How “forever chemicals” polluted America’s water

Why 99% of Americans have these chemicals in their blood.
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North Carolina’s Cape Fear River is a massive water system. It stretches across the lower half of the state, collecting runoff from 29 counties and providing water to millions of people. But in the city of Wilmington, where the river meets the Atlantic Ocean, the water has residents worried.
In a 2019 test of tap water, Wilmington and neighboring Brunswick county were among the top five areas for high levels of PFAS, or per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances - a group of man-made chemicals commonly used for making nonstick or water-resistant products. Now North Carolina is reckoning with the legacy of pollution upstream - and discovering what decades of PFAS contamination means for the rest of the country.
Check out these links to learn more:
darkwaters.participant.com/ac...
www.ewg.org/research/national...
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[@Halluinium]

I'm glad Mark Rufulo is taking his influence to talk about issues like this

[@shitlordflytrap1078]

He calls himself an activist so he better.

[@bipindixit2033]

He even made a movie 'dark water' on this issue

[@Halluinium]

@@bipindixit2033 I'd love to check that out, where can I watch it?

[@tapio_m6861]

I would worry not to do as he says because you really do not want to get him angry.

[@bipindixit2033]

@@Halluinium Amazon prime video

[@FingeringThings]

Ah America, where corporations are put above citizens

[@aturchomicz821]

Dont dillude yourself thinking that its diffrent here in Europe xd

[@alien2393]

HELLO

[@lourencovieira313]

Welcome to the world

[@dayspoiler4608]

even the govt.

[@danteg8754]

It’s the same in México bro

[@STOG01]

Isn't poluting drinking water basically an act of terrorism in most of the 1st world?

[@angelcarias3579]

Not when it come to making money

[@hosuerodriguez8262]

Terrorism has a specific meaning for a reason. Don't get me wrong these compaines are evil should be held responsible. Shouldn't call it terrorism though.

[@STOG01]

@@hosuerodriguez8262 Fair point. Then some national security concerns ought to be involved. Although it's the US and they have state-by-state regulations. Still - this strikes me as a rather serious issue not to be hidden underneath a rug.

[@MY-zj8pb]

America isn't 1st world other than military

[@djohn4904]

stochastic perhap[s

[@nfoleg]

The true American way: privatize profits and socialize losses.

[@edisg]

It's the truest kleptocracy

[@yacine.3_2023]

accurate

[@joshuaespinoza8325]

well the opposite would be communism.

[@twonumber22]

And destroy anyone or anything in the way of a profit.

[@snowsnow4231]

same in russia

[@samazwe]

With special guest "Smart Hulk"

[@Dreamz99]

He has more personality in him than just being referred to as 'Hulk' all the time

[@billfoster5257]

Bruce Banner*

[@someguy6422]

@@Dreamz99 true but that's what everyone knows him as

[@andresfelipeod6819]

so... ¿the another Hulks (Bill Bixby, Eric Bana, E. Norton) aren´s Smart?

[@mattwinward3168]

I know the dude does lots of other things, and he didn’t just play the hulk, but because everyone knows him often exclusively as the hulk, I wish Vox had addressed better why they choose him to be their speaker. My first thought when I saw him was definitely, “why’s the hulk here?”.

[@shimo4175]

American companies: What is most important? ❌ Safety of all Americans ✔️Stonks

[@SerenityM54L2SAM5L5N1]

If you think this is a US exclusive issue, I've got news for you.

[@beastybacon199]

Someone hasn’t been around the world 👁 👄 👁

[@shimo4175]

@@SerenityM54L2SAM5L5N1 I am aware this doesn't only happen in America, but I just think that's kinda shocking. You wouldn't expect something like that from the richest country in the world.

[@sparrow56able]

@@SerenityM54L2SAM5L5N1 it's the worst in the US though (among western developed nations)

[@heartcomedy5]

Serenity, actually it is mostly in U.S because foreign governments are smart and regulate all things coming in.

[@widget3672]

Americans: Stop poisoning my drinking water! American corporations: Prove it's poison, then maybe. Americans: It's poison! American corporations: Ehh...

[@nullnull2945]

Corp: here’s an analog; prove that it’s poison. Americans’: it’s worse Corp: Prove it.

[@taiwoolaleye6333]

companies cry that they now have to filter the pollution no one asked to make

[@hizand.5346]

american corporations: haha its not my responsibility to prove the chemicals are safe before it enters the market and spread regionally

[@jofx4051]

Make them drink it

[@jayjohn9680]

You forgot to include: corporation executive (on phone with local politician): we’ll keep funding that school health program... just help us out buddy. Politician: yes thank you for helping cough cough

[@RyanRuark]

“Accidentally exposed to.” No. This was intentional. And the heads of these companies belong in handcuffs.

