PFAS

Federal officials are relying on research by chemical industry researchers to exclude Teflon and other fluoropolymers, a type of toxic "forever chemical," from proposed rules to protect human health and the environment.

The federal government is in the middle of a regulatory battle over the future of so-called “forever chemicals,” catching flak from environmentalists who say Ottawa is walking back plans that would protect the public.

The B.C. government’s lawsuit over the health impact of so-called “forever chemicals” is now shining a questionable light on the province’s effort to also overturn one of Canada’s only bans on toxic sewage sludge applied to fields and forests.

On Friday, the province's attorney-general, Niki Sharma, announced the government has filed a civil suit against five major PFAS producers, including chemical giants 3M and DuPont. 

With this action, Attorney General Dana Nessel becomes the latest public official to set sights on industry for harms it is alleged to have not only knowingly inflicted on the state, but also obfuscated.

Farmers spread treated human waste on their crops. And it's full of forever chemicals.

The link between human rights, human health and an unhealthy planet is clear to us as physicians. The federal government must also make these connections.

The regulation represents a new era for public health and drinking water. The Biden administration has also proposed new rules that would force utilities to remove harmful lead pipes. It’s part of their overall goal to make tap water safer.

Canada's National Observer presents Episode 5 of The Poison Detectives — Toxic Justice. Listen wherever you get your podcasts!

B.C. could soon become the first province to partially ban a group of cancer-causing chemicals used in everything from firefighting equipment to makeup. Tabled by BC Green MLA Adam Olsen, the proposed law would ban per- and polyfluoroalkyl (PFAS) chemicals in the firefighting equipment used by the province's professional and volunteer fire crews. 

It falls on ordinary people to prove that the chemicals are toxic before they are regulated by the government. That is simply backward.

Toxicologist Linda Birnbaum describes the pushback from industry and politicians that started to stall or prevent regulation against dangerous chemicals in Episode 3 of The Poison Detectives.

Environmentalists, Inuit and firefighters are urging the federal government to list a group of harmful chemicals as toxic under Canada's environmental protection laws because they can increase cancer risks and other health risks and linger in ecosystems for decades. 

Canada's National Observer presents The Poison Detectives Episode 2 — Who’s Minding the Store?

When Diane’s husband, Paul Cotter, was diagnosed with prostate cancer at the age of 55, they were surprised and wondered if it was related to his job as a firefighter. Then, Paul began getting calls from firefighters at his station in Worcester, Mass. — all of them with prostate cancer.