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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsHow 3M Executives Convinced a Scientist the Forever Chemicals She Found in Human Blood Were Safe
https://www.propublica.org/article/3m-forever-chemicals-pfas-pfos-inside-storyHansen didnt want to share her results until she was certain that they were correct, so she and her team spent several weeks analyzing more blood, often in time-consuming overnight tests. All the samples appeared to be contaminated. When Hansen used a more precise method, liquid chromatography, the results left little doubt that the chemical in the Red Cross blood was PFOS.
(snip)
What Hansen didnt know was that 3M had already conducted animal studies two decades earlier. They had shown PFOS to be toxic, yet the results remained secret, even to many at the company. In one early experiment, conducted in the late 70s, a group of 3M scientists fed PFOS to rats on a daily basis. Starting at the second-lowest dose that the scientists tested, about 10 milligrams for every kilogram of body weight, the rats showed signs of possible harm to their livers, and half of them died. At higher doses, every rat died. Soon afterward, 3M scientists found that a relatively low daily dose, 4.5 milligrams for every kilogram of body weight, could kill a monkey within weeks. (Based on this result, the chemical would currently fall into the highest of five toxicity levels recognized by the United Nations.) This daily dose of PFOS was orders of magnitude greater than the amount that the average person would ingest, but it was still relatively low roughly comparable to the dose of aspirin in a standard tablet.
Hansens bosses never told her that PFOS was toxic. In the weeks after Johnson left 3M, however, she felt that she was under a new level of scrutiny. One of her superiors suggested that her equipment might be contaminated, so she cleaned the mass spectrometer and then the entire lab. Her results didnt change. Another encouraged her to repeatedly analyze her syringes, bags and test tubes, in case they had tainted the blood. (They had not.) Her managers were less concerned about PFOS, it seemed to Hansen, than about the chance that she was wrong.
Sometimes Hansen doubted herself. She was 28 and had only recently earned her Ph.D. But she continued her experiments, if only to respond to the questions of her managers. 3M bought three additional mass spectrometers, which each cost more than a car, and Hansen used them to test more blood samples. In late 1997, her new boss, Bacon, even had her fly out to the company that manufactured the machines, so that she could repeat her tests there. She studied the blood of hundreds of people from more than a dozen blood banks in various states. Each sample contained PFOS. The chemical seemed to be everywhere.
(snip)
What Hansen didnt know was that 3M had already conducted animal studies two decades earlier. They had shown PFOS to be toxic, yet the results remained secret, even to many at the company. In one early experiment, conducted in the late 70s, a group of 3M scientists fed PFOS to rats on a daily basis. Starting at the second-lowest dose that the scientists tested, about 10 milligrams for every kilogram of body weight, the rats showed signs of possible harm to their livers, and half of them died. At higher doses, every rat died. Soon afterward, 3M scientists found that a relatively low daily dose, 4.5 milligrams for every kilogram of body weight, could kill a monkey within weeks. (Based on this result, the chemical would currently fall into the highest of five toxicity levels recognized by the United Nations.) This daily dose of PFOS was orders of magnitude greater than the amount that the average person would ingest, but it was still relatively low roughly comparable to the dose of aspirin in a standard tablet.
Hansens bosses never told her that PFOS was toxic. In the weeks after Johnson left 3M, however, she felt that she was under a new level of scrutiny. One of her superiors suggested that her equipment might be contaminated, so she cleaned the mass spectrometer and then the entire lab. Her results didnt change. Another encouraged her to repeatedly analyze her syringes, bags and test tubes, in case they had tainted the blood. (They had not.) Her managers were less concerned about PFOS, it seemed to Hansen, than about the chance that she was wrong.
Sometimes Hansen doubted herself. She was 28 and had only recently earned her Ph.D. But she continued her experiments, if only to respond to the questions of her managers. 3M bought three additional mass spectrometers, which each cost more than a car, and Hansen used them to test more blood samples. In late 1997, her new boss, Bacon, even had her fly out to the company that manufactured the machines, so that she could repeat her tests there. She studied the blood of hundreds of people from more than a dozen blood banks in various states. Each sample contained PFOS. The chemical seemed to be everywhere.
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How 3M Executives Convinced a Scientist the Forever Chemicals She Found in Human Blood Were Safe (Original Post)
WhiskeyGrinder
May 20
OP
Capitalism and corporations are evil no moral requirements for them and we tolerate it
Stargazer99
May 20
#1
Stargazer99
(2,607 posts)1. Capitalism and corporations are evil no moral requirements for them and we tolerate it
we are well trained don't you think?
Kid Berwyn
(15,416 posts)3. Best training money can buy.
The best slave is the one who thinks he is free. -- Johann von Goethe
al bupp
(2,211 posts)4. Giving this a kick
Hugin
(33,353 posts)2. If you're like me, and don't know what the heck...
PFOS are. Heres an explanation.
PFOA, PFOS and Other PFAS
What EPA Has Learned So Far
-PFAS are widely used, long lasting chemicals, components of which break down very slowly over time.
-Because of their widespread use and their persistence in the environment, many PFAS are found in the blood of people and animals all over the world and are present at low levels in a variety of food products and in the environment.
-PFAS are found in water, air, fish, and soil at locations across the nation and the globe.
-Scientific studies have shown that exposure to some PFAS in the environment may be linked to harmful health effects in humans and animals.
-There are thousands of PFAS chemicals, and they are found in many different consumer, commercial, and industrial products.
-This makes it challenging to study and assess the potential human health and environmental risks.
More background here: https://www.epa.gov/pfas/pfas-explained