaning that they don’t occur naturally in the environment. They were created in the 1940s and by the next decade had made their way into the general population through their use in a wide variety of common household items. Unfortunately, it turned out that PFCS were highly toxic. Worse, they don’t break down at all, meaning that they basically stay toxic for generations – perhaps forever. In the United States, most manufacturers have replaced PFCs with other chemicals; however, this is a recent development, and PFCs were widely used for decades.

The male organ size issue

PFCs make their way into the environment gradually in numerous ways – by being thrown away after use (as is the case with, say, waxy sandwich wrappers) or by simply “wearing away” after years in use (as has happened with some non-stick cooking equipment). Sometimes PFCs have been dumped by manufacturers during their creation. Burning of products with PFCs may release the compounds into the air. Burying of products (as at a landfill) can eventually release PFCs into the soil and into underground water sources. Many scientists believe that PFCs are released when PFC-coated cookware is used, either through the air when heated or passed on to food cooked in the treated pans.

Because of their widespread use for many decades, it is believed that almost all Americans have been exposed to high levels of PFCs – and there are some areas (notably in West Virginia) in which industrial manufacture or use of PFCs may have created especially high levels of PFCs.

And this is not good for male organ health. Researchers at the University of Padua conducted a study on 383 men who lived in an area in Italy with particularly high levels of PFC exposure and contamination. They found a significant difference in male organ size when compared to the world statistics; on average, the members of these men were 12.5% shorter and 6.3% thinner.

Apparently what is happening is that PFC is blocking the ability of the body to produce sufficient amounts of male hormone. Boys and adolescents who grow up with this PFC-induced decrease in male hormone run the risk of a reduction in male organ size, as well as less healthy male seed and lower rates of being able to sire children.

Some scientists worry that members could shrink further, as subsequent generations are exposed to the PFCs, due to the compound’s lengthy toxicity. Clearly, this is an issue that will need to be monitored, and methods will need to be developed to safely “clean up” sites with heavy PFC toxicity.

NASA : Two Astronauts Complete Six-Hour Spacewalk

New Delhi : Two flight engineers of the US space agency NASA completed the fifth spacewalk of this year out of the International Space Station on Wednesday.

Drew Feustel and Ricky Arnold wrapped up their spacewalk at 2:10 p.m. American Eastern Time, lasting about six hours and 31 minutes, Xinhua quoted NASA as saying.

The two astronauts moved the Pump Flow Control Subassembly (PFCS) from a spare parts platform on the station's truss to the Dextre robotic arm.

The PFCS is designed to drive and control the flow of ammonia through the exterior portions of the station's cooling system.

The duo then removed and replaced a camera group and a degraded Space to Ground Transmitter Receiver Controller.

Spacewalkers have spent a total of 54 days, 16 hours and 40 minutes working outside the station in support of assembly and maintenance of the orbiting laboratory, according to NASA.

(Inputs From News Agency IANS)