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    Riesiger Rechenfehler im Schwarzplastik-Studium korrigiert; Autoren sagen, es spielt keine Rolle


    Riesiger Rechenfehler im Schwarzplastik-Studium korrigiert; Autoren sagen, es spielt keine Rolle

    https://arstechnica.com/health/2024/12/huge-math-error-corrected-in-black-plastic-study-authors-say-it-doesnt-matter/

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    6 Comments

    1. evilfitzal on

      >Editors of the environmental chemistry journal Chemosphere have posted an eye-catching correction to a study reporting toxic flame retardants from electronics wind up in some household products made of black plastic, including kitchen utensils. The study sparked a flurry of media reports a few weeks ago that urgently implored people to ditch their kitchen spatulas and spoons.

      >Specifically, the authors estimated that if a kitchen utensil contained middling levels of a key toxic flame retardant (BDE-209), the utensil would transfer 34,700 nanograms of the contaminant a day based on regular use while cooking and serving hot food. The authors then compared that estimate to a reference level of BDE-209 considered safe by the Environmental Protection Agency. The EPA’s safe level is 7,000 ng—per kilogram of body weight—per day, and the authors used 60 kg as the adult weight (about 132 pounds) for their estimate. So, the safe EPA limit would be 7,000 multiplied by 60, yielding 420,000 ng per day. That’s 12 times more than the estimated exposure of 34,700 ng per day.

      >However, the authors missed a zero and reported the EPA’s safe limit as 42,000 ng per day for a 60 kg adult. The error made it seem like the estimated exposure was nearly at the safe limit, even though it was actually less than a tenth of the limit.

      >”[W]e miscalculated the reference dose for a 60 kg adult, initially estimating it at 42,000 ng/day instead of the correct value of 420,000 ng/day,” the correction reads. “As a result, we revised our statement from ‘the calculated daily intake would approach the U.S. BDE-209 reference dose’ to ‘the calculated daily intake remains an order of magnitude lower than the U.S. BDE-209 reference dose.’ We regret this error and have updated it in our manuscript.”

    2. Splunge- on

      > a math error that put the estimated risk from kitchen utensils off by an order of magnitude. […] Authors say it doesn’t matter.

      Oh sure. Underestate my income by an order of magnitude and the IRS is *all over me*.

    3. rzr-12 on

      Lawsuits coming from black plastic manufacturers? Seems like a lot of money at stake.

    4. surnik22 on

      It both matters and doesn’t matter.

      They were wrong that you are much further away from being at “dangerous levels” of the chemicals they were talking about by EPA standards and you probably don’t need to throw away all your utensils.

      But also the “safe” levels are just “safer” levels and ideally you ingest non of it, so using stainless steel or wooden utensils is still a better bet if you are getting new utensils.

    5. dethb0y on

      I basically agree with the study authors, here. “less bad” isn’t the same as “good for you”, after all.

    6. escapefromelba on

      How does this even happen?  Were they such in a rush to publish their findings that they didn’t even think, “hey maybe we should double check our work?”

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