In a shocking exposé of global significance, confidential documents reveal that the chemical industry hid the harmful impact of substances known as “forever chemicals.”
Investigation by researchers from the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF), and the University of Colorado revealed the industry’s strategic measures to hinder public knowledge of the toxicity of per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances (PFAS). Employing similar methods first used by Stan Glantz in his research on the tobacco industry, researchers analyzed documents from chemical companies DuPont and 3M.
Newly published in the Annals of Global Health, “The Devil They Knew: Chemical Documents Analysis of Industry Influence on PFAS Science,” states that these chemical manufacturing giants were privy to the detrimental effects of PFAS as far back as the 1960s. Yet, this crucial information remained a secret from the public until the late 1990s.
A statement from the study noted that these companies had “…deliberately suppressed, distorted, and obfuscated evidence of PFAS harm…” The analysis claimed that these corporations withheld crucial health information from employees and regulators.
“These documents reveal clear evidence that the chemical industry knew about the dangers of PFAS and failed to let the public, regulators, and even their own employees know the risks,” said Tracey J. Woodruff, Ph.D., professor and director of the UCSF Program on Reproductive Health and the Environment (PRHE), a former senior scientist and policy advisor at the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and senior author of the paper, in a news release.
PFAS are a group of synthetic chemicals that have become deeply embedded in our environment and everyday life. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports that there are over 9,000 types of PFAS substances, including PFOA and PFOS, formerly known as C8.
PFAS toxins are not just present in everyday items such as textiles, non-stick pans, and food packaging, but they also lurk in our drinking water and food. This omnipresence enables PFAS to infiltrate the human body with relative ease. It’s a concern reflected in the sobering statistic from the CDC: a staggering 97 percent of Americans have detectable levels of PFAS in their blood.
The persistence and accumulation of these chemicals pose significant health risks. Studies have linked exposure to PFAS with numerous health issues, such as decreased fertility, high blood pressure, and an increased risk of certain cancers. Due to their widespread presence and potential for harm, understanding these forever chemicals and their impact on human health and ecosystems is paramount.
“One common characteristic of concern of PFAS is that many break down very slowly and can build up in people, animals, and the environment over time,” states the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
Very little was known about PFAS toxicity for the first half-century of their use. A New England Journal of Medicine paper published in 1962 claimed that Teflon was “physiologically inert, insoluble, nonirritating to the skin and nontoxic when taken by mouth.”
However, as early as 1959, there were warning signs of the hazards associated with these substances when an report emerged detailing a worker’s death due to Teflon inhalation. According to the study authors, this incident did not immediately spur broader investigations into PFAS safety. In 1961, DuPont dismissed the worker’s death as a rumor.
The new study drew from 39 documents obtained through two landmark lawsuits, Tennant vs. DuPont in 1998 and Leach vs. DuPont in 2002, where DuPont was charged with contaminating local environments and endangering public health. These documents were donated to UCSF and the filmmakers of the documentary The Devil We Know.
Throughout the paper, researchers highlight several examples where these large corporations were aware of the potential dangers. In 1979, DuPont’s private study, conducted by Haskell Labs, revealed the alarming toxic effects of the chemical APFO, a variant of PFOA. Exposure in rats caused liver enlargement and eye damage, while inhalation was found to be highly toxic. Two dogs given a single dose died within 48 hours, showing signs of cellular damage.
In 1980, DuPont and 3M surveyed employees’ pregnancies, identifying three abnormalities among eight pregnancies, including birth defects and detectable PFAS in cord blood. The company later learned that some women suffered miscarriages. However, these findings were neither published nor disclosed to their workforce.
Instead, DuPont decided to remove female employees from PFAS-exposed areas, presenting the move as precautionary rather than reactionary. In a 1981 memo, they denied any evidence of adverse health effects from C8 exposure or congenital disabilities, downplaying its toxicity by comparing it to substances like table salt and water.
Yet, these findings were neither published in the scientific literature nor reported to the EPA as required by the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA). The documents were kept confidential. In certain instances, industry executives called for their destruction.
The sway of industry over science and regulatory agencies, predominantly steered by financial interests, has become a formidable factor in molding public health outcomes. This influence isn’t unique to the chemical sector. It has been consistently observed across various industries, including tobacco, pharmaceuticals, lead, and polyvinyl chloride, as per studies by researchers such as Bero and White in 2010.
Applying this analysis to the PFAS scandal, DuPont and 3M appear to have engaged in systemic non-disclosure of evidence pointing towards harm, making this an example of science concealed for commercial interests.
This example highlights a troubling industry-wide practice. When faced with evidence that may damage their financial standing or reputation, many corporations opt for suppression and silence, undermining the public’s trust and potentially putting lives at risk.
As the dangers of PFAS become increasingly apparent, lawsuits related to PFAS have surged dramatically. Last week, three large corporations jointly agreed to resolve PFAS-related drinking water claims from a defined class of public water systems serving a significant portion of the U.S. population. Chemours, DuPont, and Corteva collectively agreed to establish a $1.185 billion settlement fund, as announced in a press release.
Earlier this year, the EPA proposed a federal standard to regulate several PFAS substances in drinking water, marking a critical step in public health protection. The EPA plans to finalize this regulation by the end of 2023.
While some states have established laws to control certain PFAS in drinking water, there is no federal mandate, leading to uneven testing and filtering practices among public water systems. However, according to the National Law Review, eight states have already filed PFAS lawsuits in 2023 alone.
For its part, 3M has largely downplayed the study’s revelations.
“The paper is largely comprised of previously published documents,” they stated, pointing out that the sources cited go as far back as 1962.
“3M has previously addressed many of the mischaracterizations of these documents in previous reporting,” 3M told Epoch Times in an email.
The company maintains that they have not withheld information about PFAS toxicity, a contention challenged by the UCSF study.
DuPont states that the paper’s accusations don’t apply to their current operations. In 2019, DuPont de Nemours was established as a specialty products company, separate from the historical operations of E.I. du Pont de Nemours (EID), a commodity conglomerate that spun off its chemical businesses in 2015.
DuPont de Nemours, which inherited specialty products manufacturing from both EID and Dow Chemical, states that they have never produced harmful substances.
“DuPont de Nemours has never manufactured PFOA or PFOS. Safety, health and protecting the planet are core values at DuPont de Nemours. We are—and have always been—committed to upholding the highest standards for the wellbeing of our employees, our customers and the communities in which we operate,” said Dupont.
“To implicate DuPont de Nemours in these past issues ignores this corporate evolution, and the movement of product lines and personnel that now exist with entirely different companies.”
As the gravity of the PFAS scandal continues to unfold, it has stirred a public demand for transparency and accountability in the chemical industry. Deliberate attempts to obscure the harmful effects of PFAS has provoked both anger and fear, according to research published in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health in 2020.
“As many countries pursue legal and legislative action to curb PFAS production, we hope they are aided by the timeline of evidence presented in this paper,” said Woodruff. “This timeline reveals serious failures in the way the U.S. currently regulates harmful chemicals.
Feeling the increased pressure, some chemical makers have significantly scaled back their use of these toxins. Dupont states on their website that “the company’s use of PFAS is limited,” reporting that they do not make or use PFOA or PFAS in the development or manufacturing of their products.
3M vows to exit PFAS manufacturing by the end of 2025. “We have already reduced our use of PFAS over the past three years through ongoing research and development, and will continue to innovate new solutions for customers,” they stated in a December 2022 press release. “3M will discontinue manufacturing all fluoropolymers, fluorinated fluids, and PFAS-based additive products.”