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3M Knew About the Dangers of PFOA and PFOS Decades Ago, Internal Documents Show

  • August 08, 2018

The federal Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is complicit in hiding documents showing that perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS) and its cousin, perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), are more dangerous than anyone thought. A lawsuit filed by the state of Minnesota against 3M, the company that first developed and sold PFOS and PFOA, shows that the dangers presented by these industrial chemicals have been known for decades, The Intercept reports. The litigation began eight years ago when Minnesota’s attorney general charged that 3M knowingly polluted groundwater with the chemicals.

The worst of this report is that 3M’s destruction of waterways, wildlife habitats and even public drinking water supplies goes far and beyond Minnesota. And if you think it couldn’t get worse than that, the kicker is that the very agency that’s supposed to look out for you — the EPA — led the way to protect 3M and poison you.

And while we’re talking about complicity, it doesn’t help to know that when the information did begin leaking out due to requests under the Freedom of Information Act, a White House aide sent out a memo trying to block release of the damning information, saying “The public, media, and Congressional reaction to these numbers is going to be huge … painful … [and ultimately] a public relations nightmare.”

A “public relations nightmare”? That’s what they’re worried about — not the fact that these chemicals can harm your liver, cardiovascular, endocrine, immune, reproductive and developmental functions, but that it’s going to be “painful” when you and Congress learn the truth about what’s been happening for not years, but decades? And that the EPA has been fully knowledgeable about it all this time?

As this information continues to play out, it has become even more evident that you really need a high-quality carbon filtration system to make sure the water you use in your own home is safe and pure. To be certain you're getting the purest water you can, filter the water both at the point of entry and at the point of use. This means filtering all the water that comes into the house and then filtering again at the kitchen sink and shower.

Activated carbon has also been shown to remove up to 90 percent of these chemicals. If you know or suspect you have been regularly exposed to PFASs via your drinking water, it would be wise to not only implement the above filtering recommendations to limit future toxic exposures but also consider a detox program.