[@blancslate176]

They WILL Be Arrested, Or End Up Bringing Their Own Downfall.

[@Alexander_l322]

They just pay a nominal amount of money that sounds like a lot of money to the every day man let’s say 1 billion dollars but to the people who are paying it is a drop in the ocean and they would already be making new chemicals to replace the old and they’ll be just as harmful if not more so.

[@crazychimp1324]

I’d love to see a head in a hand cuff

[@user-os7qq9xk4o]

Really just the people who made this video should be arrested.

[@mareksicinski3726]

well they didnt specificallt fo out of their way to do it

[@masterimaginariumdooblepop7592]

When did environmental protection become a “radical political” idea?

[@kylewood5607]

When it was made so by the political parties. The same as climate change, the same as this pandemic. Its viewed as political problems, and its getting people killed

[@nulnoh219]

Regulation is Communism! lol

[@danielf3623]

2000, Gore vs Bush. With an environmentalist vs an oil baron, and nothing scaring the populace but environmental issues, the GOP had no choice but to go into full denial and redirect attention towards other "threats." Everything else is echoes of that election.

[@justsomeoneelse5942]

Short answer America

[@ashlikefrompokemon4327]

Because when you mix science and politics, you get politics

[@incisive2641]

Is anyone tired of learning how bad things are and actually want to see things CHANGE?

[@kylewood5607]

@Kamali Burns who? Vox?

[@kylewood5607]

You ready to be a part of that change ?

[@michaelpugh2617]

TW GER ah yes because he really likes regulating corporations, especially for environmental reasons

[@267cal]

@TW GER we got a boomer Its bcuz of yall this even happens

[@virgobro2025]

@TW GER no

[@adrianreyes2318]

If the Karen's of America United against companies, this would be solved in 24 hours.

[@iamtheruraljuror9257]

Too bad Karens don't believe in Science, and busy calling the police to report any minority.

[@veltix2292]

I am the rural juror TRUTH

[@bignerd0452]

If we told them they were putting gluten and vaccines in the water, you’re right, this problem will be solved in a day

[@imchris5000]

@@iamtheruraljuror9257 ignore crime and you too can live in a ghetto

[@iamtheruraljuror9257]

@@imchris5000 didnt realize black kids selling water is a crime

[@Gunzberg]

Where's the government shutting these plants down and fining them? Oh yeah, they give those companies tax breaks in first place...

[@michaelstevens8073]

Yep and probably subsidies and rona relief.

[@iskender1327]

Just another thing to be depressed about as an American

[@mr.knowitall5019]

You can change it though. With voting and protesting.

[@kylewood5607]

@Dinuka W no

[@mr.knowitall5019]

@Dinuka W We have to atleast believe in process to bring change. If the american public unites and fights to bring a new legislation change will happen. But everyone must care enough for that.

[@scarpfish]

@@mr.knowitall5019 Protesting is overrated, and the more people protest, the less likely they are to vote. Spend your energy where it counts and quit wasting it on posterboard and Sharpies.

[@mr.knowitall5019]

@@scarpfish And where did you find this info? And where should we spend our energy. If we don't fight for our rights who will?

[@tardwrangler]

"They feel like the water isn't safe." Because it isn't.

[@tardwrangler]

Marie Lastname So you feel like you agree

[@nickc3657]

11:01 If this pandemic has taught us anything, it’s that public health and safety is extremely political.

[@SANTANA1deep]

All about power and control

[@jasonmueller5541]

@@SANTANA1deep everyone is so kind to one another

[@flyingbanana566]

The world: “Americans, your water is being polluted.” Americans: “yeah but we have freedom.”

[@carnosinehobs7759]

@Planet Earth yep. Partisan media (FOX) makes sure that their supporters think that’s good though, taking advantage of their lack of common sense and ability to reason and do research. The root problem is arguably the education system.

[@salamallami5622]

Attempting to destroy federal buildings is not "Freedom".

[@jovenchngx]

@@RanchDressingPop-Tarts not really LOL didn't you listen to the video? 8:20 - "precautionary principles". Many countries such as Singapore applies it because these countries make sure the basic essential goods - water, food and air are certified to be SAFE. It is not a global issue. It is a US issue due to over-capitalism and being too money-oriented.

[@ideeyes4054]

@@jovenchngx Same with EU. But of course some unsafe stuff gets through the filters. In EU every new substance that gets approved by regulators to EU market gets a unique E-code. You can find all info about the substance using that code.

