Does your snug fluoroelastomer smartwatch band include poisonous chemical substances that would switch by your pores and skin and trigger eventual well being points? A scientific examine suggests sure, however smartwatch manufacturers like Apple and Google reassured me in any other case — not less than about their straps.
Late final 12 months, the nonprofit American Chemical Society posted a damning and regarding report, “Presence of Perfluorohexanoic Acid in Fluoroelastomer Watch Bands,” by Wicks et al., suggesting that the majority widespread watch bands from the previous few years have excessive ranges of PFAS and PFHxA compounds with potential adversarial well being results to the liver, thyroid, and different organs, in addition to most cancers.
The information made the rounds on shopper tech websites, and most readers had cause to fret: fluoroelastomer is among the commonest band supplies for mainstream watches, together with silicone.
Nonetheless, the examine did not say which smartwatch straps they examined had poisonous chemical substances, besides that they bought 22 bands “throughout quite a few manufacturers and value factors” from Amazon and Finest Purchase in 2023 and that 13 of the 22 examined bands have been marketed to include fluoroelastomer.
I received my arms on the complete paywalled report, which reveals how they used particle-induced gamma-ray emission and liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry to find out which bands contained fluoride, PFAS, or PFHxA chemical substances. The primary is an anticipated ingredient in fluoroelastomer bands; the latter two are doubtless harmful if ingested.
Of the 13 bands marketed as fluoroelastomer, seven had vital PFAS/ PFHxA chemical concentrations, whereas six had none or safely negligible concentrations. Of the opposite 9 — doubtless utilizing silicone or different widespread strap supplies — solely one had excessive PFAS/ PFHxA concentrations, and its excessive fluoride share suggests it is likely to be a fluoroelastomer band in disguise.
What does this inform us? Fluoroelastomer bands aren’t inherently harmful as a result of some manufacturers take away or keep away from utilizing dangerous chemical substances of their manufacturing. The issue is {that a} majority of manufacturers do not hassle to take action, both out of negligence or ignorance of the implications. And we do not know which manufacturers these are.
Will your fluoroelastomer band truly make you sick?
Ingesting or inhaling PFAS compounds is harmful, however most individuals aren’t going to eat their smartwatch straps. The query is whether or not or not “dermal absorption” of those chemical substances is probably going over years of sporting your smartwatch.
The crew behind this ACS report can solely reply this query vaguely as a result of “dermal absorption of PFAS is poorly described” in just a few scant research. However as a result of individuals put on smartwatches for 12+ hours per day, it “poses a possibility for vital switch to the dermis and subsequent human publicity.”
They particularly counsel that the “further sweat contact and open pores and skin pores” brought on by sporting health smartwatches for exercises might pose an extra threat — although fortunately, many health watches default to sweat-wicking silicone or nylon bands.
The examine cites assessments on mice that point out PFAS and PFHxA will finally take in into your organs and bloodstream if positioned on the pores and skin. An “in vitro human pores and skin equal mannequin” absorbed “greater than 50% of a PFHxA publicity dose.”
Regardless of all this fearful language, it stays educated conjecture, not a certainty. It is unclear how a lot PFAS and PFHxA will truly switch into your physique over time and whether or not it might ever attain excessive sufficient ranges to pose a well being threat.
The examine itself concludes that the findings “spotlight a vital want for a extra complete publicity examine of PFHxA that arises from fluoroelastomer watch bands worn on human pores and skin.” They by no means conclude a direct correlation between sporting a fluoroelastomer band and getting sick.
Some fluoroelastomer bands have poisonous chemical substances, however we do not know whether or not they truly switch by your pores and skin, or if it is sufficient to trigger long-term hurt.
A related parallel to this fear-inducing examine is the current panic over black plastic cooking utensils and pans with excessive ranges of flame retardants (by way of the New York Occasions), with proof suggesting that these chemical substances might leach into your meals over time, particularly within the presence of excessive cooking temperatures and oils.
That report in all probability led to some mass-dumping of black plastic spatulas, but it surely arose later in 2024 that the scientists had made a math error that magnified the problem by 10X, making it look worse than it was. And really, the one method that the retardants will switch to your meals in vital portions is in case you go away your spatula sitting in scorching oil for minutes at a time, which most individuals naturally would not do.
My level is you possibly can definitely exchange your fluoroelastomer band; there are such a lot of watch band options like silicone, nylon, metallic, and leather-based, in case you’re involved. Nonetheless, till there’s concrete proof of the charge or impression of dermal PFAS/PFHxA absorption in people, you should not panic in regards to the years you’ve got spent sporting a fluoroelastomer strap.
Plus, your fluoroelastomer band could not have any PFAS or PFHxA chemical substances to start with!
Manufacturers like Apple and Google say their bands are protected
I emailed my contacts at Apple, Google, and Samsung about this report, asking if they’ve any touch upon the findings, if their prospects have cause to change bands, and if they will change any manufacturing processes sooner or later.
Samsung has but to get again to me, however Apple and Google readily shared white papers indicating that they are already conscious of the potential risks and proactively take away PFAS from their smartwatch bands.
“Pixel Watch bands meet trade requirements with regard to PFAS,” Google advised Android Central. “We proactively restrict PFAS in our merchandise and are dedicated to minimizing PFAS past what’s required by regulation.” Its white paper references PFAS, saying it might keep away from “detectable ranges” or as much as 25 ppb of the compound in any system.
Apple’s assertion echoes Google’s, and the corporate shared its 2022 white paper outlining its PFAS coverage.
“Over a decade in the past, we efficiently eradicated two PFAS members — PFAS and PFOA — from our merchandise,” Apple advised Android Central. “Apple has been working to section out PFAS from all our merchandise and manufacturing processes, which incorporates partaking with all of our provide chain companions and creating safer options.”
I will replace this submit if Samsung responds, however I did discover the Samsung Electronics Requirements for Management of Substances utilized in merchandise, which lists PFAS in its “Probably Threat Substances” and PFHxA in its “Restricted Substances” record with a 25㎍/kg most; nevertheless, it lists July 2026–2027 because the implement date, so it is potential that it has been (or is at present) utilized in “pores and skin contact textiles.”
On the very least, it is comforting that the largest smartwatch manufacturers have acknowledged the risks of poisonous compounds in smartwatch straps and brought steps to take away them. It is potential that two of the PFAS-free fluoroelastomer bands within the 2023 examine got here from the Apple Watch S9 and Pixel Watch 2.
In case your Android watch comes from one other model, I nonetheless urge you to not fear prematurely. However most manufacturers supply a simple method to swap out straps in case you do not wish to stress about it, and we do have guides on different bands — like Galaxy Watch 7 bands — if you wish to store round.
