Treadmills, Unseen Military Science, and the Inertia of “Forever Chemicals”

• In Event: 50217 - State Violence and the Environment

Abstract

This paper examines political and economic configurations related to the production of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), a broad class of chemicals commonly known as “forever chemicals” that are driving global ecological change and causing widespread human health impacts. To do so, we bring together the treadmill of production (ToP) and the treadmill of destruction (ToD) theory and science and technology studies approaches to unseen and undone science. No research to date has explicitly linked these theoretical approaches to advance an understanding of PFAS as a product of the military-industrial-scientific complex. The history of PFAS was largely hidden from public view until recent decades. Despite internal industry research documenting PFAS toxicity and exposure concerns going back to the 1960s the “social discovery” of the public and environmental health harms of PFAS did not congeal until the early 2000s. While corporate malfeasance has been widely discussed, little attention has been given to the U.S. military’s historical role in advancing the science and production of PFAS. Of that small attention to military sources, most attention to military PFAS has been focused on aqueous film-forming foam (AFFF) used at military bases as a fire suppressant. However, the fluorochemical industry has deeper historical ties to the U.S. military that warrant exploration. For example, DuPont, the nation's oldest company producing military weaponry, was also the pioneering firm in PFAS discovery, production, and marketing. This paper asks, how have undone and unseen science shaped the emergence, disappearance, or transformation of PFAS treadmills over time?

Authors

• Michael Lengefeld, Northeastern University

• Phil Brown, Northeastern University

• Alissa Cordner, Whitman College

• Grace M Poudrier, Northeastern University