Author: stephk

And Where to Find Forever Chemical Testing Equipment

Per-and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are chemicals that are used in a variety of products such as cookware and packaging. Commonly, they are used for coating purposes because they are highly resistant to water, grease, oil, and other substances that may cause a stain. PFAS chemicals are also highly resistant to heat, which is why they are used in the production of non-stick cookware.

At the time of its introduction in the mid-1940s, nonstick cookware was hailed as a revolutionary product that took the industry – and housewives – by storm. No longer did people have to deal with eggs or other food products sticking to their pans and causing a huge mess for whoever was on dish duty. The same nonstick coating on cookware also had numerous consumer applications in a wide array of products.

However, it was later discovered that the chemicals used in the creation of these coatings were highly toxic and would take hundreds of years to break down and dissolve in the environment. These are known today as “forever chemicals.” Once it was discovered that forever chemicals were harmful, government regulators got far more involved and class action lawsuits spiked, many of which were aimed at the original manufacturers of the nonstick coating product.

Where Can I Find PFAS Chemicals?

There are numerous reasons why PFAS chemicals are so dangerous to humans, animals, and wildlife. The first is that because forever chemicals are found in so many different common household products, including but not limited to:

• Clothing
• Food packaging
• Cookware
• Cosmetics
• Electronics
• Construction materials, including paints, solvents, and varnishes
• Furniture
• Textiles
• Cleaning supplies

One of the most alarming statistics is that more than 2,800 locations throughout the nation are known to be contaminated by forever chemicals. The areas that are most compromised are Michigan, Virginia, Alabama, California, and the entire northeast section of the country. These areas all have reported issues with PFAS chemicals in their drinking water.

What Are the Effects of PFAS Chemicals?

The second big issue surrounding PFAS chemicals is that once these chemicals are introduced to the environment, it’s nearly impossible to undo the damage. Forever chemicals do not naturally break down in soil, nor do they dissolve naturally in water. This means that when forever chemicals enter a river, they will travel for miles throughout the country and contaminate anything they encounter – until manual human intervention.

Studies on the effects of PFAS have revealed numerous health impacts, even in small doses. Some of the most relevant health concerns include:

• Pregnancy complications and birth defects
• Issues with thyroid function and other hormonal disorders or endocrine dysfunction
• Liver complications
• Compromised immune system
• Higher risk for various forms of cancer (kidney, liver, pancreatic, and testicular)
• Increased cholesterol

Clearly, forever chemicals are a tremendous public health risk.

How to Avoid PFAS Chemicals

The best way to avoid PFAS entering your system via drinking water is to live in an area that isn’t dealing with contamination issues. States such as Wyoming, Nebraska, Iowa, North Dakota, Idaho, Oregon, Nevada, and Utah have virtually no reports of contaminated drinking water. However, it’s not always realistic for people to relocate to another part of the country.

Keeping that in mind, there are other means to mitigate the effects of PFAS by steering clear of them. They include:

• Avoiding products that use PFAS in their packaging, such as fast-food products or processed foods. Sticking with home-made meals with organic, ethically sourced ingredients is your best bet.
• Only use cast iron pans and cookware that doesn’t use non-stick chemicals.
• Always check that your products don’t contain PFAS. Avoid anything with “fluoro” in the name on the list of ingredients.
• Contact your water supplier about testing for PFAS, or use a drinking water filter to reduce the PFAS in your water.
• Consider purchasing your own forever chemical testing equipment for your household.

Where to Find PFAS Testing Equipment

Unfortunately, finding PFAS testing equipment that’s affordable and reliable isn’t something that can be accomplished at your local Walmart or Target. The good news is that if you’re reading this blog, there’s no need to look any further than the forever chemical testing equipment manufactured by Elite Robotics.

To provide some background, Elite Robotics got its start as a provider of in-house cannabis and hemp testing equipment for growers and cultivators. Our testing equipment allowed them to test samples of their own crops for cannabinoids and other key metrics without third-party labs. Not only did this save cannabis growers and cultivators time and money, but it also curbed the usage of harmful solvents and chemicals that third-party labs use during cannabis testing.

