After years of reporting on forever chemicals, ProPublica reporter Sharon Lerner had one question that still nagged at her. She knew that a handful of 3M scientists and lawyers had learned in the 1970s that the chemical PFOS had seeped into the blood of people around the country and that company experiments around that time had shown that PFOS was toxic. But the company kept making the compound until 2000. How, she wondered, had 3M kept its dark secret for decades?
Will this turn into for 3M what PCBs turned into for General Electric?
Hudson River cleanup: Why Scenic Hudson claims GE could owe Hudson Valley billions (2022)
www.poughkeepsiejournal.com
... Three years ago this week, the Environmental Protection Agency announced it would not require General Electric to continue dredging toxic PCBs from the Hudson River, and certified that the company "properly performed" the restoration steps with which it was tasked.
Amid widespread criticism from environmental groups and government leaders, then-EPA Regional Administrator Pete Lopez asserted the certification does not "let GE off the hook," promising studies in the coming decades will fully evaluate if those steps were effective in remedying the harm the company caused. ...
So, we don't yet know if GE is really off the hook of responsibility for their pollution of the Hudson River with PCBs. fwiw, the first decision against them occurred in 2002.
Hudson River PCB cleanup timeline: How GE cleanup began (2019)
www.poughkeepsiejournal.com
... Here's a timeline of the cleanup:
2002 " The EPA releases a Record of Decision, identifying the impact and remedies for cleanup of the Hudson River. It identifies PCBs as contamination and called for dredging.
2006 " GE signs a consent decree with the EPA, an agreement for a cleanup. While responsible for the entire 197-mile Superfund site, the cleanup is focused on 40 miles of the Upper Hudson.
2009-2015 " GE performs dredging. ...
Also, fwiw, this is why Republicans are so against Federal agencies. Those agencies hold corporations accountable for the actions of those corporations.
@#3 ... I worked at 3M and it was well known in the 80's that people had low concentrations of the things in their bodies. There was just no data to indicate they were toxic in the concentrations people had in their system. ...
How 3M Executives Convinced a Scientist the Forever Chemicals She Found in Human Blood Were Safe (May 20, 2024)
www.propublica.org
... Decades ago, Kris Hansen showed 3M that its PFAS chemicals were in people's bodies. Her bosses halted her work. As the EPA now forces the removal of the chemicals from drinking water, she wrestles with the secrets that 3M kept from her and the world. ...
If there was no data to indicate they were toxic, then why did 3M execs apparently try to suppress that information?
@#7 ... Not true at all. PFAS are becoming an issue at the State regulatory level. ...
Yeah.
And, also to the comment you are replying to, GE's PCBs are still an issue.
GE's PCBs may not be headlines, but the reporting is still with us.
For starters, see my #2.
Another example, less than a year old...
In Albany, Gillibrand Demands The EPA Take Action To Clean Up PCB "Forever Chemicals" In The Hudson River (February 2024)
www.gillibrand.senate.gov
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