Latest news with #environmentalcontamination
Yahoo
18-05-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
The US towns that took on 'forever chemical' giants -- and won
No corner of Earth is untouched. From Tibet to Antarctica, so-called "forever chemicals" have seeped into the blood of nearly every living creature. Tainting food, water and wildlife, these toxic substances have been linked to ailments ranging from birth defects to rare cancers. Yet if it weren't for the efforts of residents in two heavily impacted American towns, the world might still be in the dark. In the new book "They Poisoned the World: Life and Death in the Age of Chemicals," investigative journalist Mariah Blake recounts how people in Parkersburg, West Virginia, and Hoosick Falls, New York, blew the whistle on the industrial giants that poisoned them -- and, in the process, forced the world to reckon with per‑ and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS. "We're talking about a class of chemicals that doesn't break down in the environment," Blake tells AFP, calling it the "worst contamination crisis in human history." First developed in the 1930s, PFAS are prized for their strength, heat resistance, and water- and grease-repelling powers. Built on the carbon-fluoride bond -- the strongest in chemistry -- they persist like radioactive waste and accumulate in our bodies, hence the "forever" nickname. Blake's research traces their history, from accidental discovery by a DuPont chemist to modern usage in cookware, clothing, and cosmetics. They might have remained a curiosity if Manhattan Project scientists hadn't needed a coating that could withstand atomic-bomb chemistry, helping companies produce them at scale. - Corporate malfeasance - Industry knew the risks early. Internal tests showed plant workers suffered chemical burns and respiratory distress. Crops withered and livestock died near manufacturing sites. So how did they get away with it? Blake tracks the roots to the 1920s, when reports emerged that leaded gasoline caused psychosis and death among factory workers. In response, an industry-backed scientist advanced a now-infamous doctrine: chemicals should be presumed safe until proven harmful. This "Kehoe principle" incentivized corporations to manufacture doubt around health risks -- a big reason it took until last year for the US to finalize a ban on asbestos. DuPont's own studies warned that Teflon had no place on cookware. But after a French engineer coated his wife's muffin tins with it, a Parisian craze took off -- and an American entrepreneur sold the idea back to DuPont. Soon nonstick pans were flying off shelves, thanks in part to a regulatory gap: PFAS, along with thousands of other chemicals, were "grandfathered" into the 1976 Toxic Substances Control Act and required no further testing. - Massive litigation - The cover-up began to unravel in the 1990s in Parkersburg, where DuPont had for decades been dumping Teflon waste into pits and the Ohio River. The town reaped economic benefits, but female plant workers were having babies with birth defects, a cattle farmer downstream was losing his herd, and residents developed rare cancers. Blake tells the story through "accidental activists." One is Michael Hickey, a preppy insurance underwriter with no interest in politics or the environment. After cancer took his father and friends, he started testing Hoosick Falls's water. Another is Emily Marpe, "a teen mom with a high school education" who saved to buy her family's dream house in upstate New York, only to learn the water flowing from the taps was fouled with PFAS that now coursed through their blood in massive levels. "She knew the science inside out," says Blake, "and became an incredibly articulate advocate." Years of litigation yielded hundreds of millions in settlements and forced DuPont and 3M to phase out two notorious PFAS. But the companies pivoted to substitutes like GenX -- later shown to be just as toxic. Still, Blake argues the tide is turning. France has banned PFAS in many consumer goods, the EU is considering a ban, and in the US, states are moving to restrict PFAS in sludge fertilizer and food packaging. Liabilities linked to the chemicals are driving major retailers from McDonald's to REI to pledge PFAS-free products. Her optimism is tempered by the political climate. Just this week, the Trump administration announced the rollback of federal drinking water standards for four next-generation PFAS chemicals. But she believes the momentum is real. "Ordinary citizens who set out to protect their families and communities have really created this dramatic change," she says. "It's like climate change -- it feels intractable, but here's a case where people have made major headway." ia/acb
The Independent
13-05-2025
- Health
- The Independent
New Jersey says chemical maker 3M agrees to 'forever chemical' settlement worth up to $450M