In light of the PFAS chemicals issue, we are expanding our product capability to include forever chemical testing equipment via our Analyzer product. Our goal is to make it easy and convenient for consumers and manufacturers to purchase reliable and accurate lab equipment. Using our affordable, state-of-the-art equipment, Elite Robotics puts the power of the lab in the palm of your hands.

Learn more about our lab testing equipment by contacting Elite Robotics at (805) 987-6217. Or send us a message directly using our our contact form.

Elite Robotics’ Forever Chemical Testing Kits Can Help You Reduce Your Exposure to These Harmful Substances

Chemistry can be amazing when used correctly. It’s the reason why we have table salt, sunscreen, cleaning products, cosmetics, and a myriad of other everyday products. It also plays a huge role in the food available at grocery stores – both in production and in preserving it.

However, not all chemicals are always good. In fact, there are thousands of chemicals that are harmful to humans, animals, and wildlife. Some of these chemicals are carcinogens. Some contribute to air, land, and water pollution. And many are in items we use around our houses every day.

Some of these chemicals – 4,700 “high persistent chemicals” that don’t naturally occur in nature are called “forever chemicals.” This is because they stay in air and water permanently. They require human intervention to remove them from the environment.

To reduce your exposure to these chemicals, you can take smart, thoughtful steps in your daily life.

What Are Forever Chemicals and Where Are They Found?

Per- and polyfluorinated substances (PFAS) are informally referred to as forever chemicals. PFAS chemicals are highly toxic fluorinated chemicals that never break down or dissolve, hence the moniker. Once forever chemicals are introduced to water or are absorbed into the earth, they will remain there for the foreseeable future. The same can be said for PFAS that are in humans.

The health risks of being exposed to PFAS chemicals include:

• Cancer (most notably, testicular, liver, pancreatic, and kidney cancer)
• Compromised immune system
• Compromised reproductive system
• Harm to hormonal system (most notably, endocrine disruptors)
• Birth defects

Considering the harmful nature of forever chemicals paired with the fact that they don’t break down easily, it’s in everyone’s best interest to avoid them. The problem is that PFAS chemicals are used in thousands of different products and applications, including:

• Various electronics, including smartphones
• Cosmetics and hair care products, including shampoo and nail polish
• Certain non-stick cookware made with polytetrafluoroethylene
• Cardboard and coated paper food packaging (fast food wrappers, pizza boxes, microwave popcorn bags)
• Clothing, furniture, or other textiles that are labeled as water-repellent, stain-resistant, or fire-retardant
• Paints and varnishes
• Cleaning products

How to Avoid PFAS Chemicals

Unfortunately, forever chemicals are in a large variety of products, which means even the most diligent individual may encounter them. According to CHEMTrust, the following are some of the top ways to mitigate your exposure to these forever chemicals.

• Avoid the use of non-stick pans and other forms of non-stick cookware. Cast iron is a safe alternative.
• Avoid fast-food products or processed foods as their packaging likely contains PFAS chemicals. Home-cooked meals are the safest option.
• When purchasing cosmetics or haircare products, check the ingredients list for anything with PTFE or “fluoro” in the name.
• Check your drinking water using a forever chemical testing kit. Use water filters with activated carbon or reverse osmosis membranes to reduce the amount of PFAS present in your tap water.

How to Conduct Forever Chemical Testing at Home

Elite Robotics is best known for providing cannabis growers and cultivators with a reliable way to test their crops to gauge purity level, contaminants, and cannabinoid levels such as THC and CBD. Considering that hemp is still a federally regulated crop that cannot exceed 0.3 percent threshold of THC, having in-house cannabis testing equipment is vital to these growing operations.

However, we realized that our in-house lab testing products were capable of far more beyond the cannabis industry. The Analyzer product from Elite Robotics is fully capable of testing for harmful forever chemicals in everyday products such as cosmetics, food packaging, and even the drinking water that comes out of household faucets.

Because forever chemicals can originate from virtually anywhere, it’s all the more important that the average American has the scientific resources to test for PFAS chemicals to safeguard themselves and their family.

It’s also worth noting that the testing equipment manufactured by Elite Robotics uses no harmful chemicals or solvents, unlike many of the third-party lab testing facilities. This ensures that all testing done by Elite Robotics products is environmentally safe. It also means that you won’t have to wait on a third-party lab to get your results back.

