Researchers claim they have discovered an airborne toxin in the United States for the first time ever, and we don’t know its lasting effects.
A new study from researchers at the University of Colorado Boulder included a shocking revelation. According to this new paper, published in ACS Environmental Au, researchers detected an unexpected airborne toxin in US air for the first time.
The toxins in question are known as Medium Chain Chlorinated Paraffins (MCCPs). These toxins are considered toxic organic pollutants, and this is the first time they’ve been discovered in the air in the Western Hemisphere. The reason these toxins are considered organic is because they tend to be found around wastewater.
As a result, these airborne toxins can end up being released when wastewater is removed from liquid in a treatment plant. It can also end up in biosolid fertilizer, which is likely the reason that the researchers detected it, as they were set up near fields that utilize the fertilizer to help grow its crops.
The researchers say they can’t guarantee that is where the toxins came from.
