On this edition of Your Call’s One Planet Series, we’ll discuss the health effects of fluorinated chemicals called PFAS. These chemicals have been linked to cancer, reproductive and immune system harm, and other diseases. PFAS are found in air, fish, soil, water and our blood, and according to the Environmental Working Group, PFAS have now been detected in nearly 2,800 communities, including 2,411 drinking water across the country.
According to reports, 3M and DuPont learned about alarming patterns of birth defects and cancers in their own workers at PFAS plants in the 1970s and 1980s, but both companies smothered the evidence. Why haven't the EPA and state agencies cracked down on these companies and the chemicals they produce?
Guests:
Dr. David Bond, associate director of the Center for the Advancement of Public Action at Bennington College
Robert Sussman, former EPA deputy administrator and senior policy counsel to the EPA Administrator
Web Resources:
The Guardian: Lethal ‘forever chemicals’ taint our food, water and even blood. The EPA is stalling
Center for Environmental Health
The New York Times: How Chemical Companies Avoid Paying for Pollution
The Guardian : Revealed: more than 120,000 US sites feared to handle harmful PFAS ‘forever’ chemicals
The Environmental Working Group: EWG study: Almost 42,000 sources of toxic 'forever chemicals' could be polluting surface or drinking water across the U.S.
The Washington Post: Biden administration moves to curtail toxic ‘forever chemicals’
The Guardian: Toxic ‘forever chemicals’ contaminate indoor air at worrying levels, study finds