New Jersey 's attorney general said Tuesday chemical manufacturer 3M agreed to pay up $450 million to resolve lawsuits over natural resource contamination stemming from PFAS — commonly referred to as 'forever chemicals.' The settlement is subject to court approval and a public comment period, Attorney General Matt Platkin's office said. St. Paul, Minnesota-based 3M is expected to pay $285 million this year, with additional amounts payable over the next 25 years. The total amount could reach $450 million, Platkin's office said. 'Corporate polluters must be held accountable when they contaminate our state's water supply," Platkin said in a statement. PFAS, or perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances, are a group of chemicals that have been around for decades and have now spread into the nation's air, water and soil. 3M said in 2022 it would end all PFAS manufacturing by the end of this year. In a statement, the company said it's on track to do so. 'This agreement is another important step toward reducing risk and uncertainty on these legacy issues, allowing 3M to focus on its strategic priorities,' 3M said. PFAS were manufactured by companies such as 3M, Chemours and others because they were incredibly useful. They helped eggs slide across non-stick frying pans, ensured that firefighting foam suffocates flames and helped clothes withstand rain and keep people dry. The chemicals resist breaking down, though, meaning they linger in the environment. Environmental activists say PFAS makers knew about the health harms of PFAS long before they were made public. The same attributes that make the chemicals so valuable – resistance to breakdown – make them hazardous to people. PFAS accumulate in the body, which is why the Environmental Protection Agency set their limits for drinking water at 4 parts per trillion for two common types — PFOA and PFOS — that are phased out of manufacturing but still are present in the environment. The New Jersey settlement stems from 2019 lawsuits at the nearly 1,500-acre (607-hectare) Chambers Works site in Pennsville and Carneys Point and another location in Parlin. The settlement also resolves all other statewide claims in litigation over PFAS in firefighting material used in the state. The lawsuits alleged the companies involved, including 3M, knew about risks from forever chemicals produced at the facilities but continued to sell them. The attorney general said that by agreeing to settle 3M would not go to trial next week in the Chambers Works case. New Jersey's Department of Environmental Protection will use a portion of the settlement funds to 'protect public health, safety and the environment from impacts caused by PFAS,' according to a joint statement from the attorney general and DEP Commissioner Shawn LaTourette.
Associated Press
13-05-2025
- Health
- Associated Press
New Jersey says chemical maker 3M agrees to 'forever chemical' settlement worth up to $450M
TRENTON, N.J. (AP) — New Jersey's attorney general said Tuesday chemical manufacturer 3M agreed to pay up $450 million to resolve lawsuits over natural resource contamination stemming from PFAS — commonly referred to as 'forever chemicals.' The settlement is subject to court approval and a public comment period, Attorney General Matt Platkin's office said. St. Paul, Minnesota-based 3M is expected to pay $285 million this year, with additional amounts payable over the next 25 years. The total amount could reach $450 million, Platkin's office said. 'Corporate polluters must be held accountable when they contaminate our state's water supply,' Platkin said in a statement. PFAS, or perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances, are a group of chemicals that have been around for decades and have now spread into the nation's air, water and soil. 3M said in 2022 it would end all PFAS manufacturing by the end of this year. In a statement, the company said it's on track to do so. 'This agreement is another important step toward reducing risk and uncertainty on these legacy issues, allowing 3M to focus on its strategic priorities,' 3M said. PFAS were manufactured by companies such as 3M, Chemours and others because they were incredibly useful. They helped eggs slide across non-stick frying pans, ensured that firefighting foam suffocates flames and helped clothes withstand rain and keep people dry. The chemicals resist breaking down, though, meaning they linger in the environment. Environmental activists say PFAS makers knew about the health harms of PFAS long before they were made public. The same attributes that make the chemicals so valuable – resistance to breakdown – make them hazardous to people. PFAS accumulate in the body, which is why the Environmental Protection Agency set their limits for drinking water at 4 parts per trillion for two common types — PFOA and PFOS — that are phased out of manufacturing but still are present in the environment. The New Jersey settlement stems from 2019 lawsuits at the nearly 1,500-acre (607-hectare) Chambers Works site in Pennsville and Carneys Point and another location in Parlin. The settlement also resolves all other statewide claims in litigation over PFAS in firefighting material used in the state. The lawsuits alleged the companies involved, including 3M, knew about risks from forever chemicals produced at the facilities but continued to sell them. The attorney general said that by agreeing to settle 3M would not go to trial next week in the Chambers Works case. New Jersey's Department of Environmental Protection will use a portion of the settlement funds to 'protect public health, safety and the environment from impacts caused by PFAS,' according to a joint statement from the attorney general and DEP Commissioner Shawn LaTourette.