[@Alexander_l322]

Freedom isn’t free

[@notorious_majora]

When Hulk has to tell you about pollution, you know it's bad.

[@DarlingPhenylethylamine]

We'll be calling him Swamp Thing next.

[@DarlingPhenylethylamine]

Or Toxie.

[@shellcraigmiles5253]

I was thinking "that guy looks like mark Ruffalo" Then i thought "that is mark Ruffalo"

[@elinewllms]

He plays the main role in the movie Dark Waters, about the Dupont pollution. Thats the reason I think why they interviewed him

[@rj-mu7ns]

He's the hulk.........

[@shellcraigmiles5253]

@@elinewllms it says hes an activist so maybe they interviewed him because hes an environmental activist with knowledge about this GenX and pFas due to the movie you mentioned. The way you word it its like he has no credibility.

[@shellcraigmiles5253]

@@rj-mu7ns yeah i dont watch superhero movies 🤷‍♀️

[@flashstar1234]

SAMEEEE

[@iainronald4217]

PFAS producing conglomerates: “We have billions of dollars, senators whose races we’ve funded and a million lobbyists to argue in favour of us, what do you have?” Vox: “We have a hulk.”

[@declaniii6324]

I don’t understand why they can’t just start filtering iy

[@iainronald4217]

Baconninja I’m no biologist, I am however in university for urban planning. And, if my interests thus far prove to be a glimpse into the future I’ll be a wastewater planner so here’s the short explanation. Chains of atoms from chemicals easily bond with hydrogen and oxygen. The complicated part which is a delicate science is un-bonding them. In wastewater we can filter out some chemicals with advancements, the big one being Solar Acquatic Water Treatment Centres which are comprised of tanks with different life in them that eat the minerals and toxins in the water as it passes through. But, the name Forever in Forever Chemicals kind of tells you all you need to know. It’s unlikely we’ll find a way to remove them from the water, we’ll see though.

[@declaniii6324]

Iain Ronald okay, I don’t know much about the forever chemicals. This seems like a good explanation. The video just said they don’t filter it not they’re difficult/expensive to filter so it just made it seem like there was a simple solution

[@vigilantcosmicpenguin8721]

It's great that Mark Ruffalo is using his influence to support a cause like this. The most effective thing he could do would be to turn angry and just punch the lawyers of corporations who oppose the reform legislation.

[@jordinometry1589]

Hasn’t this exact thing been happening in Flint since 2014? There’s literally children that have illnesses for life because of the government’s racism and negligence

[@kaitlyn__L]

yes, though in flint's case it was because they failed to do federally mandated filtration to keep the lead out of the water, which itself then led to bacterial infestations and so forth. it was technically illegal what they were doing in flint, but they tried to skew the tests to hide it. but factories dumping all but a select handful of chemicals into water willy nilly is unfortunately not even illegal :V

[@kaitlyn__L]

@Warren552011 the reason, unfortunately, was just to save money :( the citizens were told it'd be great for taxes and public finances and so forth. to stop having to pay for that water and to use "their own". the cost cutting is also why they failed to put in the mandated lead prevention. since that water source hadn't been used for drinking water for a while, they had to set up the treatment plant sort of anew for that stuff. if the local govt had kept buying the water they'd been using until then, it wouldn't have happened at all. although it would've been possible to do the change responsibly, and it could have been actually safe to switch, but the motive would've had to be something other than cost cutting in that case.

[@camerontaylor7471]

Warren552011 yeah it’s 50% them wanting to save money... and then the rest is to literally oppress and discriminate against an entire group of people... why? Because they can... they want to see how far can they go without any interference....

[@rickiex]

Michigander here, pfas is present in Michigan waters, but the flint water crisis isnt about pfas. It was about the switch between tap water sources. In short, flint is broke, so the governor(Rick synder) sent an overseer to balance their budget. flint has been getting their tap water from Detroit, so he had flint tried to save money and switch providers and their water source to the flint river, instead of Detroit. The switch in water source caused the lead pipe to corrode and the lead started to leach out from the pipe and into the water source. This is how the people of flint got poisoned. It was later found out that it would have only costed the city 20-50$ a day to treat the water and prevent this. The blame is shifted around, to the city council, to the governor. No one has faced justice so far, and the people of flint will live the rest of their lives poisoned due to profits. It's honestly the most American thing ever, profit over lives.

[@therealeikichionizuka]

If people are wondering why mark ruffalo is here, it’s because he made a movie on pfas. Edit: bruh why does this have 2k likes

[@chrisdecokere2899]

He already did, It's called dark waters. It was horrifying. The laws need an overhaul. Companies need to prove that it's safe, preferably done by an independent agency since Dupont knew it was harmful, but hid the truth from the public

[@therealeikichionizuka]

Chriscross DC oh yeah, I meant that he made it. I saw dark waters, and I thought it was really good.

