S8 E25: PFAS & Congress: Last Week Tonight with John Oliver

News Roundup

• The US recently passed 700,000 COVID-19 deaths, R Kelly was found guilty, and the UK experienced a gas crisis due to a shortage of truck drivers caused by Brexit (36s).
• A man in the UK was seen taunting people waiting in line for petrol by singing that his horse runs on carrots, which is objectively hilarious (1m8s).
• The Senate held a hearing on Facebook and Instagram's impact on teenagers' mental health, during which Senator Richard Blumenthal asked a bizarre question about "Fina," which is slang for a type of private account on Facebook (1m39s).
• The real drama of the week concerned the fate of the Build Back Better Act, a key part of Biden's agenda that is projected to cost around $3.5 trillion over 10 years and contains funding for various initiatives such as at-home care, universal pre-K, and climate change mitigation (2m43s).
• To pass the bill, Democrats are using reconciliation to evade a filibuster, but moderates like Kyrsten Sinema and Joe Manchin argue that it costs too much, while progressives have said they will oppose the bipartisan infrastructure bill unless the larger bill is guaranteed to pass (3m14s).
• Jen Psaki attempted to reassure reporters that the chaotic process is all part of the legislative process, comparing it to an episode of a TV show (3m37s).
• President Biden appears to be siding with progressives on a bill that contains policies he ran on and are broadly popular, despite opposition from Senators Cinema and Manchin (4m23s).
• Senator Manchin met with West Virginians who paddled out to his boat in kayaks to discuss the bill, and he stated that he wants a "good bill" that is balanced and well-done, but did not provide specific details on how he plans to help the poor in West Virginia (4m37s).
• Senator Cinema has been evasive about her bargaining position on the bill, turning basic questions into a "shitty game" and at one point saying she was "clearly right in front of the elevator" when asked about her stance (5m32s).
• Cinema's supporters have tried to cast her eccentricities as an asset, saying she doesn't think in a linear process and "beats her own drum," but this has been criticized as making her "bad at her job" (6m29s).
• The bill could materially benefit people's lives, and Senators Cinema and Manchin owe the public more than vague platitudes if they are blocking it (7m11s).
• The window for Senators Cinema and Manchin to take action on the bill may be closing rapidly, and their inaction could have consequences (7m23s).

The Build Back Better Act

• The real drama of the week concerned the fate of the Build Back Better Act, a key part of Biden's agenda that is projected to cost around $3.5 trillion over 10 years and contains funding for various initiatives such as at-home care, universal pre-K, and climate change mitigation (2m43s).
• To pass the bill, Democrats are using reconciliation to evade a filibuster, but moderates like Kyrsten Sinema and Joe Manchin argue that it costs too much, while progressives have said they will oppose the bipartisan infrastructure bill unless the larger bill is guaranteed to pass (3m14s).
• Jen Psaki attempted to reassure reporters that the chaotic process is all part of the legislative process, comparing it to an episode of a TV show (3m37s).
• President Biden appears to be siding with progressives on a bill that contains policies he ran on and are broadly popular, despite opposition from Senators Cinema and Manchin (4m23s).
• Senator Manchin met with West Virginians who paddled out to his boat in kayaks to discuss the bill, and he stated that he wants a "good bill" that is balanced and well-done, but did not provide specific details on how he plans to help the poor in West Virginia (4m37s).
• Senator Cinema has been evasive about her bargaining position on the bill, turning basic questions into a "shitty game" and at one point saying she was "clearly right in front of the elevator" when asked about her stance (5m32s).
• Cinema's supporters have tried to cast her eccentricities as an asset, saying she doesn't think in a linear process and "beats her own drum," but this has been criticized as making her "bad at her job" (6m29s).
• The bill could materially benefit people's lives, and Senators Cinema and Manchin owe the public more than vague platitudes if they are blocking it (7m11s).
• The window for Senators Cinema and Manchin to take action on the bill may be closing rapidly, and their inaction could have consequences (7m23s).

