The magazine l’Equipe reveals that a fluoride product spread on skis to go faster is dangerous for health.
- Perfluorides are generally used in competition, but some individuals also use them.
- In France, wearing a gas mask is compulsory when handling these products.
The first ski resorts opened their doors during the All Saints holidays, and the various ski areas take over until the beginning of December to welcome winter sports enthusiasts. To go faster on the slopes, it is possible to “wax” his skis or his snowboard: this consists of applying a product like beeswax. In the world of Nordic ski competition, it is common to use a fluorine substance to wax the skis. The newspaper the team reveals that this product is highly toxic in a long investigation published on its site The Team Explore.
A volatile product, which attaches itself everywhere
These products, called perfluorinated, are sometimes referred to by the acronym PFAS. They have been used since the 1980s in this environment, in particular by technicians responsible for preparing equipment. There are several techniques for applying it, but it is usually heated. According to the teamit is a “poison said to be eternal since neither the body nor the environment know how to get rid of it“.
One of its particularities is its volatility. “It will settle absolutely everywheresays Aurélien Delfosse, editor-in-chief of the team Exploreto France information. If you have a pack of cigarettes that is across the room, there will be fluoride on those cigarettes. When you go out to smoke your cigarettes, you will inhale fluorine at high temperature, since passed through the cigarette, and the more the fluorine is heated, the more dangerous it is.”
Fevers, cancers and strokes
In the newspaper, several technicians tell that the fluoride product has long been used without special precautions or protection. One of them, Stefano Vuerich, says: “dIn the cellar of our hotel, it was smoking, we thought we were in hell. Couldn’t see anything inside the room However, the newspaper notes several cases of cancer or stroke in this sporting environment, but not only. In 2010, during the French snowboarding cup, three employees of the French Ski School were hospitalized because of high fevers. They spent their day waxing skis in an unventilated room, using fluoride. Doctors diagnose polymer fever.”This fever presents exactly like the flu, you have a runny nose, you have a headache for several days, a sore throat. In fact, you are contaminated with fluoride“, explains Aurélien Delfosse.
An upcoming ban
In 2020, the International Ski Federation wanted to ban the use of perfluorinated compounds in these different disciplines, but the health crisis postponed this decision. The ban on fluoride wax during competitions should soon come into force.
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