Elite Robotics is making it easier for consumers and manufacturers to test products using our affordable, state-of-the-art equipment and processes. Learn more by contacting Elite Robotics at (805) 987-6217. Or send us a message directly using our contact form.

An Overview of Last Year’s Most Pertinent Cannabis Industry News

As an industry leader in providing cannabis testing equipment to growing and cultivating operations that benefit from in-house labs, Elite Robotics is always keeping an eye on the latest cannabis industry news and developments. After all, cannabis industry growth in any state is determined by one common denominator – legality.

According to Grand View Research, the market size value for the cannabis market in 2022 was $13.2B. Furthermore, they project that the revenue of the cannabis industry in 2030 will be upwards of $40B. These types of projections are why so many are investing in the cannabis industry.

Currently, millions of investment dollars are being put into growing and cultivating, the retail and distribution side, and in cannabis-related technologies, which is where Elite Robotics continues to innovate in the field of cannabis testing equipment.

However, to accurately predict cannabis industry growth, individuals need to keep up with the latest in cannabis industry news. The following are some of the top marijuana reforms and significant pieces of legislation that changed the industry in 2022.

Rhode Island, Missouri, and Maryland Legalize Marijuana

Investing in the cannabis industry in Maryland, Rhode Island, and Missouri is looking like a viable option now that marijuana is legal in these three states for adult use. All users must be at least 21 years of age or older.

Medical Marijuana Legislation Advances

California, Mississippi, Kentucky, Louisiana, Washington D.C., Maine, Virginia, Utah, Tennessee, South Dakota, and Pennsylvania are among the states that are advancing legislation for medical marijuana. However, their respective pushes are all taking different forms.

For instance, Mississippi officially signed off on medical marijuana being fully legalized in Q1 of 2022. Meanwhile, California has amended its existing medical cannabis program so that new localities can participate, thus, expanding the program to more patients. In a similar move, Louisiana nurses are now allowed to officially recommend medical marijuana to those with qualifying conditions.

In 2023, cannabis industry growth is expected to continue as more favorable legislation is passed at the state level for both medical and recreational use.

Criminal Offense Expungement

Although this doesn’t have any direct impact on industry growth, the cannabis industry news pertaining to record sealing and cannabis expungements deserves a mention. Illinois, Colorado, and California have all approved bills that those with eligible cannabis convictions are to have their court records sealed and petitions to expunge records cannot be denied.

Marijuana Testing by Employers

Now that recreational and legal cannabis have been given the green light in several states, it was only a matter of time before legislation on the matter reached the employer/employee level. In recent cannabis industry news, states like Utah and California are curbing discrimination and mitigating the punitive action an employer can take if an employee tests positive for THC during a drug test. However, employees that show up to work under the influence of marijuana are still subject to disciplinary action.

Other Notable Changes

As is the case with many cannabis-related reforms, there were some changes at the state level that are considered one-offs. For instance, in Louisiana, the law now prohibits the police and law enforcement personnel from conducting drug searches based upon the odor of marijuana alone. In Colorado, persons with either an in-state or out-of-state conviction that is related to marijuana can no longer legally be denied professional licensure.

Contact Elite Robotics Today for Reliable Cannabis Testing Equipment

Now that you are up to date on the most important pieces of cannabis industry news, it’s clear that the growth of the cannabis industry is going to continue on an upward trajectory.

If you are on the growing and cultivating side of the cannabis industry, Elite Robotics carries two innovative products that will enable you to perform all your lab testing in-house. The Cannabot line from Elite Robotics consists of two main products. The specimen containment device (SCD) hermetically seals and stores samples until they’re ready to be tested. The analyzer tests your samples, providing easy-to-read metrics pertaining to cannabinoid and purity levels.

Our technology has allowed for several growing and cultivating operations across the country to become less dependent on third-party lab testing facilities. Additionally, our lab testing products don’t use any environmentally harmful solvents or chemicals.

Learn more about our cannabis testing equipment by contacting Elite Robotics at (805) 987-6217. Or send us a message directly using our contact form.

