They Poisoned the World

A PRESENTATION WITH INVESTIGATIVE JOURNALIST & AUTHOR MARIAH BLAKE

Have you heard of the “teflon flu”? Blake’s book is a gripping investigation of the chemical industry’s decades-long campaign to hide the dangers of forever chemicals, including those used to manufacture teflon.

In 2014, after losing several friends and relatives to cancer, an unassuming insurance underwriter in Hoosick Falls, New York, began to suspect that the local water supply was polluted. When he tested his tap water, he discovered dangerous levels of forever chemicals. This set off a chain of events that led to 100 million Americans learning their drinking water was tainted. Although the discovery came as a shock to most, the U.S. government and the manufacturers of these toxic chemicals—used in everything from lipstick and cookware to children’s clothing—had known about their hazards for decades.