Leaf Peeping and PFAS

• Leaf peeping is a term used to describe the act of looking at leaves, particularly during the fall season, which some people find mildly disturbing due to the phrase's unusual sound (7m53s).
• The main story concerns a class of chemicals called PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances), which are used by recognizable brands like Gore-Tex and Teflon to make surfaces non-stick (8m44s).
• PFAS have been linked to various health issues, including high cholesterol, ulcerative colitis, pregnancy-induced hypertension, thyroid disease, testicular and kidney cancer, and decreased response to vaccines (9m40s).
• PFAS are also known as "forever chemicals" due to their estimated lifetimes of thousands of years, making them a significant environmental concern (10m5s).
• A chemical engineer explained to Congress that PFAS do not break down and can be passed down to future generations, with the engineer stating that even incinerating and cremating a person would not eliminate the chemicals (10m17s).
• The Teflon mesh used in hernia products can produce a toxic gas and decompose into hydrofluoric acid, also known as "Devil's piss," when incinerated (10m34s).
• The world is currently contaminated with PFAS, making it a widespread environmental issue (11m17s).
• One of the most ubiquitous PFAS is PFOA, also known as C8, which was first sold by 3M to Dupont in 1951 (11m32s).
• Teflon was marketed through ads, such as one where a child claims to be "liberated" from scraping and scrubbing pots and pans, despite the company already knowing the chemicals accumulated in humans and animals and didn't degrade in the environment (11m44s).
• By the 1980s, 3M found that ingestion of PFOA caused birth defects in rats, and when Dupont tested the children of employees in their Teflon division, they found that of seven births, two had eye defects, information that was not made public (12m42s).
• In 1991, Dupont received warnings from 3M that PFOA should not be put in waterways, but they continued to dump large amounts of C8 into the water, eventually losing track of how much they had released (13m2s).
• In 1993, Dupont had a viable candidate to replace C8, which appeared to be less toxic and stayed in the body for a shorter duration, but they decided against it due to the risk to their bottom line and the fact that Teflon products were worth roughly a billion dollars in annual revenue (13m44s).
• Despite knowing the risks, Dupont continued to push for Teflon to be used in more and more places, presenting it as a form of "magic" in a 1994 ad, highlighting its various uses, including as a chain lube for bicycles and a coating for satellites and fabrics (14m18s).
• The EPA's ability to regulate chemicals is limited under the 1976 Toxic Substances Control Act, which requires evidence of potential harm before testing can be mandated, effectively allowing chemical companies to self-regulate (15m27s).
• In 2016, the EPA issued a non-enforceable health advisory for two PFAS, including C8, setting an acceptable level in drinking water of 70 parts per trillion, which some consider too high (15m54s).
• Epidemiologists studying people who lived near a DuPont plant found that those with high exposure to C8-contaminated drinking water had higher rates of kidney and testicular cancers (16m46s).
• Workers at the DuPont plant, including a man who developed ulcerative colitis and rectal cancer, were heavily exposed to C8, with three of his four-man team dying from related illnesses (16m57s).
• PFAS can travel through groundwater and air, bioaccumulate in the body, and affect people who do not live near dumping sites or work in factories that produce them (17m42s).
• In the 1970s, DuPont and 3M tested workers' blood for PFAS levels and found that there was no "clean" blood to use as a control group, as the chemicals were present in people's blood worldwide (18m2s).
• Eventually, clean blood was found in archived samples from army recruits at the start of the Korean War, and a CDC study found that C8 is now present in the blood of 99.7% of Americans (18m32s).
