#bigchem — Public Fediverse posts
Live and recent posts from across the Fediverse tagged #bigchem, aggregated by home.social.
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How the Planet-Altering Disaster of #ForeverChemicals Was Kept Secret
#3M knew that harmful “forever chemicals” had seeped into people’s blood decades ago and continued making them. A former company scientist helped reporter Sharon Lerner understand how a global environmental crisis was kept under wraps.
hosted by Jessica Lussenhop, with reporting by Sharon Lerner
September 3, 2026, 8:22 am"We now know harmful 'forever chemicals' are likely in the bodies of most people on earth. Decades ago, 3M knew that these chemicals had seeped into the public’s blood, but they kept that a secret. One 3M scientist helped reporter Sharon Lerner understand how they kept it quiet for so long."
Watch / read / listen:
https://www.propublica.org/podcast/forever-chemicals-pfas-pfos-3m-secret-kris-hansen#ProPublica #3MKnew #PFAS #PFOS #BigChemical #Dow #EnvironmentalDisaster #PFASManufacturers #MakePollutersPay #Pollution #Contamination #BigChem #Cancer #DuPontKnew #DuPontLied #3MLied #DupontdeNemours #DowChemical #c8 #SuperfundSites #WaterIsLife #Scotchguard #Carpeting #FirefightingFoam #FirefightingEquipment #DowChemicalKnew #ThreeM
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Personally, I think #PFASManufacturers should pay the bill for replacement equipment! #MakePollutersPay !
#EastMillinocketME #FireDepartment becomes first in #Maine to fully adopt #PFASFree turnout gear
A $90,000 grant helped the department purchase the new equipment without burdening taxpayers.
by Ryan Bell
August 17, 2026"Fire Chief Kevin McAdam said upgrading the department's suits, some of which are more than two decades old, would have been difficult without outside funding, especially for a small, rural department with limited resources. The National Fire Protection Association recommends replacing turnout gear every 10 years, but McAdam said many departments keep equipment well beyond that timeline because of the cost.
" 'Our main concern is the safety of our firefighters,' McAdam said. 'If the gear we purchased doesn't have PFAS in it to begin with, that's one less piece of the puzzle we have to worry about as far as cancer with the firefighters.'
"East Millinocket purchased the new gear from manufacturer Milliken. Company officials said PFAS-based materials were long considered the industry standard because of their performance, but growing concerns over firefighters' long-term health prompted the company to develop a PFAS-free alternative that still meets safety standards.
" 'We have to bring new technologies and technologies that push harder towards protection and comfort,' Marcio Manique, an executive at Milliken, said.
Firefighters who have tested out the new gear said it is lighter, more flexible and easier to move in than the department's previous equipment. The new equipment has already been used during training exercises, but firefighters are still awaiting their first emergency call wearing the equipment."
#PFAS #ForeverChemicals #Pollution #Cancer #Maine #PFASContamination #Firefighters #DuPontLied #DuPontKnew #DupontdeNemours #BigChem #Dow #3M
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#Dupont Finally Held Accountable for #PFASPollution in Historic Settlement Valued Over $2B
August 4, 2025
Excerpt:
"NJ Sierra Club Chapter Director, Anjuli Ramos-Busot, issued the following statement:" '#DuPont has been knowingly poisoning our lands and waters for decades. As an entity of chemical innovation, DuPont brought prosperity to New Jersey. But, like with all polluters with a ROI bottom line, the true impact brought to #NewJersey was hidden from us. However, now the contamination from DuPont is so obvious and widespread throughout the state that they can no longer hide. We are now at the point where we have entered the billion-dollar level to clean up #PFAS pollution, which goes to show the severity of contamination. DuPont has finally been held responsible for what they have done to New Jersey, to our public health, and to our environment.
" 'Can we call this justice? Not yet. DuPont has done this across the world and in many other parts of the country. Until all of those sites are cleaned up and PFAS is no longer in our environment or in our blood, then we can call it justice.
" 'Today’s settlement is an incredible and historical achievement for New Jersey. This is the state’s third PFAS settlement with corporate polluters to come in two years, which continues to reinforce that their negligence will no longer be tolerated.
" 'As we face the dismantling of the EPA , rollbacks in PFAS regulations, and the cutting of environmental protections at the federal level, we must step up in New Jersey to protect ourselves and ensure clean drinking water and air for all. We thank Attorney General Platkin and NJDEP Commissioner LaTourette for doing just that, for standing up to the multi-billion dollar chemical industry in an incredible legal fight with one of the titans of the industry, and we urge them to keep the momentum going.' "
#DuPontLied #DuPontKnew #DupontdeNemours #BigChem #PFasPollution #ForeverChemicals #WaterIsLife #LandIsLife
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Chemical in #Roundup that causes brain damage found in common #cereals, new study finds
December 5, 2024 | Vivek Saxena
"Brief exposure to a weed killer found in breakfast cereals, oats, and orange juice has been shown to cause damage to the human body and brain.
"The weed killer, glyphosate (also known as Roundup), 'is the most widely used herbicide in the US,' according to the Center for Environmental Health.
" 'It is the most commonly used pesticide [#herbicide] in parks and is even found in foods that adults and kids love,' the center notes.
"Yet a new study conducted by Arizona State University researcher Ramon Velazquez and his team has found that active exposure to glyphosate 'can result in significant #BrainInflammation, and increase the risk of #neurodegenerative disease and #Alzheimer’s-like effects,' as reported by Arizona State University (#ASU).
" 'Our work contributes to the growing literature highlighting the brain’s vulnerability to glyphosate,' Velazquez said in a statement. 'Given the increasing incidence of #CognitiveDecline in the aging population, particularly in rural communities where exposure to glyphosate is more common due to large-scale #farming, there is an urgent need for more basic research on the effects of this herbicide.'
" 'My hope is that our work drives further investigation into the effects of glyphosate exposure, which may lead to a reexamination of its long-term safety and perhaps spark discussion about other prevalent toxins in our environment that may affect the brain,' additional study author Samantha Bartholomew added.
"The study involved testing both a high dose and low dose of glyphosate exposure on mice, with the lower dose being around the level that’s found in common foods like cereal and orange juice. While the high dosage dose caused issues, so did the lower dose.
" '[The] lower dose still led to harmful effects in the brains of mice, even after exposure ceased for months,' according to ASU. 'While reports show that most Americans are exposed to glyphosate daily, these results show that even a short period could potentially cause neurological damage.'
"A previous study commissioned by #MomsAcrossAmerica in 2017 found that one of the most popular #OrangeJuices in America, #Tropicana, also contains glyphosate.
" 'The discovery of glyphosate residue in orange juice is unacceptable, especially since a branch of the World Health Organization designated glyphosate a probable #carcinogen two years ago, back in the spring of 2015,' Moms Across America founder Zen Honeycutt said in a statement at the time.
" 'The EPA has had ample time to revoke the license of this chemical and restrict its use in our food and beverage crops. As confirmed by the American Academy of Pediatrics, our children (who frequently drink orange juice for breakfast) are especially vulnerable to pesticides and measures should be taken immediately to protect them,' she added.
"What remains to be seen is how the upcoming Trump Environmental Protection Agency will deal with this." [We know how that went!!! More #EPAFails!]
#EPAFail #Bayer #ToxicPesticides
#Monocrops #Monocrap #BigAg
#BigChem #Corruption #Poison #Crapitalism #CapitalismKills #RoundUpKills #USPol #WorldPol #Roundup #Glyphosate #BreakfastCereals #OrangeJuice