CounterPunch Exclusives

CounterPunch Exclusives

This US Geological Survey map shows the number of “forever chemicals” PFAS detected in tap water samples from select sites across the nation. The findings are based on a USGS study of samples taken between 2016 and 2021 from private and public supplies at 716 locations. The map does not represent the only locations in the U.S. with PFAS. Public Domain.

I recently came across with an unpleasant memory from the past – chemicals that last so long in the environment that are now known as “forever” chemicals. The National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences defined the so-called forever chemicals as follows:

“Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are a large, complex group of synthetic chemicals that have been used in consumer products around the world since about the 1950s. They are ingredients in various everyday products. For example, PFAS are used to keep food from sticking to packaging or cookware, make clothes and carpets resistant to stains, and create firefighting foam that is more effective. PFAS molecules have a chain of linked carbon and fluorine atoms. Because the carbon-fluorine bond is one of the strongest, these chemicals do not degrade easily in the environment.”

I worked for the Pesticides Office of the US EPA for several years. I learned a lot about the farmers’ sprays. I had heard about the “PFAS forever chemicals,” but, frankly, I did not pay much attention to them. I was too involved with Pesticides: their chemistry, ecological effects, human health effects, disruption of ecosystems, disruption of traditional farming and, just as important, I kept asking myself why would a civilized society ever contemplate using such pernicious toxins in the growing of our crops? For about a century, they have posed a gigantic public and environmental risk in the US and around the world. I realized that the US Environmental Protection Agency was forced to prioritize the profits of farmers and agribusiness over the symbolic attention it sporadically gave to human and ecological health. This disturbed me profoundly. I did not know what to do. In fact, there was very little I could do to change the strategy of EPA. I talked to one or two Congressional staff and Congressmen, but without any result.

Toxic political influence

The Presidents, Congressmen, and Senators have been caught in a vicious, corrupt, money-driven electoral machine. Money has been coming from those who have been wealthy, especially........

© CounterPunch