This talk from 13th November 2019 by Annabel Husband, a Lower Sixth student, is based on the BBC documentary “Poisoning America: the devil as we know it”. C8 is a chemical found in non-stick frying pans, and other non-stick surfaces.
It was originally discovered in the early 1950s by a manufacturing company called 3M. C8 was produced in West Virginia, USA by DuPont. C8 is useful due to its many desirable properties: a hydrophilic and a hydrophobic end, lipophobic, reacts strongly with polar groups (specifically water), is very stable. These properties also mean it’s very difficult and costly to destroy it. Production of C8 in West Virginia caused contamination of water supplies (small amounts of C8 are in global water supplies) leading to child deformities (e.g. Bucky Bailey) and cancers, which DuPont denied was due to C8. DuPont and 3M both knew about the side effects due to lab testing on rats yet continued to produce it. DuPont was eventually sued after locals from West Virginia filed a lawsuit against them. After being sued, DuPont stopped production of C8, paid a fine of $16.5 million and helped to clean the water in West Virginia. However, DuPont now produce 2 new chemicals: C6 and C7, with virtually the same properties and believed to have the same side effects. Really, though, this talk isn’t a story about C8, but a story about all the untested chemicals which humans have created that may have the same damaging effects that we don’t regulate or monitor but come into contact with, every day of our lives.
2 Comments
Emma
5/13/2020 01:10:47 pm
This was a great talk! I found it particularly interesting to learn how the structural features of C8, which lead to it being such a useful substance, result in the difficult disposal and hence the negative effects. The talk led to many questions about the importance of balancing benefits against potential risk when using chemicals. A thought-provoking question was raised about the new chemicals: C6 and C7 and how long it would be before they too stopped being produced, which resulted in a discussion about whether regulations should be stricter for businesses. Overall the talk was fascinating and I thoroughly enjoyed it :)
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Annabel
5/19/2020 02:17:16 pm
Thank you all for having me talk, it was a great opportunity to research and discuss a little-known but important topic. You were really accommodating and you created a warm and friendly environment - overall it was a great experience!
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