• The military and many companies have used PFAS in various products, leading to widespread contamination, with DuPont being a particularly stark example (19m2s).
• Wolverine, a shoe company, used PFAS in its waterproof Hush Puppies, contaminating the water supply near its factory in Belmont, Michigan, which was only discovered after local reporting (19m19s).
• A family, the McNortons, who lived near the factory, had their water tested and found it contained almost 2,000 parts per trillion of PFAS, exceeding the EPA's acceptable level of 70 parts per trillion (19m36s).
• The family's son, Jack, was born with a high level of PFAS in his blood, 484,000 parts per trillion, more than 100 times the national average, making him the child with the highest level of PFAS in the United States (20m10s).
• Wolverine has taken steps to fix the problem for homeowners in the area, including installing a whole-home filter system, nicknamed "Megatron," which uses granulated carbon to clean the water (20m51s).
• However, this solution is not viable for every home, and many companies, including DuPont, are doing the bare minimum or trying to evade responsibility for PFAS contamination (21m56s).
• DuPont settled a class-action lawsuit with residents of a town where it was dumping C8, a type of PFAS, and agreed to phase out its use, but switched to a different kind of PFAS called GenX, which has raised concerns among scientists (22m1s).
• Scientists have significant concerns about the presence of GenX in the water supply, as it is a member of a class of compounds thought to be able to cause cancers and other health problems (22m41s).
• Despite claims by the manufacturer, Kor, that GenX is safer, scientists do not think the water is safe enough to drink (23m5s).
• The problem with PFAS is that even if one type, such as Gen X, is eventually found to be harmful, companies can simply move on to another one, as there are hundreds or thousands of them (23m23s).
• Experts say it's unlikely that PFAS will be released from pans if they aren't overheated or scratched, so it's not necessary to throw away all pans immediately (23m49s).
• However, clothing that contains PFAS, such as stainproof or waterproof fabrics from companies like Lululemon, Northface, and Patagonia, poses a slightly higher risk of exposure (24m0s).
• Food wrappers containing PFAS, used by chains like Starbucks, Chick-fil-A, and Subway, also pose a risk, but these companies claim they are working to remove PFAS from their products (24m11s).
• It's difficult for consumers to know which products contain PFAS, as they are not required to carry labels stating this information (24m36s).
• Even if consumers make responsible choices, if the factory producing the chemical doesn't dispose of its waste properly, it can still get into the bloodstream (24m52s).
• To check the safety of local water, individuals can visit ewg.org/pfas-map, and consider solutions like drinking bottled water or using a reverse osmosis filter if necessary (25m28s).
• Legislation is needed to limit the use of PFAS to essential items, and to regulate them as a class of chemicals rather than one at a time (25m50s).
• This would enable the EPA to more effectively regulate not just existing PFAS, but also replacements like Gen X when they are introduced (26m7s).
• PFAS can be applied to a surface to prevent bugs from growing and crawling, but it can cause severe health issues, including ulcerative colitis, in the bugs that come into contact with it (26m53s).
• The chemicals in PFAS are widespread and can be found in people, including those who suffer from chronic insomnia, and even in children (27m29s).
• When PFAS gets into water, it can cause severe contamination levels, leading to health issues such as kidney cancer (27m37s).
• The widespread presence of PFAS in the environment and its potential health risks are not often discussed, despite its toxic effects (27m51s).

