Hopeful studies

As we wait for our new coop setup to have the desired effects for our chickens and their eggs, we have been reading some hopeful studies.

The first one, Home-Raised Chicken Egg PFAS Testing and Exploratory Evaluation Exposure Pathways, observes 2 chicken flocks in Maine and shows that PFAS levels can decrease quickly after the chicken inputs are clean of PFAS. For one of the flocks PFOS levels are down about threefold after a month of confining the chickens on a layer of clean soil. This is great news; however there seem to be seasonal factors at play as well, and the PFAS levels rebound after a year. Perhaps the new layer of soil was no longer protective and/or it was mixed with the original soil by the continuous scratching and pecking of the chickens? Another factor could be worms making their way into the clean soil along with seasonal patterns for worms.

We have reached out to the author to find out if there have been any follow-up studies and ask for feedback on our approach. In any case, the fact that PFAS levels came down so quickly after controlling the chickens' inputs is a strong sign of hope that our approach might prove effective.

The Maine study refers to an earlier study conducted in Australia:  Evaluation of Residues in Hen Eggs After Exposure of Laying Hens to Water Containing PFAS. This study shows half-life values in PFAS in eggs of around 4 days after remediation!

If these half-life values are indicative of our chicken flock and eggs, we could see our very high PFOS levels of up to 32 ng/kg go down by a factor of 10 or more within 2 weeks or so. This could mean that our eggs are already at reasonable levels and ready for consumption. We are collecting samples so we will find out soon where we stand.