How "Forever Chemicals" Polluted America's Water

Provided by: Vox |Published on: April 27, 2021

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Synopsis

This 12-minute video from Vox about PFAS chemical pollution describes what "forever" chemicals are, some of the products you'll find them in, and how widespread the toxic pollutant is in drinking water across America, detailing the pollutant's impacts on North Carolina's Cape Fear River and city of Wilmington.
It discusses the need for the precautionary principle when reviewing and approving new products, chemicals, and chemical ingredients in products.

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Subjects: Civics, Health

Authors: Vox

Region: North Carolina

Languages: English

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Teaching Materials

Positives

The graphics in the video are very informative.
The video provides a local example in North Carolina that some students may identify with.

Prerequisites

There are ads during the video.
Although there is no direct discussion of climate change, clean and fresh water is vital to life on Earth, and this dwindling resource is being affected by climate change and pollution.

Differentiation & Implementation

Students can investigate the companies that make PFOA chemicals and investigate other chemicals that may be damaging to human health through the FDA, CDC, OSHA, and NIH websites.
Students can research all of the products that contain PFOA chemicals and types of water filters that might be able to filter them out of drinking water.
To make connections to climate change and government regulation, students can follow this video by studying the Montreal Protocol, which is an excellent example of collaboration and action to protect people.
Other resources about pollution include this video, this experiment, and this interactive map.

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How "Forever Chemicals" Polluted America's Water

Synopsis

Teaching Materials

Scientist Reviewed

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