A life-and-death fight to ban ‘forever chemicals’
Post Reports
The Washington Post
4.4 • 5.1K Ratings
🗓️ 21 August 2023
⏱️ 24 minutes
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Summary
The kids at her school called it “cancer water.” There was even a group of them called the “cancer kids.” But when Amara developed a rare form of cancer at 15, the water — and the company contaminating it with chemicals — took center stage in the little time she had left.
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Amara Strande lived in Minnesota, where her city’s water had been tainted with forever chemicals. After she developed a rare form of cancer at 15, Amara told lawmakers at the state capitol that she believed those chemicals were responsible.
PFAS are known as “forever chemicals” because of their extreme durability: They don’t break down in the environment or degrade. And in the Minnesota community, they’re well known because of 3M, the manufacturing giant that had been dumping the chemicals into the water.
Weather and climate reporter Amudalat Ajasa tells us about the life and death of Amara Strande, and how Amara pushed the Minnesota legislature to ban the chemicals before her death.
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | My name is Amara Strandy, and at the age of 15, I was diagnosed with stage 4 fibrolemelor |
| 0:11.5 | hepatocelular carcinoma, an incredibly rare form of liver cancer. |
| 0:17.4 | In March this year, Amara Strandy testified in front of Minnesota lawmakers. |
| 0:22.8 | Due to its rarity and low survival rate, there is no standardized form of systemic treatment |
| 0:28.8 | other than surgery. |
| 0:31.5 | There are no curative options, no road map, and no plan. |
| 0:36.4 | Her voice was shaking throughout her speech. |
| 0:39.7 | Amara was telling the legislators that she had a rare form of cancer, and that there was |
| 0:45.2 | a tumor pressing against her throat. |
| 0:48.6 | The cancer had spread throughout her lungs, and she told lawmakers that day it was getting |
| 0:54.2 | worse. |
| 0:55.2 | They can't do surgery this time. |
| 0:58.4 | There are no more treatments to try. |
| 1:01.0 | My life is a product of toxins. |
| 1:04.1 | I was exposed to these harmful chemicals through an old fault of my own, and as a result, |
| 1:10.1 | I will die with this cancer. |
| 1:17.0 | About a month after she testified at the Minnesota State Capitol, Amara died. |
| 1:22.8 | This day shy of her 21st birthday. |
| 1:26.2 | Amara found out she had cancer when she went in for a routine physical in high school. |
| 1:33.3 | Amdolat Ajasa is a weather and climate reporter for the Washington Post. |
| 1:38.0 | In the month since Amara's death, Amdolat has been looking into how and why this happened |
| 1:44.1 | to Amara. |
... |
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