What it Means for the Cannabis Industry and Cannabis Lab Equipment

When people think of the opportunity in the cannabis industry, they usually fall into one of two camps – recreational or medical. Granted, the recreational side of the industry certainly has a devoted following, and the year-over-year growth in revenue for that particular market can’t be ignored. However, the future of the cannabis industry is deeply rooted in the medical side of the industry.

So far, medical researchers have found that cannabis shows promise in treating symptoms relating to the following conditions and disorders:

• ADD/ADHD
• Anxiety
• Appetite loss
• Arthritis
• Certain cancers
• Chronic pain
• Depression
• Diabetes
• GI disorders
• Glaucoma
• Hepatitis C
• High blood pressure
• Inflammation
• Multiple sclerosis
• PTSD
• Seizures

However, the commonality that each one of these medical conditions share in relation to medical marijuana is that more testing needs to be done. Although some medical conditions and their interactions with medical marijuana have been studied more extensively than others, researchers have barely scratched the surface in terms of arriving at concrete conclusions.

Fortunately, the Medical Marijuana and Cannabidiol Research Expansion Act is poised to change the landscape of how research is conducted that involves medical marijuana.

Medical Marijuana and Cannabidiol Research Expansion Act – Main Provisions

Originally introduced into the Senate on February 4th, 2021, the bill has since been passed through the Senate and signed into law by President Biden as of December 2nd, 2022.

The major provisions of the act break down as follows:

• The Drug Enforcement Administration is now required to register both medical researchers and legal suppliers (growers and cultivators) of medical cannabis.
• Suppliers and medical researchers are now able to legally grow, possess, and distribute medical cannabis that’s intended for research.
• Doctors and medical researchers are now legally protected when discussing the benefits and harmful effects of both cannabis and its many different cannabinoids and other derivatives.
• The Attorney General is required to conduct at least one annual review to confirm that an adequate amount of medical marijuana is being produced for testing and research purposes.
• The Department of Health and Human Services is required to investigate any impediments that delay or otherwise hinder medical marijuana research. They are also required to investigate medical marijuana’s merit and utility.

What Does the Bill Mean for the Cannabis Industry?

The rollout of medical marijuana and legalized research marks one of the very few times in this nation’s history that the legal status of a substance has been reversed. Unlike many other recreational drugs, cannabis has shown enough medical merit that the United States government is finally giving the all-clear to conduct real, meaningful research trials.

Over the next decade or so, we should expect the number of research studies and clinical trials to increase substantially now that researchers won’t have any of the previous legal barriers in their way. Additionally, researchers should have no issue getting cannabis now that the onus is on the Attorney General to ensure medical marijuana supplies remain sufficient.

We will also see an immediate rise in the usage of cannabis lab equipment. That includes cannabinoid testing equipment for the purposes of identifying which cannabinoids are most present in cannabis crops as well as hemp lab equipment. The latter is being used for ensuring that CBD products are not exceeding the federal legal threshold of 0.3 percent.

Although CBD certainly has its place in the medical landscape, we fully expect a focal shift towards medical cannabis now that the Medical Marijuana and Cannabidiol Research Expansion Act has fully passed into law.

Contact Elite Robotics for Industry Leading Cannabis Lab Equipment

Growers and cultivators already benefit from having on-site cannabis lab testing equipment that provides fast and accurate results. With the recent change in legal status for medical marijuana, several members in the medical field will have their own need for cannabinoid testing equipment and other technologies that support the research process.

Elite Robotics happens to manufacture two products that support growers and cultivators as well as researchers and scientists. As part of the Cannabot line, the first product is a specimen containment device (SCD) that hermetically seals samples of hemp and cannabis crops until they are ready to be tested. The second device – the analyzer – tests the crop samples and shows key metrics relating to the different types of cannabinoids, purity levels, and other notable attributes.

Unlike third-party labs, the cannabis lab equipment from Elite Robotics uses no harmful solvents or chemicals, which means that all testing is environmentally safe. Additionally, having an in-house lab saves on the time it takes for a third-party lab to process test results.

Learn more about our cannabis testing equipment by contacting Elite Robotics at (805) 987-6217. Or send us a message directly using our contact form.