PFAS: The Forever Chemicals

• The main story concerns a class of chemicals called PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances), which are used by recognizable brands like Gore-Tex and Teflon to make surfaces non-stick (8m44s).
• PFAS have been linked to various health issues, including high cholesterol, ulcerative colitis, pregnancy-induced hypertension, thyroid disease, testicular and kidney cancer, and decreased response to vaccines (9m40s).
• PFAS are also known as "forever chemicals" due to their estimated lifetimes of thousands of years, making them a significant environmental concern (10m5s).
• A chemical engineer explained to Congress that PFAS do not break down and can be passed down to future generations, with the engineer stating that even incinerating and cremating a person would not eliminate the chemicals (10m17s).
• The Teflon mesh used in hernia products can produce a toxic gas and decompose into hydrofluoric acid, also known as "Devil's piss," when incinerated (10m34s).
• The world is currently contaminated with PFAS, making it a widespread environmental issue (11m17s).
• One of the most ubiquitous PFAS is PFOA, also known as C8, which was first sold by 3M to Dupont in 1951 (11m32s).
• Teflon was marketed through ads, such as one where a child claims to be "liberated" from scraping and scrubbing pots and pans, despite the company already knowing the chemicals accumulated in humans and animals and didn't degrade in the environment (11m44s).
• By the 1980s, 3M found that ingestion of PFOA caused birth defects in rats, and when Dupont tested the children of employees in their Teflon division, they found that of seven births, two had eye defects, information that was not made public (12m42s).
• In 1991, Dupont received warnings from 3M that PFOA should not be put in waterways, but they continued to dump large amounts of C8 into the water, eventually losing track of how much they had released (13m2s).
• In 1993, Dupont had a viable candidate to replace C8, which appeared to be less toxic and stayed in the body for a shorter duration, but they decided against it due to the risk to their bottom line and the fact that Teflon products were worth roughly a billion dollars in annual revenue (13m44s).
• Despite knowing the risks, Dupont continued to push for Teflon to be used in more and more places, presenting it as a form of "magic" in a 1994 ad, highlighting its various uses, including as a chain lube for bicycles and a coating for satellites and fabrics (14m18s).
• The EPA's ability to regulate chemicals is limited under the 1976 Toxic Substances Control Act, which requires evidence of potential harm before testing can be mandated, effectively allowing chemical companies to self-regulate (15m27s).
• In 2016, the EPA issued a non-enforceable health advisory for two PFAS, including C8, setting an acceptable level in drinking water of 70 parts per trillion, which some consider too high (15m54s).
• Epidemiologists studying people who lived near a DuPont plant found that those with high exposure to C8-contaminated drinking water had higher rates of kidney and testicular cancers (16m46s).
• Workers at the DuPont plant, including a man who developed ulcerative colitis and rectal cancer, were heavily exposed to C8, with three of his four-man team dying from related illnesses (16m57s).
• PFAS can travel through groundwater and air, bioaccumulate in the body, and affect people who do not live near dumping sites or work in factories that produce them (17m42s).
• In the 1970s, DuPont and 3M tested workers' blood for PFAS levels and found that there was no "clean" blood to use as a control group, as the chemicals were present in people's blood worldwide (18m2s).
• Eventually, clean blood was found in archived samples from army recruits at the start of the Korean War, and a CDC study found that C8 is now present in the blood of 99.7% of Americans (18m32s).
• The military and many companies have used PFAS in various products, leading to widespread contamination, with DuPont being a particularly stark example (19m2s).
• Wolverine, a shoe company, used PFAS in its waterproof Hush Puppies, contaminating the water supply near its factory in Belmont, Michigan, which was only discovered after local reporting (19m19s).
• A family, the McNortons, who lived near the factory, had their water tested and found it contained almost 2,000 parts per trillion of PFAS, exceeding the EPA's acceptable level of 70 parts per trillion (19m36s).
• The family's son, Jack, was born with a high level of PFAS in his blood, 484,000 parts per trillion, more than 100 times the national average, making him the child with the highest level of PFAS in the United States (20m10s).
• Wolverine has taken steps to fix the problem for homeowners in the area, including installing a whole-home filter system, nicknamed "Megatron," which uses granulated carbon to clean the water (20m51s).
• However, this solution is not viable for every home, and many companies, including DuPont, are doing the bare minimum or trying to evade responsibility for PFAS contamination (21m56s).
• DuPont settled a class-action lawsuit with residents of a town where it was dumping C8, a type of PFAS, and agreed to phase out its use, but switched to a different kind of PFAS called GenX, which has raised concerns among scientists (22m1s).
• Scientists have significant concerns about the presence of GenX in the water supply, as it is a member of a class of compounds thought to be able to cause cancers and other health problems (22m41s).
• Despite claims by the manufacturer, Kor, that GenX is safer, scientists do not think the water is safe enough to drink (23m5s).
• The problem with PFAS is that even if one type, such as Gen X, is eventually found to be harmful, companies can simply move on to another one, as there are hundreds or thousands of them (23m23s).
• Experts say it's unlikely that PFAS will be released from pans if they aren't overheated or scratched, so it's not necessary to throw away all pans immediately (23m49s).
• However, clothing that contains PFAS, such as stainproof or waterproof fabrics from companies like Lululemon, Northface, and Patagonia, poses a slightly higher risk of exposure (24m0s).
• Food wrappers containing PFAS, used by chains like Starbucks, Chick-fil-A, and Subway, also pose a risk, but these companies claim they are working to remove PFAS from their products (24m11s).
• It's difficult for consumers to know which products contain PFAS, as they are not required to carry labels stating this information (24m36s).
• Even if consumers make responsible choices, if the factory producing the chemical doesn't dispose of its waste properly, it can still get into the bloodstream (24m52s).
• To check the safety of local water, individuals can visit ewg.org/pfas-map, and consider solutions like drinking bottled water or using a reverse osmosis filter if necessary (25m28s).
• Legislation is needed to limit the use of PFAS to essential items, and to regulate them as a class of chemicals rather than one at a time (25m50s).
• This would enable the EPA to more effectively regulate not just existing PFAS, but also replacements like Gen X when they are introduced (26m7s).
• PFAS can be applied to a surface to prevent bugs from growing and crawling, but it can cause severe health issues, including ulcerative colitis, in the bugs that come into contact with it (26m53s).
• The chemicals in PFAS are widespread and can be found in people, including those who suffer from chronic insomnia, and even in children (27m29s).
• When PFAS gets into water, it can cause severe contamination levels, leading to health issues such as kidney cancer (27m37s).
• The widespread presence of PFAS in the environment and its potential health risks are not often discussed, despite its toxic effects (27m51s).