[@Wasserkaktus]

What if PFAS is what turned him into Hulk?

[@sinoroman]

@@chrisdecokere2899 corporations, super pacs, and lobbying are gonna stop the law from being effective enough

[@nacs]

George then he can go SMASH these companies that are polluting our water

[@jamesfitzgibbon3487]

Americans drinking water: why is it spicy 👁👄👁

[@Janoip]

lol 😂

[@emir4126]

they said it has no taste or color

[@justsomeoneelse5942]

O.o

[@streampunksheep]

@@emir4126 /whoosh

[@garlicidk8554]

😐

[@justyouraveragegamer8733]

I wish people would stop destroying the earth’s beauty.

[@RayMak]

Their chemicals will last forever. So sad

[@ryanhall8770]

I swear you comment on half the videos I watch

[@audiofunkdialect]

Well there’s a thing called entropy so if they’re in their lowest energy state yes they’ll stay stable but pretty much nothing is.

[@Kawaties1977]

Ray Mak hi

[@demox4435]

It's probably the case for almost every river in the country. This is like Lead poisoning, well see the results a few years from now

[@TheAkashicTraveller]

Alonside all the other chemicles no one's thought to test for yet.

[@user-qk5mm1yw7y]

Jack Evans but this is honestly so scary! we humans are literally digging our own grave.. may we finally come to our senses and stop harming mother earth and all the animals alongside with it..

[@guy2574]

Vote. You say “we” but we can’t do anything about it. Only the politicians can.

[@EricLS]

Might want to look into lab animals, with extremely controlled diets, who have gained weight across the board, right along with Americans.

[@campkira]

not really alot of company now they made enough profit to the point they can spend money on water purify... before they dump it away... so if the company still think they can cut cost not purify.. it just mean they don't made enough profit so we just shut it down since it won't last that long anyhow...

[@creepersflare6120]

This is what hulk was doing when he was “unavailable”

[@decafforlife8797]

*NOICE*

[@kenster8270]

Same in Brazil, so many rivers and reservoirs there are super toxic and nobody gets held accountable because: money. In terms of political culture, the US has way more in common with Latin America than with Europe or even with Canada.

[@felixgarcia2184]

I’m from Fayetteville NC and my mom has had throat cancer and she would LOVE drinking tap water as a kid. For years she would drink tap water with ice and since we are in the country and had our own water pump we thought it was cleaner.....seems we were wrong. She now can’t live without the medicines that got her off the cancer.

[@benl308]

Did yall get the water tested? Isn't it ground water?

[@GokkeSokkenDK]

And suddenly it makes sense why Americans don't wanna drink tap water

[@dannydestroyer]

Glorbiie But we have a lot of water treatment plants!

[@GokkeSokkenDK]

@@dannydestroyer I know, but as far as I'm aware, most Americans prefer bottled water whereas here in Denmark most people just drink tap water. We do have really strict rules as to how ours is treated and what material piping is made from though

[@spacetechempire510]

Glorbiie to quote half life 2 “ don’t drink the water”

[@mechamicro]

Was water bottle safe enough to drink? I think it have the same amount of that chemical then we are completely doomed

[@LordKalerran]

FYI PFAS contamination is happening in many European countries as well

[@ceooftoxic6163]

Me: drinks the water My body: ☢️☣️🆘⚠️💀🏴‍☠️

[@cyka8881]

The people don’t drink it,they know about it.

[@imnotracist960]

did u even watch the video

[@RayMak]

Wait. Why is Hulk there?

[@Realyo235]

Because he smart

[@stevenuez5941]

That's not the Hulk. That's Bruce Banner. Dr. Bruce Banner.

[@shreyankpatel2591]

Cause of Dark Waters

[@BloBlas123]

to SMASH! (the companies)

[@teenagoel1771]

He actually did a documentary called "dark waters". You should check it out, it's about DuPont only.

[@MrRocketdog777]

I'm a Fayetteville native. For several years, my family has switched to drinking bottled water exactly because of this. We're connected to the land (farming family), so moving isn't likely to happen. The Chemours Company needs to fix this mess ASAP.

[@eamonnschnell5373]

and bottled water has microplastics and BPA which both cause cancer!

