Who is responsible for PFAS contamination? – DW – 07/15/2025
The sleepy small town of Trissino lies at the foot of the Italian Alps, surrounded by lush fields, green hills and small industrial plants on its outskirts.
Though there is nothing to suggest that gigantic quantities of drinking water and large parts of the soil in the entire region have been contaminated with extremely toxic chemicalsfrom a local chemical facility, that is what a court in Rome recently concluded.In a case that opened in 2021, 11 defendants were sentenced to years in prison. They had worked for the Japanese Mitsubishi Group and Chemical Investors from Luxembourg, among others.
According to estimates by non-governmental organizations, the contamination could affect around 350,000 people in the northern Italian region of Veneto.
Perfluorinated and polyfluorinated alkyl compounds, PFAS for short, are extremely persistent chemicals that cannot be broken down. Once they enter the environment, they remain there "forever."
Scientists have established a link between PFAS and liver and kidney damage, increased cholesterol levels, diseases of the lymph nodes and reduced fertility in men and women. According to the German Federal Environment Agency, it also leads to low birth weights in babies, can reduce the effectiveness of vaccinations and cause cancer in high concentrations.
The chemicals are considered a global problem and can be detected almost everywhere.
In 2018, scientists at Harvard University found that 98% of US citizens have PFAS in their blood. Studies on breast milk in countries such as India, Indonesia and the Philippines detected the substances in almost all samples. In Germany, too, every child has forever chemicals in their bodies. A fifth of them exceed critical levels.
PFAS were discovered in 1938 by the American chemical giant DuPont. Due to their special properties of protecting metal from corrosion even at high temperatures, the chemicals were first used in the development of the atomic bomb.
The substance later found its way into households worldwide under the brand name "Teflon" in the form of coated pans. This marked the beginning of the commercial rise of the chemicals, which proved to be useful for many products.
With their unique resistance to heat, water and dirt, they are used in a wide range of consumer and industrial products. They can be found in everything from waterproof outdoor clothing, makeup and stain-resistant carpets to medical devices, semiconductors and wind turbines.
The chemicals, which are mainly ingested through drinking water and food, accumulate in the body over time. In addition to breast milk and blood, they can also be detected in hair.
In 1998, the non-stick coating of Teflon was clearly scratched when a hundred cows belonging to a cattle farmer suddenly died near a production facility in the US city of Parkersburg in West Virginia.
It was later revealed that thousands of people in the region were contaminated by a leaking dump and wastewater from the DuPont factory that contained PFAS.
To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video
Documents show that DuPont, unlike government authorities, had known about the danger for decades but continued to discharge the substance into the environment. Studies suggest that high levels of PFOA (a specific PFAS substance) in the region are linked to cases of kidney and testicular cancer.
In 2017, DuPont and the now-spun-off company Chemours agreed to pay $671 million (€574 million) in compensation to 3,550 people affected.
PFAS are still being released into the environment. The US environmental organization EWG has calculated that almost 10,000 locations across America are contaminated with the substances. This is based on measurements by the US Environmental Protection Agency, among others. It is estimated that around 160 million people could be affected nationwide.
In Europe, 23,000 sites are known to be contaminated with PFAS. According to the European Environment Agency, 2,300 of these are so heavily contaminated that they pose a health risk.
In Alsace, France, the authorities are currently warning people not to drink tap water after checks revealed elevated levels of 20 forever chemicals.
And in Dalton in the US state of Georgia, a lawsuit is currently being filed against a carpet manufacturer, Chemours and the chemical company 3M. Residents there also fear they have fallen ill due to PFAS contamination.
Legally binding limits for six PFAS chemicals in drinking water were adopted for the first time under former US President Joe Biden. The subsequent Donald Trump administration has reversed four of them.
In 2023, the 3M Group agreed to pay around $10 billion to local water suppliers to settle lawsuits over PFAS pollution and those that could arise. 3M is also being sued for contamination in the Netherlands, another country where it operates.
