THEY POISONED THE WORLD

A sharp-edged report on the world that toxic chemicals—and their manufacturers—have made.

The large class of chemicals called perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS, are pervasive in industrial use. As investigative journalist Blake writes, they “transformed thousands of everyday items—­dental floss, clothing, furniture, food packaging, and carpet, to name just a few.” Because they are ubiquitous and have a long half-life, they are also known as “forever chemicals,” with frightening consequence. Blake adds, they “have been linked to obesity, infertility, testicular cancer, thyroid disease, neurological problems, immune suppression, and life-­threatening pregnancy complications, among numerous other maladies.” As her book chronicles alongside accounts of lawsuits and testimonials by ordinary citizens, even as our bodies are now awash in these chemicals, some bodies are less equal than others: In the largely rural places where they are manufactured, PFAS seep into water tables, befoul farm fields, and even turn up in organic foods and wild game. They and kindred chemicals are now even carried by rainwater, making the whole planet, as one report Blake cites puts it, “outside the safe operating space” for human and animal life. Fortunately, Blake writes, something is being done: The European Commission has banned the production and sale of PFAS, and some states—including Minnesota, where 3M and other manufacturers made heavy use of them—prohibit or strictly control them, for all the dodges and loopholes industry has introduced into law through its lobbyists. (As Blake notes, meaningfully, it was Big Chemical that “invented many of the methods that Big Tobacco and other industries would later deploy to pick apart the science tying lucrative products to disease.”) More needs to be done, of course, since the battle has been joined anew, and on shifting ground, with the Trump administration having shown little interest in protecting consumer safety or regulating industry.

In her skillfully told work of advocacy, Blake offers a call to arms against poisoning for profit.