[@Explosher]

It can't be fixed, no rain water will ever be safe again. These people at power have the nerve to say rain water will never ever be safe again, and they're part of it, too

[@Gaelic-Spirit]

Good on you, as an American you need to be careful with your tap water, since there's so much lead in it to poison your brain. (instead drink bottled tap water inside a plastic container)

[@blueeleephant6o4t]

Bottled water is tap water, just microscopicly filtered

[@kushanmangat2853]

Bruh, how does Vox make news seem like a Hollywood movie

[@elinewllms]

Maybe because they got the idea for it in a Hollywood movie "Dark Waters" ;)

[@alinnson3256]

Simple clips and after effects nothing new

[@kevkwa]

Because real life is actually more scary than reel life.

[@billfoster5257]

By exaggerating the facts

[@obviouslymatt6452]

Kyle Booth better overestimate the danger than underestimate it.

[@mikewazowski2248]

guys bruce banner is a scientist thats why he’s here

[@trystanexul5681]

mike chill

[@ayoubalrfadey3031]

mike wazowski yeah and I'm an astronaut

[@tylerhackner9731]

Yep

[@dayspoiler4608]

he was in a movie recently about this. called "dark water" it's quite a good court drama flick

[@2KOOLURATOOLGaming]

@@dayspoiler4608 IKR, I had scenes from the film recommended to me earlier today and then this gets uploaded...

[@josephsolomon7848]

The fact that I’ve lived in North Carolina all of my life and have never heard about this.

[@ahuddleston6512]

Me too!

[@nosky2142]

It’s the whole world, anatarctica is the most ‘untouched’ place on the earth and its still riddled with plastics

[@brutechieftain9321]

“Even burnt food won’t stick to Teflon!”

[@winecrimesfoodandtime7119]

Wow! 💀

[@sonder4815]

I thought when Ruffalo said "We don't really do that here in the US." It was just a dark joke about US's lack of caution with companies in general, but then they said they literally don't test these chemicals 💀💀

[@ZOCCOK]

"Water Repellent, Flame Retardant, Stain Resistant" *That's how Americans gain superpowers.*

[@chrono-glitchwaterlily8776]

They won't become as powerful as they could be until they develop something called Karen Repellant

[@joefraser855]

It is compound 'V' 🦾🦾🦾🌀

[@queenofallmonkeys]

That sounds like a Marvel superhero's description.

[@RebekahTheGhostGuide]

Hey Vox, thank you for making this video. I live in Wilmington, NC and this is a huge issue here. Many citizens, like myself, cannot afford regular bottled water when we're already paying for tap. Most of us, especially renters, cannot pay for an osmosis filter either. We need national knowledge and understanding of this problem if it is to be fixed. The local legislature has done little to help us and I wouldn't be surprised if they and other NC leaders are being paid for their silence. Thank you for bringing national attention to this. We need all the help we can get if anything is going to change.

[@chemoboy-dannypheleps9234]

Trump: “The water and air have never been cleaner”

[@storm9149]

Haha. People actually voted for him. It’s kind of scary

[@cbwavy]

This is one of the reasons why I quit my job at DuPont to work at a cancer research center. This is not cool.

[@christopherspecht2660]

That’s awesome of you

[@ZOCCOK]

You know it's serious when the Hulk himself is concerned.

[@giovannip8600]

He has 7 PhDs he should be the president not Trump (Bruce Banner that is lol)

[@jupena]

And then we wonder why so many Americans are dying from Cancer... "Oh it's because of testing", "but what about jobs?"

[@sumitpatankar369]

Pepole will get life threatening calls if someone spoke like this in India.

[@the-iter8]

Definitely agree. We probably drank more toxins till date than the waste of an average water treatment plant.

[@jazzypari]

People will straight disappear or get murdered " under mysterious circumstances" if they raise their voices or investigate something

[@nikhilkkannur]

Now they implimenting EIA

[@TheGiddyUps]

7:02 "nobody wants to be on top of that list" is the reaction to every list the us is on top on

[@TheGiddyUps]

@The Random House well if you want a quick awnser you are right. but if you think about it gdp is not a measurement of wealth, gdp per capita is

[@justalostlocal]

The Random House Yeah and where do money end up? In already rich people‘s pockets. If you are the richest nation on earth, then you should be able to take care most of your people, but strangely you can’t. GDP per capita is where it’s at.

[@someguy6422]

Mark Ruffalo: is on the video for like a minute 99% of the comments: all about him

[@olemartinstonghaugen1722]

he is in like half the video

[@Antrikshy]

I barely see comments about him.

[@TacoBaco]

Just found out the military sites near my childhood home have known for years that our water is probably contaminated but they released very sparse reports on it with conflicting information. They said they were ‘looking into it’. That was nearly 5 years ago. They’ve been using toxic foam since the 1950s. The pets don’t even drink the tap water. Now I know why. I lived there for more than 20 years and never new my family and I could be in danger.

