PFOS/PFAS are such a shit fest.<p>An unholy coalition politicians, gov't administration, scientists and corporate interest tried to cover up historical PFOS pollution around the 3M production site in Zwijndrecht (BE). They were caught red handed by a vigilant citizen journal when some politicians wanted to expedite some car-centric public construction works smack in the middle of the polluted area.<p>The ministers for environment and public works ordered their administrations to turn a blind eye, not to sample the wider area to assess the extent of the PFOS pollution, and under no circumstance communicate to the public about the pollution.<p>A renowned toxicologist was commissioned write down safety norms for the public works in the context of pre-existing PFOS pollution. He took a European reference norm that was already outdated at the time given new toxicological insights, messed up the arithmetic, and, lo and behold, came up with a threshold that was _just_ right for the works to start.<p>A special parliamentary commission was established to investigate, and so we had 3M testify in parliament on how they believe it is a harmless chemical etc.<p>At some point in 2010s 3M switched the production process over to use PFAS which they are dumping in the Scheldt river in absurd amounts to this day.<p>We got some reassuring corporate sop that they promise to reduce PFAS levels in wastewater discharges to 54 kg/year by 2024 (5.375 kg/year in 2021). For reference, Chemours (NL) had a permit for dumping just 2 kg/year in 2020, which sounds about right given our current understanding of the human toxicological effects of PFAS.
As a foreigner, why is it that select states are absolutely riddled with water contamination while most are not (and some are pristine)? I imagine it comes down to local legislation, but surely nobody <i>wants</i> their drinking water polluted, so how did the legislation happen in the first place?<p>PS: especially as Colorado and Ohio are among the worst, through my lens they seem the states that are <i>most</i> about protecting the land.
Apple's headquarters are built on top of contaminated
ground, leading to concerns over employee health [1][2].<p>[1] <a href="https://disasterarea.home.blog/2019/07/12/apple-headquarters-on-the-intersil-dtkm-sl720641214-epa-superfund-site-daycare-banned/" rel="nofollow">https://disasterarea.home.blog/2019/07/12/apple-headquarters...</a><p>[2] <a href="https://twitter.com/richgel999/status/1436934781955190788" rel="nofollow">https://twitter.com/richgel999/status/1436934781955190788</a>
This doesn’t get nearly enough airtime. Among other things, also potentially driving obesity rates: <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33223205/" rel="nofollow">https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33223205/</a>
There is no federal limit for pfas levels in water.
PFAS contamination is existent in many waterways and bodies of water and contaminate the fish that live there. Shame because ones that tend to build up more PFAS in their system are not safe to eat either, but would otherwise provide an inexpensive, healthy, and delicious meal. Most anglers I talk to (in the Bay Area) catch and release rather than taking home and consuming the fish because of chemical contamination of the water.
I noticed that the drinking water is contaminated in a city near me that I believe happens to be the source for a bottled water company by the same name. I wonder if the source of the tap and the bottling is the same.
Last Week Tonight with John Oliver's October 3rd, 2021 episode covers this in some detail: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9W74aeuqsiU" rel="nofollow">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9W74aeuqsiU</a>
Honestly I expected this to be a more dense map, considering all the fearmongering I hear these days. It's always good to see accurate sources of data to check my reality.