Since Purl Wax opened it's doors in Colorado over a decade ago, they have been dedicated to making incredibly fast and durable ski and snowboard wax without the use of toxic PFCs. Check out their recently formulated ICE 9 Wax line which is environmentally friendly, 100% biodegradable and soy free, so it lasts as long as a traditional ski waxes which ares chemically infused with petroleum and other nasty stuff. Purl offers three types of this all natural wax: all temps, cold and slush. Purl Wax is made in the USA and you can find Purl Wax on all Venture Snowboards. Check out the ICE 9 Wax Line at purlracing.com!
We're in the thick of ski and snowboard season, and if you've been hitting the slopes a lot, you've probably had to wax your skis or board at least once. But have you thought about the hazards of the chemicals in your ski wax?
Many high-performance ski waxes used by the pros contain high amounts of perfluorochemicals, or PFCs, and cheaper products used by avid recreational skiers often contain PFCs in lower concentrations. These are the chemicals used in non-stick cookware that have been linked to a number of health issues. While more research is needed, when it comes to our friends who ski a lot, we prefer to take the "better safe than sorry" approach to chemical risk.
The Bad News
PFCs have understandably come under fire for being a potentially serious health concern. One study showed PFCs altered the liver and spleen of rabbits, as well as other less severe changes in the lung and kidney, and found that the PFC particles were retained in vital organs.
Another study involving pregnant rats and mice found PFCs were toxic to the mother, and that the offspring showed developmental problems, including birth defects such as heart defects and swelling of the skin.
It should be noted that in 2006 the EPA concluded that more research is needed before any conclusions can be made about the risks of perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), a specific type of PFC. However, the EPA Web page on PFOA also states that the chemical "is very persistent in the environment" and "remains in people for a very long time."
PFC Hits Your Blood
Two studies out of Sweden have shown that ski technicians are at risk of highly elevated PFC levels in their blood, and that is cause for concern.
The first study tested perfluorocarboxylate (PFCA) blood levels in eight ski wax technicians before, during, and after the 2007/2008 ski season, and researchers found that the median blood level for PFOA was almost 45 times that of the general population (112 ng/mL compared to 2.5 ng/mL). What's more, it appears that there is a correlation between the levels of perfluorocarboxylates in the blood and the number of years working as a ski wax technician.
A follow-up study examining chemicals in the air of the breathing zone of ski wax technicians found that fluorotelomer alcohols (FTOH) - which are a type of PFC that degrade and form PFOA - were 800 times the levels of airborne PFOA. This suggests that biotransformation of FTOH results in internal exposure of PFOA.
While PFCs may pose a risk to human health, they also threaten wildlife. PFCs have been found in the blood of fish, bald eagles and mink, according to the Minnesota Department of Health.
How? Because PFCs are very stable, they don't break down in soil, sediment or groundwater, so any PFC entering the environment will stick around for a long time. That means that any PFC from ski wax that is transferred to the snow surface will probably end up in soil and water sources. Bad news for animals.
The Good News
While PFC-containing ski waxes are coming under fire, there is a silver lining: It might just help raise the profile of PFC-free ski waxes.
Because most companies that produce PFC-free waxes are environmentally conscious, a lot of these products are also petroleum-free and 100 percent natural. We love how green they are - especially when you consider they are in direct contact with nature.
Greenwax is perhaps the most recognizable PFC-free brand. With the tag line "Shred Lightly," Greenwax is embracing ski and eco culture, and their product is about as green as it gets: PFC- and petroleum-free, made with natural ingredients, completely biodegradable, and the packaging is recyclable.
The company's "Team Riders" are ambassadors for the brand, and they include: skiers Mathieu Hulliger and Tyler Snover, and snowboarders Hagen Kearney, Grant Bowen, Kiersten Edwards, and Benji Farrow, who placed fourth in the Half Pipe event at the recent Burton European Open, a World Snowboarding Tour event.