[@flynndata1247]

Bro is that the Hulk? Can’t believe he’s the one telling me about dangerous stuff being put in our bodies.

[@sarahcoull669]

Thank you for this! I'm an environmental engineering student in NC and we always use this as a case study on water contamination. It amazes me how little so many people know about what's really going into their water

[@madhavangrish1257]

" Dr. Banner, I think this is the right time to get angry. "

[@WeekendFilmCo]

Vox in my recommend: Me: lives in NC Me after watching :😐

[@GoddamnManbat]

Imagine growing up in the region.

[@WeekendFilmCo]

Lol I am

[@theknowgo5186]

Same here they literally listed my city in the video 😬

[@primeroyal7434]

@@GoddamnManbat this post was made by non American gang

[@GoddamnManbat]

@@primeroyal7434 your grammar ain't American, boy. Gtfoh.

[@satchelwalton3620]

GenX is also dumped into the Ohio River at Parkersburg, WV

[@binabella9658]

I grew up in Huntington, WV and just found out it’s a hot spot for PFAS. Wonderful.

[@winecrimesfoodandtime7119]

Wow! How can they still be doing that!

[@namenamename390]

Ah, another story of "human life and health doesn't matter as long as the thing endangering it is profitable"

[@tapwater424]

It's obviously not profitable in the long run when they always get in a fuckton of PR and legal trouble. Lawyers and fines aren't cheap. Incompetence is the main driver for these events, not profit.

[@Yourinnernb]

Why no one talking about wild animals who also rely on that source of water🤔

[@chrono-glitchwaterlily8776]

Maybe because they can't directly contribute to the economy. At least that's how I think they see it

[@DeathnoteBB]

Because we already know pollution is bad for animals. But people ignore that pollution is also bad for humans

[@22lilacsky]

Also farm animals.... that's the scariest part about it.

[@ihavenoname2569]

DuPont is back at it again.

[@shitsushingo2850]

India’s Holiest Ganga River: You rivers have defenders?

[@yaaah1553]

Im sick of this world, i want change

[@mikewazowski2248]

hey that mark ruffalo guy looks like he could make a great actor

[@sofetch2289]

He could act in one of those Marvel movies

[@GalaxyAeterna]

Like maybe as the hulk or something

[@christekam]

I heard when he's angry he turns green..

[@authenticNL2]

Thomas Jefferson bruh

[@chrono-glitchwaterlily8776]

@@authenticNL2 why you ruin the thread

[@youngpistol6117]

"If I knew that I could potentially get cancer from a stain resistant carpet then I would make a better decision" 😂 it might be messed up but I laughed

[@lizhumble9953]

Thank you for this story. I wish you had spent more time on the amazing difference in levels between Wilmington and Brunswick County. We are frequently in Brunswick County. Brunswick is really the end of the line. It scares me for myself and my kids. Even with avoiding drinking the water- which they say is within safe limits- what about bathing, swimming on our beautiful beaches, eating our seafood?

[@terramater]

Thanks for covering this topic, @Vox! This is highly interesting and important for the people to know.

[@capivara6094]

Real life has the best crossovers

[@digiryde]

As I always told my children, the easiest and least expensive mess to clean up is the one that is never made. Shame on these people who run these companies.

[@FallingRiceballz]

I did a research paper on this last year for an environmental politics class. If you have a manufacturing plant, current or former military facility, airport or anywhere they use or have used chemical firefighting foams near your water source, that water is pretty much guaranteed to be contaminated

[@remedy00]

I just looked it up. Yikes

[@vaughnwirsen5038]

Thank god someone is talking about this, I live in Wilmington and this has been such a major issue

[@bassmouter4694]

Watch ABC News AUSTRALIA, they published last week 2800 contamined citys at THE US. Watch YT August 14 THE Final days.

[@horizontal4099]

You know it's serious when the averagers are here.

[@sharjeelhumayun2691]

Avengers, not averagers....

[@zack7122]

Sharjeel Humayun averagors*

[@rigatonithetiger9986]

zack Averagors Assombol

[@zack7122]

Rigatoni the Tiger can i have some rigatoni

[@marinathewise9410]

I guess you could say that this is an Avenger’s level threat

[@sonshinethomas7986]

Shows we the people realy are not cared for in the long term.

[@HelgaCavoli]

Your current president protects the reck out of industries and CEOs.

[@GamerbyDesign]

Capitalism protects Capital.

[@Blunderful19]

*at all - says 150,000 American citizens. "... it is what it is." - says the POTUS.

