Reading 5

Slow Death By Rubber Duck: The Secret Danger of Everyday Things by Rick Smith and Bruce Lourie

Chapter 3 Pages 69-95

It's interesting how PFCs are very bad for us (even though many companies deny it), but here we are lining our popcorn bags and spraying our rugs with it.  I'm glad that there are great companies out there like 3M who is 2000 removed PFOs from their Scotchgard product.  That was a move for the better and it makes them stand out a great company to get items from because they are looking out for the health of not only their workers, but consumers too.  No matter what precautions we seem to take, it appears that PFOA is everywhere around us.  How are we to escape it?!

Carpet appeared in this reading pertaining to items that give off fluorinated alcohols.  These are man-made chemicals that we have been putting into our atmosphere.  The earth tries to get rid of it, but at the rate we are putting it into the air, the more the earth has to work with no end in sight.  

"Directly across the river from the DuPont chemical factory is the drinking-water well field for the town of the Little Hocking, Ohio." (p. 74)  This seems quite wrong...

When it came to the lawsuit that followed between DuPont and the Tennants seemed like there could never be an even trade for all the harm the company did to the family.  The Tennants lost their lives, cattle, and much more.  That's crazy!!!

What gives companies like DuPont the right to say that they can set their own standard for drinking water?  Where did they get this power?  Money doesn't mean power...it means greed...

I think it's good that the people of the town didn't really attack DuPont and want them gone from their town, but at the same time...I'm like DuPont should pay and leave the town for all the harm they did.  It was very noble and right of the town to want DuPont to stay, but wanted to get their questions answered when it came to their health and more.  

It's crazy how workers will put themselves in very unhealthy and deadly conditions just to get money to provide for their family.  Is it really worth the cost, which is ultimately your death?

DuPont wasn't right in trying to hide the fact that they were contaminating their workers, and also the future generations.  Like when it came to their test on the 8 pregnant women and they found out 2 had children with birth defects.  All the company did was move the women away and out of sight.  They thought out of sight meant out of mind.  Didn't the women with the birth defected children think to look further into their children's deformities?

I feel that tap water is going to be the end of us...the silently deadly killer...