The danger of forever chemicals
Post Reports
The Washington Post
4.4 • 5.1K Ratings
🗓️ 14 April 2022
⏱️ 25 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Today on “Post Reports,” how forever chemicals upended the lives of farmers in Maine — and just how widespread the contamination might be.
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Adam Nordell and Johanna Davis bought their farm seven years ago. In late 2021, they discovered that their land and water were contaminated with incredibly high levels of perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances, also known as “forever chemicals” or PFAS.
After finding out about the contamination, they shut down all of their farm operations.
More than 2,800 sites nationwide are contaminated by forever chemicals, according to the nonprofit Environmental Working Group. “And that’s only what’s documented,” journalist Keith O’Brien wrote for The Washington Post. “The real total is unknown, and possibly much higher.”
Keith O’Brien’s new book is Paradise Falls: The True Story of an Environmental Catastrophe.
If you haven’t voted for Post Reports in the Webby Awards yet - now is the time! We are nominated for best news and politics episode and best business episode. Please support us by voting, and thank you.
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Hello, Lahe. |
| 0:03.4 | Hey, Martine. |
| 0:04.8 | Do you know what I'm going to ask you today? |
| 0:07.8 | I have a gut feeling. |
| 0:09.9 | So I'm going to ask you, have you voted for post reports in the Webby Awards? |
| 0:15.4 | Martine, I take the sanctity of my vote very seriously. |
| 0:19.0 | I don't know how comfortable I feel in revealing this information, but yes, I did vote for |
| 0:25.5 | post reports. |
| 0:26.5 | Are you just saying that because you know that you're being recorded and this is going |
| 0:29.6 | to go on the podcast or did you actually vote? |
| 0:33.4 | I actually voted and I'll tell you why I voted because I think the work post reports |
| 0:38.8 | does is important and a vote in the Webby's will not only acknowledge the work that all |
| 0:45.6 | of you have done on the podcast before, but we'll hopefully allow new people to discover |
| 0:51.6 | the podcast and become listeners. |
| 0:53.8 | You can find the link to vote for us in the Webby Awards at post reports.com and in today's |
| 0:58.4 | show notes. |
| 0:59.9 | So thank you, Alahe for voting. |
| 1:02.2 | Thank you to all our listeners for voting. |
| 1:04.7 | And Alahe, you are hosting post reports today, so I will hand over the reins to you for |
| 1:09.7 | today's show. |
| 1:11.2 | Thanks, Martine. |
| 1:12.2 | We're an organic farm and we were trying to do this thing, produce simple, clean, healthy |
... |
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