PFAS cover-up: Difference between revisions

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{{Placeholder box|Short summary of the incident. Usually 2-3 sentences that summarize the contents or the article. When writing the article, insert text in the space below this box, and then delete this tip box (and the other tip boxes below). In the visual editor, just click on a box and press backspace to delete it. In the source editor, simply delete the double curly brackets, and the text inside them.}}

~~==Background==~~

~~{{Placeholder box|Information about the product/service history to provide the necessary context surrounding the incident~~}}

~~==[Incident]==~~

Polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are used in the creation of Teflon, a strong material that was used excessively in the 20th century. PFAS are however noted to be "forever chemicals", which cannot break down and have been known to cause cancer in sizes as small as 4 parts per trillion (the equivalent of 1 drop within several swimming pools), and have been leeched into the environment for nearly a century. Companies such as 3M and DuPont have both been burying this information and spreading harmful misinformation regarding the safety of PFAS.

~~{{Placeholder box|Change this section's title~~ to be ~~descriptive~~ of the ~~incident~~.

~~Impartial~~ and ~~complete description~~ of the ~~events~~, ~~including actions taken~~ by the ~~company~~, and the ~~timeline~~ of the ~~incident coming~~ to the ~~public's attention~~.}}

==Background==

Just before the 2nd world war, consumers were dying due to the refrigerants used in electric refrigerators being lethal, often being called the silent killer by both consumers and the media during the time. Because of this, companies were attempting to create a safer alternative, and through a mistake involving the storage of tetrafluoroethylene gas inside of cylinders in 1939, the waxy solid polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE), also known as Teflon was discovered to be extremely resistant, and became a valuable material, especially in the production of fittings used during the Manhattan project.

~~===[Company]~~'~~s response===~~

As the excessive heat of creating Teflon in large quantities was becoming lethal, to the point where an explosion took multiple workers' lives, work was put into producing a way to generate Teflon in a water-cooled environment. This had led to the creation polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), such as PFOS or PFOA, which both increased the safety of producing Teflon, and also the added benefit creating products that could be coated with Teflon.

~~{{Placeholder box|If applicable~~, ~~add~~ the ~~proposed solution to~~ the ~~issues by~~ the ~~company~~.}}

==Burial of research==

==~~Lawsuit~~==

==Lawsuits==

{{Placeholder box|If applicable, add any information regarding litigation around the incident here.

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{{Placeholder box|Summary and key issues of prevailing sentiment from the consumers and commentators that can be documented via articles, emails to support, reviews and forum posts.}}

In recent years, consumers have shown backlash towards companies such as 3M and DuPont who are responsible for both irresponsibly dumping wasted PFAS into the environment, and also burying the harmful risks of PFAS on both humans and the environment. Veritasium released a documentary covering the history of PFAS and their concerns over the harm it has caused for billions of people.

==References==

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-{{Placeholder box|Short summary of the incident. Usually 2-3 sentences that summarize the contents or the article. When writing the article, insert text in the space below this box, and then delete this tip box (and the other tip boxes below). In the visual editor, just click on a box and press backspace to delete it. In the source editor, simply delete the double curly brackets, and the text inside them.}}
+{{StubNotice}}
-==Background==
-{{Placeholder box|Information about the product/service history to provide the necessary context surrounding the incident}}
-==[Incident]==
+Polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are used in the creation of Teflon, a strong material that was used excessively in the 20th century. PFAS are however noted to be "forever chemicals", which cannot break down and have been known to cause cancer in sizes as small as 4 parts per trillion (the equivalent of 1 drop within several swimming pools), and have been leeched into the environment for nearly a century. Companies such as 3M and DuPont have both been burying this information and spreading harmful misinformation regarding the safety of PFAS.
-{{Placeholder box|Change this section's title to be descriptive of the incident.
-Impartial and complete description of the events, including actions taken by the company, and the timeline of the incident coming to the public's attention.}}
+==Background<!-- Reference the Veritasium video, and also its sources! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SC2eSujzrUY | https://docs.google.com/document/d/1dh15PQJ-LhrkE0LXIT_s4HNW8zo3IxF3nEEcy4fU_SI/edit?tab=t.0 SIX pages of references, so no way we'll have a shortage of info! -->==
+Just before the 2nd world war, consumers were dying due to the refrigerants used in electric refrigerators being lethal, often being called the silent killer by both consumers and the media during the time. Because of this, companies were attempting to create a safer alternative, and through a mistake involving the storage of tetrafluoroethylene gas inside of cylinders in 1939, the waxy solid polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE), also known as Teflon was discovered to be extremely resistant, and became a valuable material, especially in the production of fittings used during the Manhattan project.
-===[Company]'s response===
+As the excessive heat of creating Teflon in large quantities was becoming lethal, to the point where an explosion took multiple workers' lives, work was put into producing a way to generate Teflon in a water-cooled environment. This had led to the creation polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), such as PFOS or PFOA, which both increased the safety of producing Teflon, and also the added benefit creating products that could be coated with Teflon.
-{{Placeholder box|If applicable, add the proposed solution to the issues by the company.}}
+==Burial of research==
-==Lawsuit==
+==Lawsuits<!-- Point out the original class action lawsuits, and how the PFAS were often mildly tweaked to circumvent both litigation and environmental protection laws. -->==
 {{Placeholder box|If applicable, add any information regarding litigation around the incident here.
@@ Line 28: / Line 27: @@
 {{Placeholder box|Summary and key issues of prevailing sentiment from the consumers and commentators that can be documented via articles, emails to support, reviews and forum posts.}}
+In recent years, consumers have shown backlash towards companies such as 3M and DuPont who are responsible for both irresponsibly dumping wasted PFAS into the environment, and also burying the harmful risks of PFAS on both humans and the environment. Veritasium released a documentary covering the history of PFAS and their concerns over the harm it has caused for billions of people.
 ==References==
 {{reflist}}