[@FirstNameLastName-wt5to]

Helgali And so has every other President we’ve ever had.

[@killero00]

Planet Earth he’s been trying to leash the FDA, CDC and EPA among other agencies. Agencies that protect the consumers and citizens of the United States by forcing companies and corporations to behave to a higher standard. It’s as the video says, the ability to regulate and restrict has all been gutted and now agencies that protect people can only take action once people have been hurt and a problem has already been created instead of catching the problem early. Trump is fundamentally nothing like other presidents.

[@ghostingwithwillandvan3247]

the dupont company has always been shady...

[@loicolivier4842]

I swear I feel like I'm watching a film each time vox releases a video, it's all just so well done

[@Richard.Andersson]

I am a chemist working with PFAS: PFAS is a family name for all materials, chemicals, liquids, solids that consist of organic molecules that have some fluorine in them. Many of these are not toxic and does not cause harm (in fact many are used in the medical industry for good). However some chemicals in this large group do cause harm, example of names of individual molecules that are bad is: PFOA (also called C8), GenX, and PFOS. Hence it is unfortunate that the word "PFAS" looks very similar to that of "PFOA, PFOS, etc", since the first is a name for many things, and the latter is names of individual chemicals that are bad. This causes confusion to the public and also in this video as PFAS is confused with PFOA on several occasions. However the overall message of the video is correct.

[@effleurager]

the equivalent of "Not all men"

[@erimcfadden3]

how do we filter this?

[@jddonmoyer2489]

I mean just by being in us it causes harm.

[@fluxxy6260]

Welcome to another part of "Why is America?"

[@degeneratefest]

When is America

[@victxrium8325]

@@degeneratefest How is America

[@nate9361]

@@victxrium8325 Where, exactly, is America?

[@TheAkashicTraveller]

@@victxrium8325 Not well from the looks of things.

[@ZaxorVonSkyler]

What is America?

[@XxbrownbxX]

I actually did my undergraduate research on GenX in 2018-2019. When C8 and other long chain fluorocarbons were banned, they just decreased the amount of Carbons in the chain. So it was really going from C8 to C4-C6 chains (but calling it C4 obviously would have been problematic). That's why my Toxicology group at East Carolina University and many others have been testing these shorted chain fluorocarbons. Better laws are key to avoiding these issues in which companies exploit obvious loopholes.

[@MrsJedmo]

It's 2024 and c8 is not banned. I just found it in my dam mascara... 😢

[@FireAngelZero]

I’d totally vote for Mark Ruffalo if he ran for office.

[@rylanbytnar6713]

As someone who is entering his last semester as an environmental science student in Michigan, I genuinely appreciated this video. Our curriculum has brought up the issue of PFAS in Michigan (where I attend school), but I felt that the people at Vox did a great job at taking a complex subject - that often gets overly-technical and confusing when discussed by the environmental science and hydrogeological community - and breaking it down into a digestible format for the general public and the informed environmentalist.

[@SaltySparrow]

All of this carelessness for short term profit.

[@ANTINATALIST_lewis]

Yap

[@railroadforest30]

Exactly

[@winecrimesfoodandtime7119]

Tragedy

[@theSimao123]

When you've watched Dark Waters so you're pretty much an expert on the subject

[@andrewdurham259]

and just so that you know, this is also the reason why many companies move abroad, in order to avoid strict legal retaliation; they end-up doing the same in so called developing countries (Latin America) where they can get away with much more due to trade agreements and legal protection gained by America's foreign policy.

[@popcornfilms1]

USA - Land of the FEE

[@SliceofBread123]

The American way

[@Racko.]

It's not a country, it's a bunch of companies pretending to be a Nation

[@ArelyJi]

This and many more issues in this country is what the government should be worried about, not a TikTok app.

[@rjfaber1991]

I mean, an app collecting large amounts of private data that is being run by a company with véry close connections to the government in Beijing is a danger as well. Let's consider both to be dangerous and worthy of some attention.

[@ArelyJi]

Robert Faber 100% agree. My apologies.

[@xaviersanchez2270]

The hulk explaining science to me was something I did not know i needed until today

[@akshaydhansoia3538]

I CANNOT get over how good the editing is in these videos

[@amberb.3490]

I live in the triad of NC! Why is this not on my local news!😨

[@ricardobarahona3939]

Me too. I'm from Winston-Salem and I have not heard about this. I do study in Charlotte and I did hear a lot about water contamination there but I didn't know it was all over North Carolina.

[@ankithd5242]

It was actually a big news story a couple years ago, but the American news cycle moves on far too quickly.

