FROM J C

Drip, drip! A new study published in the Journal Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety this week, titled “Wearing face masks as a potential source for inhalation and oral uptake of inanimate toxins – A scoping review.” Hint: It’s not too good for mask maniacs.

The study was a “scoping review” that examined the potential toxic effects of face masks on human health by rounding up other studies. Researchers analyzed twenty-four relevant studies, focusing on the content and release into people’s bodies of known toxic substances from face masks.

Especially extended mask wearing.

The scientists found evidence of concerning levels of several toxic substances in face masks, including:

Microplastics and nanoplastics

Volatile organic compounds (VOCs)

Phthalates and phthalate esters

Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS)

Heavy metals (lead, cadmium, cobalt, copper, antimony)

Titanium dioxide particles

Coincidentally, I’m sure, microplastics were in the headlines this week thanks to a different study by completely different researchers:

https://thehill.com/homenews/4854932-super-small-pieces-of-plastic-are-invading-human-brains-scientists-say/?

These researchers found that a half a percent of autopsied brain matter from “normal individuals” aged 45-50 were made out of plastic. That is double the amount of brain plastic from autopsies conducted in 2016. Nobody has connected the dots to masking.

Call it mask brain. In passing, the toxic mask study mentioned chronic “mask-induced exhaustion syndrome” (MIES), which looks increasingly suspicious after combining the two studies.

Anyway, the mask study concluded that, while masks can helpfully filter large particles, they may less helpfully introduce toxic substances into folks’ airways and gastrointestinal tracts:

Even more remarkable than a negative mask study being published at all, the researchers didn’t even have to say the magic words! Just the opposite: “On top of that,” the researchers noted, “there was and still is no empirical evidence for the effectiveness of the masks in limiting the spread of viruses in the general populace.”

Ouch!

Four years later, the embargo against real science related to face masking is finally over. Somebody tell the holdouts.