Podcasts
October 4, 2007
Fresh Air from WHYY
In The Secret History of the War on Cancer, environmental-health expert Devra Davis warns that we're ignoring dozens of cancer-causing chemicals, like asbestos, benzene, vinyl chloride, and dioxin.
She writes that, like the tobacco companies, the chemical industry has managed to obfuscate the carcinogenic dangers of chemical and other toxic waste.
Davis directs the Center for Environmental Oncology at the University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute and teaches epidemiology in the university's public-health graduate program.
Her earlier book When Smoke Ran Like Water: Tales of Environmental Deception and the Battle Against Pollution was a finalist for the National Book Award.
DuPont Agrees to Reduce Use of Teflon Chemical
by David Kestenbaum
January 25, 2006
"The Environmental Protection Agency reaches an agreement with DuPont, which makes Teflon for pans and other products. The company will reduce emissions of PFOA, a long-lived chemical used in the Teflon manufacturing process. An EPA advisory committee called it a "likely" carcinogen, but there is no data definitively showing it is harmful for humans. The EPA is trying to get seven other companies that use the chemical to sign on as well."