We Agree to Fluoro-Free!
The Loppet Fluoro Take-Back Program
Daniel Luoma
Editor’s Note: Dan Luoma has coached skiing with the Loppet Foundation in Minneapolis for more than a decade. Dan also ski-raced in high school, college, and at many of the large ski marathons in the upper Midwest. He has also been a ski salesperson at Joe’s Sporting Goods in the Twin Cities. His career as an Environmental Analyst for Pace Analytical informed his thinking about chemical exposures. Having seen how polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are handled in industrial environments, Dan changed his mind about the Fluoro ski wax he used. Now Dan is a student at the University of Minnesota School of Public Health. His experiences have motivated him to start the Loppet Fluoro Take-Back Program with the aim of reducing harm to human health and the environment posed by PFAS.
[This story will appear in the March issue print edition of Silent Sports Magazine]
Conceding the Fluoro Attraction
Skiing is my heritage. In many ways, cross-country, downhill, and water skiing define me, the feeling from all so freeing that I smile just thinking about it. Until recently, my love of skiing equated largely to my love of Fluoro ski wax. My career in chemistry informed me of the modern marvels of Per- and Poly- Alkyl Substances (PFAS), Fluoro wax among them. I swore by the performance Fluoro could add, craving that thrill of unnatural speed.
Unlike many, my work in the chemical industry demanded precautions when working with Fluoro fumes and dusts directly. Much of what we know about how PFAS affects human health is based on workplace exposures. Please go to cdc.gov/niosh/topics/pfas/default.html, where you canread details about PFAS’ impact on the environment and human health.
So, love has its price.
Fluoro is expensive, especially the pure product. Some bans on Fluoro aim at tempering any advantage for those who would buy the best stuff. But this also makes Fluoro seem exclusive, only for those skiers “all in” at a particular race. Sharing my advantage, I have waxed friends’ skis with Fluoro for races, thinking I wasn’t putting them at risk. Of course, I was. I admit that I was in denial of what I already knew was true. When I worked at PFAS chemical plants, everything that touched production gas was treated as hazardous. And then I’d go home and wax Fluoros for the next ski race. A 2021 survey of the U.S. Ski and Snowboard community found a large fraction of skiers are exposed to Fluoro by use. Check out:
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0013935122016620?via=ihub
And then the next ski race was the 2022 American Birkebeiner.
The ABSF had enacted a Fluoro ban on their trail system the previous year. But I was not yet deterred from Fluoro use. I tried to rationalize away my need to comply with policy, that my personal impact didn’t count. The boogeyman of the Fédération Internationale de Ski (FIS) Fluoro ban seemed an ocean away.
Except in 2022, the Birkie announced its intent to test skis for Fluoro.
Breaking Away
The fear of being caught cheating was enough to coax my adherence. I felt foolish buying Fluoro-free wax that I expected to be slower than what I already had. With sheer amazement, I found my race skis to be lasers! For me, the new Fluoro-free product performed indistinguishably well from Fluoro wax products. I began to question my choices of wax.
At the School for Public Health (see Editor’s Note), I learned we can only make healthy choices if we’re presented with healthy options. Working at a ski shop, I found my role as a salesperson was to present wares as choices — each product with its own features and benefits. I advised skiers on equipment, clothing, trails, technique, and wax. Ergo, ski shops embody the heritage of the sport, encouraging the healthy choice to get out and ski.
However, Fluoro is now part of that heritage.
As part of ski shops’ role in the ski community, they have offered access to wax products integral to skiing. Many times, ski shops are informed about products solely by sales representatives’ statements on their features and benefits. Fluoro has been an easy sell: the feature is Fluoro; the benefit is speed.
Swix is the biggest in the ski wax market. I encourage you to take the free online wax training for the Responsible Waxing Project. Check out:
It shows how the largest company is talking about Fluoro, after retiring it. Yes, all of the major wax manufacturers have halted production of Fluoro wax, opting for other additives in race products. Any Fluoro on shop shelves right now represents leftover stockpiles, sold at clearance prices.