The Guardian
08-05-2025
- Health
- The Guardian
Canada medical mystery takes twist as study finds no evidence of brain illness
A new peer-reviewed scientific study has found no evidence of a mystery brain disease in the Canadian province of New Brunswick, suggesting instead a troubling combination of 'misdiagnosis and misinformation'. The research comes as the Maritime province prepares its own assessment of more than 220 suspected cases, in the hope of giving families some answers to a medical mystery that has gripped the region for years. The report published on Wednesday in the Journal of the American Medical Association, known as Jama, is an independent reassessment of 25 cases diagnosed by Moncton-based neurologist Alier Marrero from within the broader sample of 222 patients. The authors, affiliated with the University of Toronto, New Brunswick's Horizon health network and other Canadian institutions, found that those within the cohort were misdiagnosed and had common neurodegenerative diseases, such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's, functional neurological disorder, traumatic brain injury and metastatic cancer. The findings, however, are unlikely to tamp down speculation from families that the report once again ignores their suspicions of environmental contamination in the region. Health officials in New Brunswick first warned in 2021 that more than 40 residents were suffering from a possible unknown neurological syndrome, with symptoms similar to those of the degenerative brain disorder Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease. Those cases were referred to Marrero after the initial physicians were initially stumped by the symptoms displayed by their parents. A year later, however, an independent oversight committee created by the province determined that the group of patients had most likely been misdiagnosed and were suffering from known illnesses such as cancer and dementia. A final report from the committee, which concluded there was no 'cluster' of people suffering from an unknown brain syndrome, signalled the end of the province's investigation. But earlier that year, the Guardian reported that a top federal scientist worried there was 'something real going on' in New Brunswick. Another said the investigation 'was shut down' and that caseloads were higher than officially acknowledged. 'I don't think it is helpful to suggest or point to who or why – suffice to say that we were prepared to marshal both financial and human scientific resources to tackle the mystery, but they were declined,' the scientist wrote. According to a February 2025 letter Marrero wrote to federal and provincial officials, seen by the Guardian, the number of patients suffering from unexplained neurological symptoms has since jumped to 507 across New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island Newfoundland, Ontario, Quebec and Alberta. Several under the age of 45. The new study found that 'well-known conditions were identified in all 25 cases, including common neurodegenerative diseases, functional neurological disorder, traumatic brain injury and metastatic cancer,' adding that a study of 11 autopsy cases led to the conclustion that 'a new disease was extremely unlikely, with a probability less than .001'. Patient advocacy groups have rejected the idea of a new 'mystery illness', instead arguing that the cases are linked by environmental contaminants. But the researchers say they do not believe the patients were made ill by exposure to something in the environment, such as herbicides or heavy metals like mercury. They determined that 'misdiagnosis and misinformation become inextricably entwined and amplify harm exponentially', noting that more than half of the people eligible for the study declined to participate. They also blamed 'inaccurate clinical assessments and an over-reliance on ancillary testing' for perpetuating the idea of a 'mystery illness' and said they found 'meaningful discrepancies' in case histories. Marrero said in a statement he is 'in profound disagreement with the study conclusions' and has 'many questions regarding the methods and the content', adding that he was 'appalled' that an investigation with a 'small number' of patients has been conducted without his knowledge. Susan Holt, the province's premier, pledged a fresh and 'thorough' investigation after taking office last last year. 'I think we need to be doing everything we can to shed some light on this and find a way to stop what's making people sick,' she said at the time. New Brunswick's chief medical officer of health Dr. Yves Léger, said in a statement the Jama study doesn't change his office's intention to complete its own investigation into the 222 cases, which Marrero has officially referred to the province. Updates will be posted on the province's new website, and a public report with recommendations is expected in the coming months.