There are lots of other quality eco-friendly waxes out there: Purl waxes, Beaverwaxproducts, Ethica Enviro-Wax and Hillbilly Snowboard Wax by Hillbilly Wax-Works, andEnviro Mountain Sports waxes are just a few of many.
So whether you're a pro, semi-pro, or just an avid skier or boarder who spends every waking moment of winter on the mountain, it's never been a better time to choose eco-friendly ski waxes.
Green Wax just came out with a Base Cleaner 100% CFC/HCFC-free Base Cleaner for skis and snowboards! With zero O-zone inhibitors, it offers a nice alternative to the acetone or mineral spirits you've been inhaling. No citrus, just a proprietary mix that is available in either Gallon jugs or Spray Bottles. This product is only available for wholesale customers at this time.
Along with our friends from Green Wax there is another wax company making headway in the realm of non-toxic, environmentally friendly ski/snowboard waxes. Glide-On Hot Wax is a pure hydrocarbon made of paraffin, microcrystalline, and a specially designed polymer. The three ingredients are melted, mixed together, and poured into molds. Glide-on is non-toxic, environmentally inert, and easily degrades between ski seasons. It does not contain Fluorocarbons (PFC's or PFOA's), Molybdenum, Silicone, or Graphite and it never will. The added polymer makes Glide-on amazingly fast! It's smooth, easy to apply and long-lasting just as it is. Glide-on can safely be heated up to 140 C (284 F) without smoking or vaporizing. But it does not need to be heated that high anyway, so it is safe for waxers. Also, Glide-On is currently looking into using a UV Degradation additive which will accelerate Glide-on Wax's biodegradation and may even make it qualify as "biodegradable" by ASTM Standards.
Here's a fascinating article on harmful chemicals and ski waxes. Bottom line...use PFOA FREE waxes. It's better for the environment and your personal health.
In ski racing, the difference between first and second place can depend on hundredths of a second, so racers grab every advantage they can. Unfortunately, the ski waxes that help athletes shave down their times also expose the people who wax their skis to possibly harmful perfluorochemicals. Now Swedish researchers report that the waxers' bodies may metabolize one common perfluorochemical into perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), which has been linked to adverse health effects (Environ. Sci. Technol., DOI: 10.1021/es101951t).
During racing seasons, professional ski waxers spend long days working together in small, usually poorly ventilated wax huts melting, scraping, and layering wax onto skis as smoke, fumes, and dust fill the air.
Other studies have linked elevated levels of PFOA to numerous health effects, including high cholesterol, reproductive difficulties, and thyroid effects. So Nilsson and colleagues set out to determine the exact source of the ski waxers' exposure.
To track down the PFOA source, they followed eight ski wax technicians from the Swedish and U.S. national cross country ski teams during four 2007–2008 World Cup competitions. In the teams' wax cabins, the researchers collected air and particulate samples using portable air pumps fitted with resin cartridges designed to absorb perfluorochemicals.
When the scientists analyzed the samples with tandem mass spectrometry, they detected some PFOA, but the levels were not large enough to account for the waxers' high blood concentrations.
However, they did find that the cabins accumulated a significant amount of 8:2 fluorotelomer alcohol (8:2 FTOH), which has been shown to metabolize into PFOA in rat studies. On a daily basis, the waxers probably breathe in 800-times more 8:2 FTOH than PFOA, the researchers report. So Nilsson and her team concluded that the source of the ski waxers' elevated PFOA levels was the 8:2 FTOH that they constantly inhaled as they worked.
The scientists do not yet know where the 8:2 FTOH comes from: “We don't know if they are actually in the waxes or if they form during the heating process," says Nilsson. The team has planned more studies to find out.
The study is impressive, says environmental chemist Jonathan Martin at the University of Alberta in Canada, but he thinks that the study hasn't completely pinned down the PFOA source, because other components in the gasses and fumes may also metabolize into PFOA.
Still the team's work has already brought about some changes, Nilsson says: Swedish and Norwegian cross country teams have started providing trucks with ventilation and fume hoods for ski waxers.