The Dangers of PFAS

• PFAS have been linked to various health issues, including high cholesterol, ulcerative colitis, pregnancy-induced hypertension, thyroid disease, testicular and kidney cancer, and decreased response to vaccines (9m40s).
• PFAS are also known as "forever chemicals" due to their estimated lifetimes of thousands of years, making them a significant environmental concern (10m5s).
• A chemical engineer explained to Congress that PFAS do not break down and can be passed down to future generations, with the engineer stating that even incinerating and cremating a person would not eliminate the chemicals (10m17s).
• The Teflon mesh used in hernia products can produce a toxic gas and decompose into hydrofluoric acid, also known as "Devil's piss," when incinerated (10m34s).

The History of PFOA/C8 Contamination

• One of the most ubiquitous PFAS is PFOA, also known as C8, which was first sold by 3M to Dupont in 1951 (11m32s).
• Teflon was marketed through ads, such as one where a child claims to be "liberated" from scraping and scrubbing pots and pans, despite the company already knowing the chemicals accumulated in humans and animals and didn't degrade in the environment (11m44s).
• By the 1980s, 3M found that ingestion of PFOA caused birth defects in rats, and when Dupont tested the children of employees in their Teflon division, they found that of seven births, two had eye defects, information that was not made public (12m42s).
• In 1991, Dupont received warnings from 3M that PFOA should not be put in waterways, but they continued to dump large amounts of C8 into the water, eventually losing track of how much they had released (13m2s).
• In 1993, Dupont had a viable candidate to replace C8, which appeared to be less toxic and stayed in the body for a shorter duration, but they decided against it due to the risk to their bottom line and the fact that Teflon products were worth roughly a billion dollars in annual revenue (13m44s).
• Despite knowing the risks, Dupont continued to push for Teflon to be used in more and more places, presenting it as a form of "magic" in a 1994 ad, highlighting its various uses, including as a chain lube for bicycles and a coating for satellites and fabrics (14m18s).

