عربي English Türkçe اردو فارسى
Logo
Latest News
Varieties

Dental Floss Might be Associated with Toxic Materials

Flossing your teeth with certain types of floss could expose you to higher levels of toxic chemicals according to new research.
Flossing your teeth with certain types of floss could expose you to higher levels of toxic chemicals according to new research.
TT
TT

Dental Floss Might be Associated with Toxic Materials

Flossing your teeth with certain types of floss could expose you to higher levels of toxic chemicals according to new research.
Flossing your teeth with certain types of floss could expose you to higher levels of toxic chemicals according to new research.

A new US study has warned from toxic substances that can be transmitted into your body through dental floss, which contains a PFAS chemical substance.

PFAS are resistant to water and grease, and usually interfere with fast-food packaging, waterproof clothing and stain-resistant carpet. Consumers can be exposed to PFAS through the products they use and the food they eat, and even through the air and dust inside their homes.

Previous studies also warned from the risk of using these materials, which contribute to high levels of toxic chemicals. But the new study, published Wednesday in the Journal of Exposure Science & Environmental Epidemiology (JESEE), said it found PFAS in a type of dental floss.

During the study, led by the Silent Spring Institute in collaboration with the Public Health Institute in Berkeley, California, researchers measured 11 different PFAS chemicals in blood samples taken from 178 middle-aged women and then compared blood measurements with the results of interviews in which they asked women about nine behaviors that can lead to increased exposure.

The study’s lead author, Katie Boronow, said in a report published on the Institute's website in conjunction with the study: "We found that Women who flossed with Oral-B Glide tended to have higher levels of a type of PFAS called PFHxS (perfluorohexanesulfonic acid) in their body compared with those who didn't. By using a technique called PIGE spectroscopy, Oral-B Glide products were tested, and we found the acid in the blood of the women."

"We found other PFAS materials in the blood of some women who consume fast food wrapped in paper, or have stain-resistant carpets or waterproof clothing, but the surprise was in the dental floss," she said.

Scientists are concerned about the widespread use of PFAS, especially after studies have shown their health risks.

According to Boronow, "these substances are linked to health effects leading to kidney and testicular cancer, thyroid disease, high cholesterol, low birth weight, low fertility, and immune system problems.”

Most Viewed

 
 
Varieties

Rare Sahara Floods Bring Morocco’s Dried-up South Back to Life

Tourists camp on the shores of Erg Znaigui, a seasonal lake in the village of Merzouga in the Sahara desert in southeastern Morocco on October 20, 2024. (AFP)
Tourists camp on the shores of Erg Znaigui, a seasonal lake in the village of Merzouga in the Sahara desert in southeastern Morocco on October 20, 2024. (AFP)
TT
TT

Rare Sahara Floods Bring Morocco’s Dried-up South Back to Life

Tourists camp on the shores of Erg Znaigui, a seasonal lake in the village of Merzouga in the Sahara desert in southeastern Morocco on October 20, 2024. (AFP)
Tourists camp on the shores of Erg Znaigui, a seasonal lake in the village of Merzouga in the Sahara desert in southeastern Morocco on October 20, 2024. (AFP)

In Morocco's southeastern desert, a rare downpour has brought lakes and ponds back to life, with locals -- and tourists -- hailing it as a gift from the heavens.

In Merzouga, an attractive tourist town some 600 kilometers (370 miles) southeast of the capital Rabat, the once-parched golden dunes are now dotted with replenished ponds and lakes.

"We're incredibly happy about the recent rains," said Youssef Ait Chiga, a local tour guide leading a group of German tourists to Yasmina Lake nestled amidst Merzouga's dunes.

Khalid Skandouli, another tour guide, said the rain has drawn even more visitors to the tourist area, now particularly eager to witness this odd transformation.

With him, Laetitia Chevallier, a French tourist and regular visitor to the region, said the rainfall has proved a "blessing from the sky".

"The desert became green again, the animals have food again, and the plants and palm trees came back to life," she said.

Locals told AFP the basin had been barren for nearly 20 years.

A man leads his camels along the shores of Yasmina lake, a seasonal lake in the village of Merzouga in the Sahara desert in southeastern Morocco on October 20, 2024. (AFP)

Last year was Morocco's driest in 80 years, with a 48 percent drop in rainfall, according to an October report from the General Directorate of Meteorology (DGM).

But in September, torrential rains triggered floods in southern parts of Morocco, killing at least 28 people, according to authorities.

The rare heavy rains come as the North African kingdom grapples with its worst drought in nearly 40 years, threatening its economically crucial agriculture sector.

Neighboring Algeria saw similar rain and flooding in early September, killing six people.

North African countries currently rank among the world's most water-stressed, according to the World Resources Institute, a non-profit research organization.

The kingdom's meteorological agency described the recent massive rainfall as "exceptional".

It attributed it to an unusual shift of the intertropical convergence zone -- the equatorial region where winds from the northern and southern hemispheres meet, causing thunderstorms and heavy rainfall.

The sun sets behind the dunes at Yasmina lake, a seasonal lake in the village of Merzouga in the Sahara desert in southeastern Morocco on October 20, 2024. (AFP)

- 'Climate change' -

"Everything suggests that this is a sign of climate change," Fatima Driouech, a Moroccan climate scientist, told AFP. "But it's too early to say definitively without thorough studies."

Driouech emphasized the importance of further research to attribute this event to broader climate trends.

Experts say climate change is making extreme weather events, such as storms and droughts, more frequent and intense.

In Morocco's south, the rains have helped partially fill some reservoirs and replenish groundwater aquifers.

But for those levels to significantly rise, experts say the rains would need to continue over a longer period of time.

The rest of the country is still grappling with drought, now in its sixth consecutive year, jeopardizing the agricultural sector that employs over a third of Morocco's workforce.

Tourists take pictures at Yasmina lake, a seasonal lake in the village of Merzouga in the Sahara desert in southeastern Morocco on October 20, 2024. (AFP)

Jean Marc Berhocoirigoin, a 68-year-old French tourist, said he was surprised to find Yasmina Lake replenished. "I hadn't seen these views for 15 years," he said.

Water has also returned to other desert areas such as Erg Znaigui, about 40 kilometers south of Merzouga, AFP reporters saw.

While the rains have breathed life into Morocco's arid southeast, Driouech warns that "a single extreme event can't bring lasting change".

But last week, Morocco's meteorological agency said such downpours could become increasingly frequent, "driven partly by climate change as the intertropical convergence zone shifts further north".