3M reaches $10.3B settlement over PFAS contamination of water systems

Re:3M reaches $10.3B settlement over PFAS contamination of w... by ethanbond on Monday July 10, 2023 @12:17PM (#36668495)

Hmm okay welp yeah I guess until we prove (somehow?) that they’re a significant (how significant?) cause, then it’s reasonable to continue to expose everyone to known-harmful chemicals. Right now we only know that they hurt individuals and we’re probably seeing population-scale harm similar to what we see in individuals. But yeah it could be like weddings are too expensive and millennials like their lattes too much to reproduce — let’s not act on known toxins in our food supply until we rule out those hypotheses.

Makes a lot of sense!

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:3M reaches $10.3B settlement over PFAS contamination of w... by gruez on Monday July 10, 2023 @07:00PM (#36674175)

I mean yeah? If we think that declining fertility rates is a serious problem, but there are dozens of equally plausible explanations, why would we prioritize your pet cause (ie. PFAS) above all others? How does it going to work when everyone says that their pet cause is responsible for 50% (or whatever significant fraction) of the fertility decline?

Note, this doesn't necessarily mean that we should do nothing about PFAS. We just have to be honest about the potential impacts. In other words, instead of gesturing that PFAS is the primary cause for fertility decline in the past few decades (like the linked scientific american article), you admit that the impact is unclear/low, but we should still work to remove it just in case.

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:3M reaches $10.3B settlement over PFAS contamination of w... by ethanbond on Monday July 10, 2023 @08:55PM (#36675181)

> why would we prioritize your pet cause (ie. PFAS) above all others?

Because it's the best available theory and even if it's wrong we're eliminating known toxins from our environment?

What other theories have an established mechanism of action and established population-scale exposure? That's why this one should be prioritized above others (at least any that I'm aware of?). Which other theory has these?

[ Parent | on HN ]