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You know he ain't gonna dieeee
The 'forever chemical' cover-up exposed: Makers of toxic PFAs - found in everything from frying pans to clothes - suppressed studies showing chemicals may cause cancer and birth defects for DECADES, new report claims
June 1, 2023
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Researchers found internal alerts over the chemicals were raised in 1961
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But this didn't become public knowledge until the 1990s, some 30 years later
Manufacturers of 'forever chemicals' tried to cover up the dangers they posed for more than 30 years, a new report claims.
Researchers at the University of California, San Francisco, who reviewed dozens of company documents, found executives were first alerted to the health risks in 1961, but scientists said that they failed to raise the alarm until the 1990s.
Internal documents revealed chemical manufacturers DuPont and 3M were facing studies warning the chemicals, dubbed per- and polyFluorinated Substances (PFAS), could cause liver enlargement, poisonings and birth defects in children.
But the executives were alleged to have sat on the evidence and allow the chemicals to continue to be used in pots and pans, carpets, children's toys and even period underwear. They are used in paints and fabrics to make items non-stick or waterproof.
Studies suggest that more than 97 percent of Americans now have PFAS chemicals circulating in their blood.
But US states are still only just waking up to the threat, with Minnesota set to become the first to ban them completely by 2025.
Dr Tracey Woodruff, a gynecologist, and others involved in the study likened the delay to the tobacco industry's response to warnings that smoking can cause cancer.
The companies created the chemicals which were then used by other companies in items such as pans and fabrics to make them non stick and give them a waterproof quality.
But a single scratch can release millions of these toxic forever chemicals that can then be absorbed through the skin into the blood.
They can then enter cells where they damage DNA, raising the risk of cancer, and interfere with vital organs such as the thyroid, affecting metabolism.
In the study, published last night in the Annals of Global Health, researchers combed through documents on PFAS.
These had been obtained from Minnesota-based PFAS inventor 3M and major PFAS manufacturer DuPont, based in Wilmington, Delaware, in a lawsuit by Robert Billot that began in 1998.
He eventually managed to get records from the company spanning 1961 to 2006 which were then donated to the UCSF Chemical Industry Documents Library.
The scientists used these documents to construct a timeline of when manufacturers became aware of the risks posed by PFAS chemicals.
They then conducted further research to also construct a timeline of when alerts were raised in the public.
Results showed that warnings about PFAS chemicals and, in particular, the Teflon chemical coating, were first raised in 1961.
The chief of toxicology at DuPont found in experiments that rats exposed to PFAS in low doses had an 'increase in the size of the liver'. They warned that the chemicals should be handled with 'extreme care' and contact with the skin should be 'strictly avoided'.
Concerns were again raised internally in the 1970s, when DuPont-funded Haskell Laboratorie found that PFAS was 'highly toxic when inhaled and moderately toxic when ingested'.
Tests in dogs in the same decade showed that animals that ingested a single dose of PFAS died up to two days later.
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In 1980, DuPont also learned that two of eight employees who had been pregnant while working in their factories gave birth to babies with deformities.
But the company did not reveal the findings, instead saying the following year that: 'We know of no evidence of birth defects caused by [PFAS] at DuPont.'
They also went on to assure employees that PFAS was no more toxic than 'table salt'.
Again in 1991, they said in a press release that PFAS has 'no known toxic or ill health effects in humans at concentration levels detected'.
This was published in response to a research report that year which found that PFAS posed a 'likely risk to human health'.
In 1998 and 2002 the manufacturer faced lawsuits over the potential health risks posed by PFAS, which led them to release studies about what the industry knew that were not in the public domain.
Dr Woodruff said: 'These documents reveal clear evidence that the chemical industry knew about the dangers of PFAS and failed to let the public, regulators, and even their own employees know the risks.
She added: 'As many countries pursue legal and legislative action to curb PFAS production, we hope they are aided by the timeline of evidence presented in this paper.
'This timeline reveals serious failures in the way the U.S. currently regulates harmful chemicals.'
The scientists drew parallels between the actions of PFAS manufaturers and those of tobacco companies in the 1950s and 1960s.
It was in the 1950s that the major British Doctors Study was published which warned of a link between cigarette smoking and lung cancer.
The following decade the US surgeon general published a report concluding that smoking did cause lung cancer.
But in response to these findings, the tobacco industry sought to question the findings and play-down the risks.
Some documents suggest that tobacco companies were aware of the risks posed by smoking, but instead of warning others discussed strategies to minimize or play them down.
DuPont has previously denied to NBC News that it hid the risks posed by PFAS and said that it has provided extensive information to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) over the years on the risk.
In 2021, the company agreed to share $4billion settlement costs for the use of 'forever chemicals' with other company spin offs.
In 2019, DuPont's chief operating and engineering officer Daryl Roberts called for regulation of two specific types of PFAS.
For its part, 3M has previously said last year that it would discontinue the use of forever chemicals.
'We have already reduced our use of PFAS over the past three years through ongoing research and development, and will continue to innovate new solutions for customers,' a spokesperson said.
Its senior vice president of corporate affairs Denise Rutherford said in 2019 that the chemicals pose no threat to human health at the current levels.
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-12144893/Makers-PFAS-forever-chemicals-covered-dangers-new-report-warns.html
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Readout of US Space Force Chief Operations Officer Lt. Gen. DeAnna Burt’s Travel to Germany and the UK
May 31, 2023
LONDON, England – Lt. Gen. DeAnna Burt, Deputy Chief of Space Operations for Operations, Cyber, and Nuclear, traveled to Germany and the U.K. May 22-26 to reaffirm enduring space partnerships and deepen multilateral cooperation between the U.S. Space Force, NATO allies and partners, and U.K. Space Command.