[@amberb.3490]

@@ricardobarahona3939 I live in greensboro the only thing I heard was that pig feces was leaking into the water from all the rain we had gotten 2 yrs ago! This is so creepy how the public is told anything about this!

[@amberb.3490]

@@ankithd5242 I wish this was kept in our local cycle, like a update 1 a month or something!😰

[@GonkaGonkaGonka]

are yall deaf or sumn? this is all I heard about for like 2 months, even had a filter installed

[@sungbinroh3876]

This is why government regulation is necessary.

[@focusstudios1296]

Yes! Free enterprise should not be so free that massive corporations are allowed to destroy the freedom of everybody else

[@SANTANA1deep]

Government allowed this to be ongoing

[@pablosmith2412]

Government is the root of all evil.

[@yoholup19]

@@SANTANA1deep yes because of a loop hole that allows the companies to test their products instead of letting government officials to do it

[@Feynman981]

That‘s why we went back to good old cast iron pans. They are cheap, hold with a little bit of love forever and have no strange chemicals on it.

[@andymiller3366]

I’m from Michigan and I never heard of these chemicals. Never knew we were such a hotspot for it either!

[@jamesdaugherty2339]

I've lived in Brunswick county and Wilmington (new Hanover county) for about half of my life, and gen x contamination is a big issue. A lot of Wilmington has lead levels that are hazardous as well because of aging infrastructure! We need education about the problems we're facing (like this video), regulations to limit exposure, and investment in new improved infrastructure to cope with these dangerous chemicals both for our health and the health of the planet we share!

[@sinoroman]

citizens: you're polluting the waters! politicians and corporations: yeah, that's right. what you gonna do about it

[@sinoroman]

politicians and corporations: nothing, you gonna do nothing. yeah, that's right, you better leave

[@sinoroman]

@Will Reddish true

[@kevenhernandez5879]

this is a world wide issue. we are going to run out of drinkable water.

[@mcslimshady2848]

No

[@kingvt817]

Nope

[@camerontaylor7471]

Yeah mad max fury road is our future...

[@rohanmiscrits]

@@kingvt817 tf do you mean no? It’s inevitable

[@kingvt817]

@@rohanmiscrits if the world becomes "altruistic" we can desalinate water.

[@yomommastupid]

its not just an issue in the USA. This company Chemours has plants all over the world. And in the Netherlands there has also been the issue of them dropping PFOA and GENX pollution into the Dutch water system...people near the plant are getting sick with cancer....so this is a world issue ! These corporations need to be held responsible and these plants need to be shut down.

[@bubblewrapboy4100]

America the laughing stock of the world

[@cyka8881]

Americans: bad stocks, what’s that ,never heard about it.

[@pobblebonkk]

As a Canadian I can say that if you think we’re nice you have never heard us talk about America.

[@kiararose8896]

Like 1984 says: ignorance is strength

[@thechameleon2636]

Kiara Rose Very true, there’s a reason why America is the richest country in the world. The world wars and the ignorance of its people.

[@metalvideos1961]

they have been for decades.

[@TheSteelDialga]

I love the editing in this video! That clip in the beginning with the news anchors and special guests all overlapping each other was soo cool. Thanks Vox team for another great video!

[@45coopaloop]

well written and well sourced story! More news should be like this!

[@MultiFandom8isFate]

Vox and The Infographics Show has taught me a lot. Thank you guys.

[@WealthbuilderzTV]

This is why so many people get sick because of the water we drink.

[@fractal5764]

no

[@prinduplayzx]

Microsoft Hites could be, nobody knows the long term results

[@lsg-longshotgaming9123]

I watched the movie about this (Dark waters) on a school trip and it was very eye-opening, would highly recommend watching it

[@AishaLRobinson]

Purchased a home less than 15 miles from Haw River a few years ago in a quiet town so my child could grow up with a good & wholesome country upbringing... Pray For The World🙏

[@Pretender1147]

A similar thing happened in Camp Lejeune, about 40-45 miles north of Wilmington. Between 1953 and 1987, tap water was contaminated with chemicals such as vinyl chloride, trichloroethylene, and up to 70 different types. Obviously, these chemicals cause various illnesses (most of them cancer) and subsequently, lots of veterans and families got sick.

[@keishaj4143]

I remember seeing a billboard sign about it.

[@fitztastico]

So what you're saying is.. even the Amish aren't safe 🤦

[@ayanverma5746]

Then didn't tell us Hulk was Coming

[@kulkarni0011ss]

The way the video connects Gen X and Chemours with C8 in its narrative - that's narration at its best!

[@vendysatria]

Now THIS is journalism. Fantastic job as always VOX!