Yet the Issues Remain
Leftover Fluoro products for sale are problematic for groups that manage trails and races. The Loppet Foundation has made investments to develop ski trails and programs, ensuring a place for skiers into the future. My role on the Loppet Environmental Action Planning (LEAP) committee is to ensure good stewardship of the trails we ski. Continued Fluoro use does not lead to that end.
With regards to stewardship, the landmark Fluoro study is the Colby College Study:
sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0045653520322736
It describes a cross-country ski race venue under a Fluoro ban. After a ski race, significant PFAS contamination was found in the snow, soil, surface water, and well water. In the interest of good ski trail management, race organizations would be wise to consider the way Fluoro is dispersed into the environment.
Ski wax is made to disperse.
Unlike other PFAS, such as Teflon pans and waterproofed clothing, Fluoro is meant to shed from the ski as it glides. As soon as Fluoro goes on, it starts coming off. This happens by brushing, skiing, or touching the ski base. The highest PFAS concentrations in snow are seen around race start areas, where ski wax is fresh.
Keep in mind, Fluoros are banned at many major races and all United States Ski and Snowboard Association (USSA) sanctioned events. Races are testing, and will continue to test in the future. While Fluoros are being discontinued, they remain on sale and in wax boxes like yours. It might be presumed that those years of accrued supply of Fluoro could find its way into use, one way or another.
Testing Difficulties; Finding Solutions
Testing is a piece of a ban, but expensive and cumbersome. Also, testing skis is difficult because of the low threshold for a positive test. Skis with a high concentration of Fluoros can foul other skis if they touch a shared surface, like snow at the starting line.
The Loppet Foundation announced a Fluoro Ban prior to the 2021/2022 winter season. Our ban was announced on social media, and is listed on our event rules, but broad awareness of the policy wasn’t immediate. Fluoro use, more or less, continued.
The Loppet Fluoro Take-Back Program began in the 2022/2023 winter season. A take-back program reduces the pool of Fluoro that could find its way onto the ski trail. Since bans were first introduced, online forums have listings by skiers selling caches of old Fluoro, going Fluoro-free themselves. But this just passes the buck from one ski community to another; when you collect Fluoros, the right approach is: The buck stops here!
The Loppet Take-Back Program found an initial take-back partner in a ski shop, Midwest Mountaineering. They committed to removing Fluoro from their shelves. As you can imagine, other ski shops have been less forthcoming in doing so. In looking for more take-back partners, I have approached major ski races, ski clubs, and parks departments to offer them to join with the Loppet’s program.
The program includes several important aspects.
- First, the program is inclusive of a Fluoro Ban. This tells people that there is no allowable place to use Fluoros.
- Second, wax take-back is performed by program partners, at their own location. Groups can reach their community where they normally meet, where people might listen.
- Third, take-back materials are accounted for the whole way to destruction. This includes a catalog of surrendered wax, chain-of-custody, and receipt of destruction. Eventually, take-back collection totals and confirmation of incineration will be published.
Fluoro, You, and Going Forward
I ask you, as a skier, to limit the impact Fluoro wax has on our shared ski heritage. Don’t consider skiing on tainted goods. If you have any ski wax with Fluoro, contain it and give it up to a verifiable source for disposal as the hazardous material it is, like the Loppet Fluoro Take-Back. For more information, check out:
http://loppet.org/no-fluoro-policy
Other Fluoro take-back programs exist. I was inspired by mountainFLOW eco-wax’s program in the Spring of 2022. Check out:
http://mountainflow.com/pages/takeback
They have a program where you can mail in Fluoro for a discount off of their biodegradable wax products. mountainFLOW is now partnering under the “We Agree to Fluoro Free” umbrella.
It is important not to hand over Fluoros to someone who might divert them for use, or dispose of them improperly, like in the trash.
Not everyone will be able to accept what needs to be done to address Fluoros. I only recently have gotten there myself. If you see someone in the wax shed using a Fluoro ski wax, fight your instinct to ignore them. Kindly ask them not to add to the Fluoro deposits many of us have laid down already. If you can keep any lasting damage to our ski trails from getting worse, why wouldn’t you act?
Please do what you can to make skiing a safe and healthy sport for generations to come.