Big Picture Science: Some Chemicals are Forever
As their name
suggests, “forever chemicals” have extraordinary staying power. When these
nearly indestructible compounds find their way into our soil and water, they
don’t break down for hundreds or thousands of years. PFAS – the name for these
synthetic chemicals – isn’t just in our natural environment. Scientists have
found it everywhere, including in the blood of nearly every living being.
In this
episode, we talk to the reporter who broke open the story about a decades-long
corporate coverup regarding forever chemicals, look at what we know about their
health effects, and consider how a kneecapping of the EPA’s regulatory power
may weaken the best tool we have for protecting ourselves from PFAS
contamination.
Guests:
- Nathaniel Rich – Author of “Second Nature: Scenes from a World Remade,” and the New York Times Magazine article, “The Lawyer Who Became Dupont’s Worst Nightmare”
- Rachel Frazin – Energy and Environment Policy reporter for The Hill, co-author of “Poisoning the Well: How Forever Chemicals Contaminated America”
- Janet McCabe – visiting professor at the Robert McKinney School of Law at Indiana University, former deputy administrator of the United States Environmental Protection Agency
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