Stain-resistant, Nonstick, Waterproof, and Lethal

Download or read book Stain-resistant, Nonstick, Waterproof, and Lethal written by Callie Lyons and published by Greenwood. This book was released on 2007 with total page 191 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "It's everywhere. It's toxic. And it lasts forever." Asbestos? Nuclear waste? No. This statement, made by the Environmental Protection Agency in 2003, refers to a little-known but ubiquitous chemical compound whose trade name is C8. Manufactured by DuPont, it is used in the making of a plethora of stain-resistant, waterproof, and grease-resistant consumer products. The first members of the public to hear about C8, in January 2002, were the residents of the Mid-Ohio Valley, whose water supplies were found to contain detectable amounts. The EPA launched a multi-agency review of the manmade chemical, which became the largest investigation of its kind. As a local journalist, Lyons has covered the C8 story from the beginning. Here she explains how the danger of C8 first came to light, how the investigation progressed, and what remedies have been initiated.