The true crime story of forever chemicals ⚠️, with Mariah Blake

A tale of over-ups, poison, sludge, and the last bipartisan environmental issue. They Poisoned the World: Life and Death in the Age of Forever Chemicals by Mariah Blake is a true crime story on the scale of what the tobacco and fossil fuel industries have done to knowingly imperil our health and our futures. But this book also highlights what’s possible when unlikely advocates, regular folks, come together and unite for a common cause. In other words, there are heroes in this story too.

The book is a landmark investigation that required years of her on-the-ground reporting and reviewing tens of thousands of documents. The topic is PFAS, substances that are more commonly called “forever chemicals.” Mariah's book tells the story of these incredibly dangerous substances and the lives they’ve impacted — from their genesis in the Manhattan Project, to becoming so ubiquitous that they are present in the blood of virtually every human being, and in the drinking water of about half the people in America.

Mariah Blake is an incredible investigative journalist. She’s written for The New York Times, The Atlantic, Mother Jones, The New Republic, and other publications. She was a Murrey Marder Nieman Fellow in Watchdog Journalism at Harvard University. And I was truly honored that she asked me to be in conversation with her to launch her book tour.

As Mariah explains, PFAS chemicals affect us all. And her reporting especially timely because just last week the Environmental Protection Agency announced that they plan to weaken restrictions for certain forever chemicals in our drinking water.

CALLS TO ACTION:

* Advocate for stricter standards and a class-wide ban on PFAS. Find a local organization working on this and join them. (Like Brunswick Area Citizens for a Safe Environment, some of whose members were in the live audience.) Track your state’s progress here.

* Reduce your own PFAS exposure — use natural materials for cooking and storing food, filter drinking water (consider reverse osmosis, look for NSF certification).

Mentioned in the episode:

* Mariah’s book:They Poisoned the World: Life and Death in the Age of Forever Chemicals

* Washington Post’s review of Mariah’s book: Chemical makers they the harm. It didn’t matter.

* News: EPA will weaken rule curbing ‘forever chemicals’ in drinking water

* News: Massive Brunswick PFAS spill is Maine’s largest ever firefighting foam contamination

* Op-ed in Washington Post (coining the term ‘forever chemicals’): The EPA is trying to regulate 6 forever chemicals. Just 10,000 to go.

* News: America’s Dairyland May Have a PFAS Problem

* Story of Fred Stone: The curious case of tainted milk from a Maine dairy farm

* News: Maine bans use of sewage sludge on farms to reduce risk of PFAS poisoning

* News:Taco Bell to remove chemicals of concern from packaging

* Overview of NSF certification

* Research Article: Outside the Safe Operating Space of a New Planetary Boundary for Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS)

* Research Article: Historical Comparison of Perfluorooctanesulfonate, Perfluorooctanoate, and Other Fluorochemicals in Human Blood

CREDITS: This podcast was made possible in part with the support of Future Being, a grantmaking and special projects studio which supports the healing of our planet and the safeguarding of biological and cultural diversity. It’s produced and edited by Matthew Nelson/Stramash Media and Ayana Elizabeth Johnson, with help from Jenisha Shrestha. Thank you to This episode was taped in front of a live audience at SPACE Gallery in Portland, Maine for hosting this event. And many thanks to our guest Mariah Blake.

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