The European Union recently passed legislation to reduce these substances' use. In the long term, the member states are seeking to completely abolish PFAS. Exceptions are to be made for products whose use of PFAS is "essential for society". This could include, for example, medical material such as stents for opening and closing blood vessels or artificial joints.To play this audio please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 audio
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DW
16-07-2025
- DW
Who is responsible for PFAS contamination? – DW – 07/15/2025
Hazardous "forever chemicals" contaminate drinking water, soil and food worldwide. Who is responsible for their contamination? The sleepy small town of Trissino lies at the foot of the Italian Alps, surrounded by lush fields, green hills and small industrial plants on its outskirts. Though there is nothing to suggest that gigantic quantities of drinking water and large parts of the soil in the entire region have been contaminated with extremely toxic chemicalsfrom a local chemical facility, that is what a court in Rome recently a case that opened in 2021, 11 defendants were sentenced to years in prison. They had worked for the Japanese Mitsubishi Group and Chemical Investors from Luxembourg, among others. According to estimates by non-governmental organizations, the contamination could affect around 350,000 people in the northern Italian region of Veneto. Perfluorinated and polyfluorinated alkyl compounds, PFAS for short, are extremely persistent chemicals that cannot be broken down. Once they enter the environment, they remain there "forever." Scientists have established a link between PFAS and liver and kidney damage, increased cholesterol levels, diseases of the lymph nodes and reduced fertility in men and women. According to the German Federal Environment Agency, it also leads to low birth weights in babies, can reduce the effectiveness of vaccinations and cause cancer in high concentrations. The chemicals are considered a global problem and can be detected almost everywhere. In 2018, scientists at Harvard University found that 98% of US citizens have PFAS in their blood. Studies on breast milk in countries such as India, Indonesia and the Philippines detected the substances in almost all samples. In Germany, too, every child has forever chemicals in their bodies. A fifth of them exceed critical levels. PFAS were discovered in 1938 by the American chemical giant DuPont. Due to their special properties of protecting metal from corrosion even at high temperatures, the chemicals were first used in the development of the atomic bomb. The substance later found its way into households worldwide under the brand name "Teflon" in the form of coated pans. This marked the beginning of the commercial rise of the chemicals, which proved to be useful for many products. With their unique resistance to heat, water and dirt, they are used in a wide range of consumer and industrial products. They can be found in everything from waterproof outdoor clothing, makeup and stain-resistant carpets to medical devices, semiconductors and wind turbines. The chemicals, which are mainly ingested through drinking water and food, accumulate in the body over time. In addition to breast milk and blood, they can also be detected in hair. In 1998, the non-stick coating of Teflon was clearly scratched when a hundred cows belonging to a cattle farmer suddenly died near a production facility in the US city of Parkersburg in West Virginia. It was later revealed that thousands of people in the region were contaminated by a leaking dump and wastewater from the DuPont factory that contained PFAS. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video Documents show that DuPont, unlike government authorities, had known about the danger for decades but continued to discharge the substance into the environment. Studies suggest that high levels of PFOA (a specific PFAS substance) in the region are linked to cases of kidney and testicular cancer. In 2017, DuPont and the now-spun-off company Chemours agreed to pay $671 million (€574 million) in compensation to 3,550 people affected. PFAS are still being released into the environment. The US environmental organization EWG has calculated that almost 10,000 locations across America are contaminated with the substances. This is based on measurements by the US Environmental Protection Agency, among others. It is estimated that around 160 million people could be affected nationwide. In Europe, 23,000 sites are known to be contaminated with PFAS. According to the European Environment Agency, 2,300 of these are so heavily contaminated that they pose a health risk. In Alsace, France, the authorities are currently warning people not to drink tap water after checks revealed elevated levels of 20 forever chemicals. And in Dalton in the US state of Georgia, a lawsuit is currently being filed against a carpet manufacturer, Chemours and the chemical company 3M. Residents there also fear they have fallen ill due to PFAS contamination. Legally binding limits for six PFAS chemicals in drinking water were adopted for the first time under former US President Joe Biden. The subsequent Donald Trump administration has reversed four of them. In 2023, the 3M Group agreed to pay around $10 billion to local water suppliers to settle lawsuits over PFAS pollution and those that could arise. 3M is also being sued for contamination in the Netherlands, another country where it operates. The European Union recently passed legislation to reduce these substances' use. In the long term, the member states are seeking to completely abolish PFAS. Exceptions are to be made for products whose use of PFAS is "essential for society". This could include, for example, medical material such as stents for opening and closing blood vessels or artificial play this audio please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 audio
Int'l Business Times
03-07-2025
- Int'l Business Times
Japan Plans 'World First' Deep-sea Mineral Extraction
Japan will from January attempt to extract rare earth minerals from the ocean floor in the deepest trial of its kind, the director of a government innovation programme said Thursday. Earlier this week the country pledged to work with the United States, India and Australia to ensure a stable supply of critical minerals, as concern grows over China's dominance in resources vital to new technologies. Rare earths -- 17 metals difficult to extract from the Earth's crust -- are used in everything from electric vehicles to hard drives, wind turbines and missiles. China accounts for almost two-thirds of rare earth mining production and 92 percent of global refined output, according to the International Energy Agency. A Japanese deep-sea scientific drilling boat called the Chikyu will from January conduct a "test cruise" to retrieve ocean floor sediments that contain rare earth elements, said Shoichi Ishii, director of Japan's Cross-ministerial Strategic Innovation Promotion Programme. "The test to retrieve the sediments from 5,500 metres (3.4 miles) water depth is the first in the world," he told AFP. "Our goal... of this cruise is to test the function of all mining equipment," so the amount of sediment extracted "doesn't matter at all", Ishii added. The Chikyu will drill in Japanese economic waters around the remote island of Minami Torishima in the Pacific -- the easternmost point of Japan, also used as a military base. Japan's Nikkei business daily reported that the mission aims to extract 35 tonnes of mud from the sea floor over around three weeks. Each tonne is expected to contain around two kilograms (4.4 pounds) of rare earth minerals, which are often used to make magnets that are essential in modern electronics. Deep-sea mining has become a geopolitical flashpoint, with anxiety growing over a push by US President Donald Trump to fast-track the practice in international waters. Beijing has since April required licences to export rare earths from China, a move seen as retaliation for US curbs on the import of Chinese goods. Environmental campaigners warn that deep-sea mining threatens marine ecosystems and will disrupt the sea floor. The International Seabed Authority, which has jurisdiction over the ocean floor outside national waters, is meeting later this month to discuss a global code to regulate mining in the ocean depths.
