EPA Agrees to Label 9 Out of 10s of Thousands of Penis-Shrinking Chemicals as Hazardous

📢 EPA is proposing 2 rules that would add to our comprehensive approach to addressing #PFAS pollution across the country.
These actions would strengthen our ability to clean up contamination from “forever chemicals” and other chemicals of concern.https://t.co/Xc3GeYwVWp pic.twitter.com/390lysTqpV

— EPA Land (@EPAland) February 1, 2024

That’s “9 out of 10s of thousands,” not “9 out of 10” (which would still not be the correct regulation ratio).

All of these chemicals should be banned.

Think of it from the libertarian perspective: these corporations are infringing on your most sacred property – your body – by creating and distributing chemicals that they know are going to end up in your body, giving you cancer, messing with all of your body’s systems, shrinking your penis.

Libertarians even have an analogy about poisoning a river. I forget what it’s called, but it’s vaguely related to “Tragedy of the Commons.”

Of course, that’s not right, because libertarians’ solution to the “commons” problem is to privatize the commons. Even if you agreed that the commons should be privatized (I agree with a lot of libertarian talking points, but do not agree with that, but let’s say you did), you cannot privatize the entire ecological system that we all share, into which corporations are dumping all of these chemicals.

Right now, these corporations produce these chemicals, and they go into absolutely everything that you own.

Even if you take the hardcore and very extreme libertarian view that you don’t have to use the public water supply or buy food or leave your own land, here’s the deal:

These chemicals go into your land through the rain.

They also seep into your land through the groundwater.

There is no way to explain that, other than that it is an infringement on your property. Call Tom Woods and ask him. He might say “privatize rain clouds,” but then the owner of the clouds would have to prevent them from releasing the chemicals into your land.

Actually, since we’re going deep in this libertarian thing, I think that they believe that physical property – land – should extend all the way into the sky, meaning that you own the clouds above your land.

Frankly, libertarianism breaks down when it comes to industrial pollution. They would have to say that it is “an act of aggression” to distribute these chemicals at all, given that they necessarily enter other people’s property, and then their entire pro-industrialism narrative would be wrecked.

I’m going deep into libertarianism because that is the underlying ideology which originally explained, in the 1980s, why no one can regulate these corporations, and I’m saying that even if you take that extreme view (which gets ridiculous), you can’t explain companies being allowed to produce and release PFAS.

CNN:

The US Environmental Protection Agency is proposing that it will label nine of the thousands of PFAS “forever chemicals” as hazardous.

…

The EPA said it’s proposing to change the definition of hazardous waste in regard to cleanups at permitted hazardous waste facilities. The agency signed a proposal to change Resource Conservation and Recovery Act regulations on Wednesday that would add some of the most common PFAS compounds, their salts, and structural isomers to a list of “hazardous constituents.”

Under EPA regulations, to be considered a “hazardous constituent,” studies must show that the chemical is a threat to human health or “other life forms” and demonstrate that the chemical is toxic; that it can cause cancer; is mutagenic, meaning it could prompt a change in the DNA and damage a cell potentially leading to cancer; or teratogenic, which means that the chemical can disturb the growth and development of an embryo or fetus.

For years, studies have shown that these chemicals are much more hazardous to human health than scientists initially thought and are dangerous at levels thousands of times lower than previously believed.

Exposure to PFAS chemicals are thought to lead to reproductive problems, heart issues, breathing problems such as asthma, and problems with the immune system, in addition to cancers.

While the EPA is proposing to regulate nine PFAS, there are thousands of these chemicals that have been used to make coatings and products that can repel water, grease, heat and oil. The chemicals are found in carpets, clothing, cookware, and many other common household products.

They are everywhere and in everything.

You have a right as an autonomous being to decide what enters your body, and, as I explained above, even if you buy land and grow all your own food and don’t ever leave your own land, these chemicals are going to end up in your body (unless you are somewhere super-remote, maybe).

The corporations who produce and distribute these chemicals are taking away your autonomy by producing chemicals you don’t want in your body and making a situation where nothing you do can keep them out of your body.

I first wrote asking @EPA to address #PFAS in America’s drinking water almost 23 years ago – and its been almost a year since @EPAwater finally proposed to set formal national limits – why are we still waiting?? It is time to act NOW: @Taftlaw @MarkRuffalo @ewg… https://t.co/XGcEIfURAJ

— Robert Bilott (@RobertBilott) January 31, 2024

Obviously, the people who work at these companies are poisoning themselves as well, but that is just the nature of a totally godless, totally for-profit system: people make compromises.

The people should have freedom.