https://www.cbc.ca/news/science/pfas-3m-dupont-study-1.6862883Industry knew about risks of PFAS 'forever chemicals' for decades before push to restrict them, study says
Makers of PFAS, a class of chemicals used in everything from cookware to food containers and makeup, had evidence the substances were toxic as early as the 1970s and obscured the danger, according to a new study based on industry archives held at the University of California.
Governments in Canada and the U.S. are now cracking down on per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), a class of more than 9,000 human-made chemicals produced since the 1940s. They have unique properties that make them heat-resistant, oil- and water-repellent and friction-resistant, and are found in products from cosmetics and take-out boxes to non-stick cookware and fire suppressants.
PFAS are called forever chemicals because they're so persistent. They've been found in water bodies all over Canada and the U.S.
Because they're hard to break down, contamination from the long-lived substances — sometimes called "forever chemicals" — is extensive all over North America.
"It's really very sad, actually, how people were harmed by this chemical while the industry knew — had documents that showed they knew — it was toxic," said Tracey Woodruff, professor of reproductive health and the environment at the University of California, San Francisco
The internal industry documents came from the discovery process and were related to DuPont and 3M, two major PFAS manufacturers.
Woodruff and her team's analysis found that the companies had evidence by the 1970s —decades before public health and government authorities turned their attention to the chemicals — that some PFAS were toxic to humans, based on lab reports and health impacts on employees, but downplayed those impacts in public messaging or obscured what they had found.
the chemicals can enter our blood and bodies from non-stick Teflon pans, fire retardant, food wrappers, cosmetics, and even the environment. In studies, they have been found in the bodies of most people tested in the U.S., Canada and other countries, and have been detected in major bodies of water.
Today, PFAS have been linked to liver problems, pregnancy issues, immune problems and some cancers. These health effects have mostly been observed in animal testing; the exact impact on human health remains unclear and is difficult to study as it would involve exposing people to suspected toxins.
-As early as 1970, a DuPont memo said PFOA, a type of PFAS, was "highly toxic when inhaled and moderately toxic when ingested."
-In 1980, DuPont and 3M learned that two pregnant employees involved in PFOA manufacturing had given birth to children with birth defects. Neither company released that information or told employees.
-In 1981, DuPont workers showed elevated levels of liver enzymes.
-In 1994, 3M knew of links of PFAS to prostate cancer that it shared with DuPont, a competitor.
The earth destroying parasite that is capitalism needs to be destroyed, it's only in democratic countries that greedy corporations can exert more influence and control on the land than the government is able to.