Int'l Business Times
23-06-2025
- Int'l Business Times
Toxic Threat From 'Forever Chemicals' Sparks Resistance In Georgia Towns
Sasha and Jamie Cordle thought their small farm in rural Georgia would be a ladder out of working-class struggle, and a gift for their children and grandchildren. Instead, it may be poisoning them. Tests show their spring water is laced with toxic "forever chemicals" at levels tens of thousands of times above federal safety guidelines, likely from nearby carpet factories. "It scares us," said Sasha, a 38-year-old dispatcher whose husband drives long hauls across the country. She's worried about their five children, two-year-old granddaughter, and a grandson due in October. PFAS -- or per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances -- are a group of more than 10,000 human-made chemicals that repel heat, water, oil, and stains. Developed in the 1940s, they're still used in nonstick pans, firefighting foams and stain-proof carpets, yet are now linked to hormonal disruption, immune suppression and cancers. Their ultra-tough carbon-fluorine bonds take millennia to break down in the environment, linger in bodies for years, and are now found in the blood of nearly every living creature on Earth. Here in Dalton, Georgia, which calls itself the "Carpet Capital of the World," mills run by giants Mohawk Industries and Shaw Industries are widely blamed for making the region one of America's most PFAS-laden. They're accused of spewing the chemicals into the air, flushing them into sewers unequipped to remove them, and indirectly contaminating farmland through sludge byproducts later spread as fertilizer. The Cordles have joined other landowners in suing the carpet makers, seeking damages to "remediate" their properties -- a process they estimate could cost about $1 million per acre -- plus punitive damages. Mohawk, Shaw, and chemical giant 3M declined to comment on the complaint. Chemical maker Chemours, another chemical maker and defendant, says it has no factories in Georgia and denies culpability. In a complex web of lawsuits, Dalton Utilities, which manages the local water system, has also sued the carpet makers, while Mohawk has sued 3M over the same issue. The Biden administration last year enacted the first enforceable national drinking water standards for six PFAS chemicals. But under President Donald Trump, the federal government has since rolled back limits on four of the chemicals and delayed the compliance deadline for the remaining two. Meanwhile, the Cordles have seen alarming signs, in both humans and animals. Sasha, who moved to the property after marrying Jamie in 2020, soon developed two autoimmune conditions, as well as high blood pressure and chronic fatigue. "Sometimes getting out of bed, I feel like I'm 80," she said. Her grown children also report various ailments -- and some goat kids didn't survive their birth defects. Attorney Ben Finley is leading a wave of damages claims, recruiting new clients at buoyant town halls. So far, his firm has filed suits for 18 lead plaintiffs. "We're drawing a direct line between contamination, lost property value and cleanup cost," Finley said. While the lawyers work the crowds, water expert Bob Bowcock takes water, soil and dust samples to help build the scientific case behind the legal one. "We've got springs emitting into ponds that are discharging to creeks at over 180,000 parts per trillion," he said. The national guideline for drinking water is just four parts per trillion, and local creeks are often seen frothing with pollution. PFAS in the soil move up the protein chain and into the food web -- contaminating eggs, milk, beef, and leafy greens that find themselves on store shelves nationwide. The carpet makers are the area's main economic lifeline, yet many are now turning against them. Mary Janet Clark, 62, toiled for the carpet makers, had her ovaries removed after cancer, and now has a tumor in her brain. "We helped them build their business and make all that money," said her son, David Wray, 40. "It's just cruel." Others share similar grief. Human-resources manager Teresa Ensley, 57, lost her brother, father and husband to cancer in just a few years. Studies have linked PFAS to elevated colon cancer rates, the disease that killed her brother and husband. She and her 81-year-old mother both suffer severe thyroid problems and have had hysterectomies. Even for those not yet sick, the toll is palpable. Greg and Sharon Eads hoped to retire on farmland they bought in 2019, but it has since tested hot for PFAS, unraveling their dream. They own $50,000 worth of cattle now off-limits for milk or meat. It's become "basically a petting zoo," said Greg. "I can't do anything with them, not in good conscience." During a recent visit, the couple led AFP through bucolic pastures where the herd huddled around a healthy newborn calf -- a welcome moment of hope after several others were lost to deformities. Sasha Cordle has joined other Georgia landowners in suing local carpet makers over PFAS contamination AFP Civil engineer and water quality expert Bob Bowcock conducts a test for forever chemicals AFP Teresa Ensley lost her brother, father and husband to cancers all in the space of a few years AFP Sharon and Greg Eads hoped to retire on their farmland, but it has since tested hot for PFAS AFP
