Forever Chemicals Blog - Leon

 ÇLeon Hoang

Mr. Roddy

IHSS
Jan 21, 2021

Forever Chemicals Blog 

This article basically talks about something that we usually see in movies, rather than in real life. A virus that was released intentionally by dominant companies in order to gain profit is actually a real thing. Perfluorooctanoic acid or PFAS is a perfluorinated carboxylic acid used globally in chemical processes. Some examples of things that we use that contain this are; grease-resistant paper, fast food containers/wrappers, microwave popcorn bags, pizza boxes, and candy wrappers, nonstick cookware, stain-resistant coatings, cleaning products, and more. So it’s safe to say that this chemical is very common in our everyday lives. But although it seems like it’s harmless, this has been proven to have connections to liver damage, thyroid disease, decreased fertility, high cholesterol, obesity, hormone suppression, cancer, and countless other diseases. PFAS can affect a person through the air as well, which is very dangerous. This chemical can stay in your body endlessly earning the name "Forever chemicals." Discovery of the hazards of this chemical happened when a farmer by the name of Earl Tennant came across a mysterious illness that was killing his cows and nearby wildlife. Upon further investigation, he discovered that the water contained PFAS which were toxic to all organisms. The investigation into this virus has continued for 20 years to the present. Now what is extremely interesting is the fact that this issue isn’t on multiple major news networks at this time. One would expect that something as life-changing as this new issue would make multiple headlines. Maybe the fact that COVID-19 is still killing thousands of people a day is a reason that this isn’t trending. However, if something as simple as a star quarterback leaving rumors can interest the entire nation, a deadly chemical should be well known. The author of this article seems to agree with my point of view, “Why is a nation and a world so outraged by lead in the water of Flint taking this one lying down? This is poisoning not only the drinking water in one American city, but countless cities all over the world – and the groundwater, surface waters, soils, and vegetation. It’s a poison that can last forever in our environment and is now circulating in the blood of almost every human and living creature on the planet, for this generation and generations to come. Unless we act. Quickly, and decisively.” No one would’ve expected that a chemical used for everyday things would be hazardous but here we are. And now that we know this, what other silent dangers are there that we don’t know about?     

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