During her time in Germany, Burt visited Headquarters U.S. Air Forces in Europe - Air Forces Africa (USAFE-AFAFRICA) and NATO Allied Air Command’s NATO Space Centre. She met with U.S. Air Force Gen. James Hecker, USAFE-AFAFRICA and NATO Allied Air Command Commander; U.S. Space Force Col. Max Lantz, USAFE-AFAFRICA Director of Space Forces; Italian Air Force Maj. Gen. Gianluca Ercolani, NATO Allied Air Command Chief of Staff; German Air Force Brig. Gen. Christoph Pliet, NATO Allied Air Command Deputy Chief of Staff; and other allied and partner nation officials.
At Headquarters USAFE-AFAFRICA, Burt was briefed on progress made toward the future standup of a U.S. Space Force component to U.S. European Command and U.S. Africa Command (SPACE-EURAF). The realignment of Guardians under the geographically-based component will provide organic space expertise in support of operations and deployed personnel assigned to the combatant commands.
At the NATO Space Centre, the leaders discussed the successful integration of space-based capabilities during recent combined, joint interoperability exercises in the region.
While in the U.K., Burt met with Royal Air Force Air Vice-Marshal Paul Godfrey, U.K. Space Command Commander; Royal Air Force Air Commodore Adam Bone, U.K. Space Command Head of Space Operations, Plans and Training; Royal Canadian Air Force Brig. Gen. Michael Adamson, Director General Space and Joint Force Space Component Commander; and other U.K. and Canadian officials.
The engagement served as an opportunity for trilateral classified conversations between the U.S., U.K. and Canadian space senior leaders. At the unclassified level, the three sides discussed ways to bolster the Military Personnel Exchange Program to increase interoperability throughout each country’s space-centric military units.
Burt also delivered keynote remarks at the Defence iQ Space Operations Summit in London, where she emphasized the importance of mutually beneficial relationships with allies, partners and industry. The annual event aims to explore ways in which nations are working together to defend space-based capabilities and secure freedom of action in space.
https://www.spaceforce.mil/News/Article/3411130/readout-of-us-space-force-chief-operations-officer-lt-gen-deanna-burts-travel-t/
Department of the Air Force announces preferred locations for STARCOM HQ, three Deltas
May 31, 2023
ARLINGTON, VA (AFNS) – The Department of the Air Force selected Patrick Space Force Base, Florida, as the preferred location to host the Space Training and Readiness Command Headquarters, along with Space Delta 10. Kirtland Air Force Base, New Mexico, is the preferred location for Space Delta 11, and Schriever Space Force Base, Colorado, is the preferred location for Space Delta 12.
STARCOM, one of three U.S. Space Force field commands, is responsible for the deliberate development, education, and training of space professionals in addition to the development of space warfighting doctrine, tactics, techniques, and procedures, and the operational test and evaluation of Space Force systems.
Space Delta 10, which is responsible for doctrine and wargaming, is expected to also be located at Patrick Space Force Base, Florida. This delta develops Space Force doctrine and tactics, conducts the service’s Lessons Learned program, and executes and supports wargames to adequately posture space forces and designated joint and allied partners.
Space Delta 11 is expected to be located at Kirtland Air Force Base, New Mexico, and is responsible for all ranges and aggressors. This delta delivers realistic, threat-informed test and training environments through the provision of live, virtual, and constructive range and combat replication capabilities.
Space Delta 12 is expected to be located at Schriever Space Force Base, Colorado, and is responsible for test and evaluation. This delta prepares space forces to prevail in contested, degraded, and operationally limited environments through the independent test and evaluation of Space Force capabilities and delivery of timely, accurate, and expert information in support of weapon system acquisition, operational acceptance, and readiness decisions.
The decision to host STARCOM HQ and the three deltas at their respective bases came after conducting site surveys at each location to assess their ability to facilitate the mission and infrastructure capacity, while accounting for community support, environmental factors, and cost.
The Department of the Air Force will now conduct environmental impact analyses at each base, which are expected to be completed later this year before final decisions are made.
https://www.spaceforce.mil/News/Article/3411715/department-of-the-air-force-announces-preferred-locations-for-starcom-hq-three/
Colorado Springs to host DEL 15, two Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance Squadrons
May 31, 2023
ARLINGTON, Va. (AFNS) – The U.S. Space Force’s Space Delta 15, activated in March 2023, is expected to be permanently based at Schriever Space Force Base, Colorado, along with the new 75th Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance Squadron. Additionally, the service expects the 74th ISR Squadron, activated in November 2022, to be based at Peterson Space Force Base, Colorado.
DEL 15, a command-and-control organization within Space Operations Command, provides mission-ready forces in support of the National Space Defense Center’s protect and defend space mission. The unit currently operates at Schriever Space Force Base and is expected to remain there permanently.
The two ISR squadrons will provide additional capabilities within Space Delta 7, which has embedded detachments in each of the command’s other deltas to provide real-time ISR support to their respective missions.
The 74th ISR Squadron provides tailored threat analysis and intelligence production for tactical space operations. The squadron’s intelligence gathering is used to empower space operations to combat current, emerging, and future adversaries.
The new 75th ISR Squadron will be responsible for the federated targeting mission through orbital targeting sections focusing on integrating kinetic and non-kinetic targeting for the Joint Force across several orbital regimes.
The Department of the Air Force’s decision to host DEL 15 and the two ISR squadrons came after conducting thorough site surveys which assessed the location’s ability to facilitate the missions and infrastructure capacity while accounting for community support, environmental factors, and cost.
The Department of the Air Force will now conduct environmental impact analyses at each base, which are expected to be completed later this year before final decisions are made.
https://www.spaceforce.mil/News/Article/3411701/colorado-springs-to-host-del-15-two-intelligence-surveillance-and-reconnaissanc/