The Devil They Knew

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The Poison Detectives

Canada's National Observer

6 episodes

9 months ago

A firefighter’s wife and a corporate lawyer in different parts of the U.S. get pulled into solving separate mysteries. Something was making cows die and deer haemorrhage to death in West Virginia. That same something could also be giving firefighters cancer – all over the country. When the lawyer and the firefighter’s wife met, they found out they were working on the same mystery. The mystery was caused by a man-made chemical that environmental regulators should have known about but didn’t. A chemical that is said to be so toxic it is unclear if any contact with it is safe. The chemical was created by a corporate giant, and then another corporate giant began using it to provide the world with so-called revolutionary products. Products, it turns out, come with a very steep price. This is a fascinating story of two people unravelling a ball of yarn that would reveal the poisoning of the world.

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Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Documentary

Society & Culture,

Science

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The Devil They Knew

The Poison Detectives

48 minutes 52 seconds

1 year ago

The Devil They Knew

We learn about the contamination of military bases in the U.S. and Canada from PFAS chemicals in firefighting foam. And how the foam residue has poisoned drinking water sources in both countries. We hear about one community in Quebec that was faced with a big problem finding a new source of drinking water.

And a group of firefighters who decided to create a safe alternative to the foam. But because it is a gel instead of a foam, they ran into roadblocks getting it certified for firefighters to use.

The issue was a big one for a congressional committee looking into PFAS. It called the military, the Environmental Protection Agency and the companies making the PFAS chemicals to testify and explain their actions. The members of Congress were looking for clear answers and weren’t happy when they didn’t get them.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.