Regulation and Contamination of PFAS

• The EPA's ability to regulate chemicals is limited under the 1976 Toxic Substances Control Act, which requires evidence of potential harm before testing can be mandated, effectively allowing chemical companies to self-regulate (15m27s).
• In 2016, the EPA issued a non-enforceable health advisory for two PFAS, including C8, setting an acceptable level in drinking water of 70 parts per trillion, which some consider too high (15m54s).
• Epidemiologists studying people who lived near a DuPont plant found that those with high exposure to C8-contaminated drinking water had higher rates of kidney and testicular cancers (16m46s).
• Workers at the DuPont plant, including a man who developed ulcerative colitis and rectal cancer, were heavily exposed to C8, with three of his four-man team dying from related illnesses (16m57s).
• PFAS can travel through groundwater and air, bioaccumulate in the body, and affect people who do not live near dumping sites or work in factories that produce them (17m42s).
• In the 1970s, DuPont and 3M tested workers' blood for PFAS levels and found that there was no "clean" blood to use as a control group, as the chemicals were present in people's blood worldwide (18m2s).
• Eventually, clean blood was found in archived samples from army recruits at the start of the Korean War, and a CDC study found that C8 is now present in the blood of 99.7% of Americans (18m32s).
• The military and many companies have used PFAS in various products, leading to widespread contamination, with DuPont being a particularly stark example (19m2s).
• Wolverine, a shoe company, used PFAS in its waterproof Hush Puppies, contaminating the water supply near its factory in Belmont, Michigan, which was only discovered after local reporting (19m19s).
• A family, the McNortons, who lived near the factory, had their water tested and found it contained almost 2,000 parts per trillion of PFAS, exceeding the EPA's acceptable level of 70 parts per trillion (19m36s).
• The family's son, Jack, was born with a high level of PFAS in his blood, 484,000 parts per trillion, more than 100 times the national average, making him the child with the highest level of PFAS in the United States (20m10s).
• Wolverine has taken steps to fix the problem for homeowners in the area, including installing a whole-home filter system, nicknamed "Megatron," which uses granulated carbon to clean the water (20m51s).
• However, this solution is not viable for every home, and many companies, including DuPont, are doing the bare minimum or trying to evade responsibility for PFAS contamination (21m56s).
• DuPont settled a class-action lawsuit with residents of a town where it was dumping C8, a type of PFAS, and agreed to phase out its use, but switched to a different kind of PFAS called GenX, which has raised concerns among scientists (22m1s).
• Scientists have significant concerns about the presence of GenX in the water supply, as it is a member of a class of compounds thought to be able to cause cancers and other health problems (22m41s).
• Despite claims by the manufacturer, Kor, that GenX is safer, scientists do not think the water is safe enough to drink (23m5s).
• The problem with PFAS is that even if one type, such as Gen X, is eventually found to be harmful, companies can simply move on to another one, as there are hundreds or thousands of them (23m23s).

Consumer Choices and PFAS Exposure

• Experts say it's unlikely that PFAS will be released from pans if they aren't overheated or scratched, so it's not necessary to throw away all pans immediately (23m49s).
• However, clothing that contains PFAS, such as stainproof or waterproof fabrics from companies like Lululemon, Northface, and Patagonia, poses a slightly higher risk of exposure (24m0s).
• Food wrappers containing PFAS, used by chains like Starbucks, Chick-fil-A, and Subway, also pose a risk, but these companies claim they are working to remove PFAS from their products (24m11s).
• It's difficult for consumers to know which products contain PFAS, as they are not required to carry labels stating this information (24m36s).
• Even if consumers make responsible choices, if the factory producing the chemical doesn't dispose of its waste properly, it can still get into the bloodstream (24m52s).
• To check the safety of local water, individuals can visit ewg.org/pfas-map, and consider solutions like drinking bottled water or using a reverse osmosis filter if necessary (25m28s).

The Need for Legislation and Regulation

• Legislation is needed to limit the use of PFAS to essential items, and to regulate them as a class of chemicals rather than one at a time (25m50s).
• This would enable the EPA to more effectively regulate not just existing PFAS, but also replacements like Gen X when they are introduced (26m7s).

The Pervasiveness and Health Risks of PFAS

• PFAS can be applied to a surface to prevent bugs from growing and crawling, but it can cause severe health issues, including ulcerative colitis, in the bugs that come into contact with it (26m53s).
• The chemicals in PFAS are widespread and can be found in people, including those who suffer from chronic insomnia, and even in children (27m29s).
• When PFAS gets into water, it can cause severe contamination levels, leading to health issues such as kidney cancer (27m37s).
• The widespread presence of PFAS in the environment and its potential health risks are not often discussed, despite its toxic effects (27m51s).