Using toilet paper may cause cancer, a viral TikTok posted by Queen of Swordz (@thequeenofswordz) suggests. However, The American Forest & Paper Association appears to disagree with the suppositions derived from the information the user included in their video.
The user posted a montage of screenshots with information that includes all of the different chemicals that are used in the preparation of making bathroom tissue. The first page of the slideshow includes a Google search result that reads:
Cocktail of Chemicals in toilet paper:
- Chlorine is used to bleach the paper so that it appears a bright white colour…
- Furans and Dioxins — these highly toxic chemicals are a by-product of the chlorine bleaching process…
- Formaldehyde is used to strengthen the paper when wet to prevent it breaking down.
It’s the second slide in the montage reads: “Yes, toilet paper can contain chemicals that have been linked to cancer,” before it goes on to expound upon “forever chemicals” such as per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, which are usually referred to as PFAS.
Can toilet paper really cause cancer?
According to the National Cancer Institute, there have been correlations found between PFAS exposure and cancer along with a litany of other conditions: “Higher kidney cancer incidence and mortality have been observed among individuals with high PFOA exposures from employment in a PFAS-producing chemical plant or residence in the surrounding community with contaminated drinking water.”
However, the institute was sure to mention that these cancer risk levels haven’t been contextualized in the scope of a “general population” when it comes to PFAS and the risk of kidney cancer.
Healthline went on to specify that the PFAS inside of toilet paper was being released into “wastewater systems” and went on to say that while PFAS are “suspected of contributing to an array of health issues from cancer to infertility to liver disease,” research on the subject is ultimately “not conclusive.”
The outlet spoke with Dr. Katie Pelch of the National Resources Defense Council, who didn’t state that wiping with toilet paper will spiral into you having to undergo chemotherapy, but that drinking water containing PFAS might: “Exposure to PFAS through drinking water puts people’s health at risk. Groundwater can also be used for agricultural uses and it has been shown that plants, including crops, can take up PFAS, so food in the diet is another potential source of PFAS exposure.”
So how is PFAS getting into toilet paper? The University of Florida Professor Timothy Townsend, who authored the study looking into this chemical getting into the toilet paper supply, said it boils down to manufacturing processes: “We believe it comes from the pulping process and is put on instruments to keep paper from sticking.”
He went on to add that the chemical is found in toilet paper “at parts per billion levels,” and “are most likely contaminants that arise from the packaging and/or manufacturing process.”
Researchers also went on to say that there could be other factors at play, namely other “consumer products” that could be contributing to the levels of PFAS being found in water supplies. Townsend stated that he didn’t believe “wastewater treatment plant[s] or…landfill[s]” was necessarily the problem, stating that this supposition was “misconstrued.”
The American Forest & Paper Association appears to have rejected this theory for two primary reasons.
The first is that, according to the group, “PFAS…is not used in the manufacture of toilet paper, or in the production of other tissue products in the United States.”
The organization went on to say that the study itself “fails to acknowledge that PFOA [the most studied PFAS] is widespread in the environment.”
Which means that we’re coming into contact with PFAS every single day. So you’re at no greater risk of getting cancer from using toilet paper than you are from…simply existing on planet Earth, the AFPA seems to indicate.
TikToker gives advice
If you are worried about potentially interacting with PFAS in your toilet paper, The Queen of Swordz’s TikTok went on to give some helpful advice on how to avoid PFAS products, by specifically looking for items that don’t have “perfluor-, polyfluor-, and PTFE on the label.”
According to the screenshot posted in their video, they also stated staying away from “waterproof or stain-resistant” clothing is another way for folks to keep themselves away from PFAS, even if the EPA says that it exists everywhere.
Numerous TikTokers who responded to the video seemed irate, with one individual commenting, “They’re making us pay 10 f*cking dollars for six rolls of poison.”
Another person echoed this sentiment, writing, “They’re literally poisoning us and getting soooo rich.”
One user who seemed overwhelmed with the video, simply wrote, “Bruh what we supposed to use then.”
The Daily Dot has reached out to The Queen of Swordz via TikTok comment and the American Forest & Paper Association via email.
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