Our first post on Snowboard Green covered Green Wax, a company operating in a truly sustainable fashion creating an environmentally conscious product.We thought we should revisit this product as they launched a new website and using Green Wax is probably the easiest and cheapest way a snowboarder can reduce his or her impact on the natural environment.Green Wax is a true universal performance wax made from all natural ingredients. To make a wax that is green, Green Wax had to do a few things differently than the traditional companies. Traditional waxes contain perfluorocarbons (PFCs) and petroleum. PFCs are extremely potent greenhouse gases, with a lifetime up to 50,000 years. A production derivative of PFCs is a chemical known asperfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), which has been linked to lower birth weight in people and animals, liver damage, as well as cancer. These chemical residuals then get left behind on the mountain, combine with runoff water, and penetrate into our waterways. When produced, these waxes are made in large quantities, and extruded with complex machines. This uses excess energy, and creates additional waste. Our wax is made from all natural ingredients containing no PFCs or petroleum. We produce it in small batches to ensure quality and consistency. Each batch is then hand poured directly into our recycled packaging, eliminating the need for molds or extrusion machines. The all-natural mix is formulated to provide pro-level glide, maximum adhesion, and ease of application. When combined, these efforts ensure a clean ride now, and for future generations of riders yet to enjoy the outdoors.
OneBallJay's All Temperature BioGreen Rub-On wax is formulated with natural, sustainable, plant waxes and comes in a recyclable aluminum push up container with cork applicator. Great for stashing in your jacket and applying whenever you need it.
Our first post on Snowboard Green last February covered Green Wax, a company operating in a truly sustainable fashion creating an environmentally conscious product.We thought we should revisit this product as they just launched a sweet new website and using Green Wax is probably the easiest and cheapest way a snowboarder can reduce his or her impact on the natural environment.Green Wax is a true universal performance wax made from all natural ingredients. To make a wax that is green, Green Wax had to do a few things differently than the traditional companies. Traditional waxes contain perfluorocarbons (PFCs) and petroleum. PFCs are extremely potent greenhouse gases, with a lifetime up to 50,000 years. A production derivative of PFCs is a chemical known as perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), which has been linked to lower birth weight in people and animals, liver damage, as well as cancer. These chemical residuals then get left behind on the mountain, combine with runoff water, and penetrate into our waterways. When produced, these waxes are made in large quantities, and extruded with complex machines. This uses excess energy, and creates additional waste. Our wax is made from all natural ingredients containing no PFCs or petroleum. We produce it in small batches to ensure quality and consistency. Each batch is then hand poured directly into our recycled packaging, eliminating the need for molds or extrusion machines. The all-natural mix is formulated to provide pro-level glide, maximum adhesion, and ease of application. When combined, these efforts ensure a clean ride now, and for future generations of riders yet to enjoy the outdoors. To purchase go to greenskiwax.com.
Green Waxis a TRUE Universal performance wax made from all natural ingredients. To make a wax that is Green, Green Wax had to do a few things differently than the traditional companies. Traditional waxes contain perfluorocarbons (PFCs) and petroleum. PFCs are extremely potent greenhouse gases, with a lifetime up to 50,000 years. A production derivative of PFCs is a chemical known as perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), which has been linked to lower birth weight in people and animals, liver damage, as well as cancer. These chemical residuals then get left behind on the mountain, and penetrate into our waterways. When produced, these waxes are made in large quantities, and extruded with complex machines. This uses excess energy, and creates additional waste. Our wax is made from all natural ingredients containing no PFCs or petroleum. We produce it in small batches to ensure quality and consistency. Each batch is then hand poured directly into our recycled packaging, eliminating the need for molds or extrusion machines. The all-natural mix is formulated to provide pro-level glide, maximum adhesion, and ease of application. When combined, these efforts ensure a clean ride now, and for future generations of riders yet to enjoy the outdoors.Find out more at www.greenskiwax.com!
